You’ll Soon Be Able to Buy Second-Hand IKEA Items Directly from Them

If you’ve ever browsed Gumtree or Facebook Marketplace, you’d have seen that there’s always a heap of second-hand IKEA items for sale. In fact, of the furniture and home décor makers in Australia, IKEA has to be the one with the biggest pre-loved offering.

And now, for the first time in Australia, the Swedish retailer is letting you buy its second-hand piece directly from them.

Called As-Is Online, the circular economy programme lets customers browse online pre-loved IKEA items, including products that are discontinued, ex-showroom displays or second-hand pieces acquired by IKEA through its Buy Back service, which lets customers bring back used eligible products in exchange for an IKEA refund card. Items will be discounted at 20-75% off their original price, depending on their condition.

All items are thoroughly inspected to ensure functionality and safety and you’ll be able to see the condition of the product by looking at uploaded photos of it under the “defects tab” and by reading its description.

Once you’ve selected what pre-loved item you want to buy online, you can buy it and then collect it in-store in the As-Is section, located just before the check-outs. This also allows you to assess its condition before taking it home. If you do buy it and end up changing your mind, you can still return it within 365 days.

Queensland customers will be the first to trial the new shopping experience — which opens today, Tuesday, April 26 — before it’s rolled out to all IKEA Australia stores later this year.

As-Is Online is part of IKEA’s plan to become “climate positive” by 2030 by giving usable items a second chance and a second home, minimising unnecessary waste and environmental impact.

“Our new As-Is Online platform not only gives easier access than ever before to affordable, second-life items but it also helps our customers meet their own sustainability goals,” says Lachlan Mitchell, Product Recovery Leader at IKEA Australia.

“We’ve seen our customers’ interest in the second-hand market grow exponentially over the last few years, and in particular, a strong demand for pre-loved IKEA items.”

“As-Is Online is an extension of the already established As-Is area in every store, where shoppers can also find pre-loved products from our Buy Back service which launched in 2019. We hope it allows our customers live more sustainably and have better everyday lives within the limits of our planet.”