Ikea’s new digital marketplace, which launches today, means you can buy and sell its pre-loved ranges using a well-designed app that makes it easy to upload imagery. It will even help with price guides.
“The way people furnish their homes has changed. Whether they are moving, redecorating or looking for a particular piece, more customers are considering pre-owned furniture alongside new and are actively searching for items that can help create a home that feels personal to them,” says Greg Lucas, Ikea Group’s sustainability manager for the UK and Ireland.
Second-hand, an old term that is gaining traction again, rather than the terms vintage or pre-loved, is his preferred term.
“It is really clear and well-understood and is how people are shopping and browsing.”
According to the Swedish behemoth’s own research, 93 per cent of adults are shopping for second-hand goods at least occasionally.
Its research in Ireland showed that the number of adults grew from 39 per cent in 2022 to 47 per cent in 2024.
Right across sectors, buyers are looking to make more considered choices, as evidenced by Vinted’s 2025 revenue.
Last April, the second-hand platform Vinted posted that it made €1.1 billion in revenue in 2025, a 38 per cent increase on the previous year, as it expanded into categories like electronics and homeware, and launched in three new countries.
The same Ikea research showed that the value of unused furniture, décor and furnishings is at least €570. This idea that there is so-called gold in our homes is a premise used by the cult afternoon TV show, Cash in the Attic.
“That’s a significant amount of value being unused,” Lucas says. He estimates that about 9 per cent of all second-hand items are Ikea products.
Since 2021, the Swedish giant has already operated a buy-back service in stores. This has enabled more people to access affordable Ikea products, with prices on average 60 per cent lower than comparable new products.
Its marketplace takes it one step further. First, you have to download the app. Then you can hover your phone over the eligible item so it can identify the exact item.
It will furnish you with a proposed price. It will also show you what it looks like new and upload auto-assembly details and dimensions so that when someone comes to buy it, they have all the information at their fingertips.
Customers can list current or previously sold Ikea home furnishing products, with the exception of mattresses, appliances, and food. Modified products and recalled products are excluded.
The seller can take payment in cash or in an Ikea digital refund card with a 15 per cent bonus to the value achieved that can be used by the savvy shopper in stores or in its food halls and restaurants.
For those whose items might be damaged, some of these are fixable, Lucas says. The brand has a dedicated team striving for zero waste. In some instances, Ikea will send you spare parts for free.
Its marketplace service has already been rolled out in six countries: Sweden, Norway, Spain, Portugal, Poland and Belgium, and is available exclusively to family members.
Delivery has to be arranged between buyer and seller, although test services are being trialled to see if a form of delivery service could be offered down the line.
Ikea’s marketplace launches today. For more details, click here.
