The world's largest furniture retailer, Ikea, has announced it will launch an online secondhand furniture marketplace in the UK for its members, allowing users to buy and sell used Ikea products directly with one another. The move is seen as Ikea formally entering the resale sector, competing with platforms such as eBay, Facebook Marketplace and Vinted, which is known for secondhand clothing.

The platform is scheduled to go live within the coming months. Ikea has already piloted similar online secondhand marketplaces in Spain and Norway, and began piloting buyback and resale of secondhand furniture at selected UK stores five years ago.

An Ikea spokesperson said in an interview: "Our goal is to make the circulation of beloved Ikea furniture as smooth as possible. We are building a trusted and active space where 'Ikea Family' members can trade directly with ease."

Ikea said more details about the UK site will be announced in the coming months. Referring to the Spanish pilot, the platform offers sellers pre-filled product descriptions and price suggestions, and sellers who choose to be paid in Ikea gift cards receive an extra bonus equivalent to 15% of the sale price. Currently, on the Spanish site, a secondhand Poäng armchair sells for about €56, only about half the price of a new one. From January next year, Spanish buyers will pay a 5% "protection fee" to cover various costs related to platform transactions, a model similar to Vinted's approach.

In recent years, UK consumers have become increasingly receptive to secondhand goods, driving Vinted to expand from its original clothing resale site into home goods and electronics, and fuelling the growth of Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree and high-end resale platforms such as Vinterior. US-based eBay earlier acquired UK fashion resale platform Depop for $1.2 billion. Secondhand goods now account for roughly one-tenth of global fashion retail sales.

As the secondhand consumption wave enters the mainstream, competition is intensifying. Electricals retailers Currys and AO also sell refurbished or secondhand goods, with the latter further strengthening its position in 2024 by acquiring MusicMagpie, a seller of refurbished electronics and secondhand games. This situation is also increasing pressure on charity retailers such as the British Heart Foundation, some of whose stores have closed due to rising costs.

Ikea's move into the secondhand business stems in part from its commitment to becoming "climate positive" by 2030, which includes goals to use renewable products and ensure all products use renewable, recyclable or reused materials.

Source: Ikea to take on eBay and Vinted with UK online secondhand site · Originally published 2026-08-19