What Is The IKEA Buyback Program?

The IKEA brand has won over a great number of shoppers, and often for reasons beyond the simple, affordable furnishings in its catalog. The food court is an iconic lunch spot, and the large-scale displays give you plenty of practical design and decor inspiration to draw from. But if there's one aspect of the Swedish company that perhaps doesn't get enough attention, it's the Buyback & Resell service.

If you have old IKEA furniture that's still in decent condition and that you're ready to part with, you might be able to give it back to the store in exchange for an IKEA refund card. These cards essentially work as a store credit, allowing you to pick out new furnishings for your home to replace the ones you've just turned in. This could also be a great opportunity to try some of the brand's newest storage solutions, or pick up some of this year's most exciting IKEA kitchen finds.

IKEA's Buyback & Resell service is currently exclusive to IKEA Family members and those who are a part of the IKEA Business Network program. Luckily, the first of these programs is completely free to join. It's also worth noting that only certain types of furniture qualify for buyback. Dining tables, desks, cabinets, and bookcases are all accepted, while upholstered furnishings and small kitchen and bath products are not listed as eligible. Any item that IKEA buys back will go to its as-is section, and can be purchased there at a discounted price by other shoppers. This makes the program one of the more sustainable ways to dispose of old furniture.

The Buyback & Resell service works differently from traditional store returns. First, you'll need to head over to IKEA's website and fill in the buy back estimator form with information about your furnishing's product type and current condition. This form is the easiest way to determine whether or not an item is actually eligible for the buyback program. Make sure the furniture you're aiming to sell is clean and fully-assembled, with an original IKEA product sticker on it.

After submitting the form, you should get an estimate via an email. Once you've received it, you can bring the email and the furnishing itself over to your local IKEA's returns and exchanges area. A staff member will inspect the furniture to confirm its condition, and alter the original estimate if necessary. If you accept their final offer, you'll be issued your refund card. You can use it right away, but according to IKEA's website, it shouldn't have an expiration date.

If you've ever hacked or otherwise altered your IKEA furniture, it unfortunately won't be eligible for the brand's buyback program. Should you bring an IKEA-brand item to the store for resale, and the staff determine that they can't take it, they should be able to recycle or sustainably dispose of it for you. Furniture consignment shops and online resale sites like Facebook Marketplace may be worth looking into if you determine IKEA's buyback program just isn't for you. You could also try refinishing your old wooden furniture as an alternative means of giving it a new lease on life.