IKEA is launching a shop for second-hand furniture in the UK

DIY mecca Ikea has had a busy time of it in the UK lately. Last summer, it opened its first-ever Brighton outpost and debuted a brand-new format in Harlow designed for speedier shopping. This year, the Swedish furniture emporium already launched a collab with Decathlon, bringing a hybrid furniture and sportswear outlet to south London.

But if you thought that was all Ikea had in store for us, you’d be sorely mistaken. The company has now turned its attention to pre-loved goods, announcing the launch of its first UK-based second-hand marketplace. 

If you’re wondering how it works, well, the concept is pretty simple. The platform will let Ikea Family members buy and sell pre-owned furniture directly with one another. Think Vinted, eBay or Facebook Marketplace, but exclusively for the Swedish brand's goods.

Ikea already has a buy-back scheme which lets you sell furniture back to the retailer in exchange for credit. Plus, it also has second-hand areas in its stores. The difference with the new marketplace is that it allows shoppers to trade directly with each other. 

‘Our goal is to make passing on beloved Ikea pieces as seamless as possible,’ a spokesperson told Retail Gazette. 

The new UK peer-to-peer platform joins similar schemes in Spain, Norway, Portugal, Poland and Sweden where shoppers are already able to exchange goods with one another. In the countries where the scheme is already live, sellers can list furniture easily using pre-filled product and price suggestion info. They can also select how and when they want to hand over their items to buyers. In some places, Ikea even lets its members use bank transfer to pay for items or receive payment in gift vouchers, but it hasn’t revealed whether the same will apply in the UK.

We don’t know exactly when the marketplace will be launching in the UK, but Ikea has said it will be some time later this year. 

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