I Tried Ikea’s New Secondhand Market. It Feels Just Like Shopping At Ikea

Source: Fast Company, Jesus Diaz
Photo: FC

Ikea is trying to own its secondhand market, with the goal of becoming a circular company.

I’ve bought and sold my fair share of used Ikea products in the past, and the experience has always been a bit disappointing. Here in Spain, these transactions happen mostly through a peer-to-peer marketplace app called Wallapop, which doesn’t charge any commissions. In the U.S., people mostly use Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, or eBay—all of which have a similar subpar user experience.

It’s hard to filter, and it’s hard to find what you want. Certainly, none of them feel as nice and clean as shopping Ikea’s website. Which is exactly why Ingka Group—the holding company that operates most Ikea stores—launched Ikea Preowned, a new site that lets people buy and sell lightly used Ikea products through an interface that feels just like Ikea’s regular site. Since I live in Madrid, I decided to try it.

How it really works

When you arrive at the Preowned site, you first have to enter your postal code. This information is used to show you how far sellers or buyers are from you.

Then the site asks you if you want to buy or sell. If you pick buy, you arrive at a site that looks just like Ikea’s retail web page. The familiar product grid is there, with each product silhouetted against a white background, the Ikea logo on the top, along with a line of menu options and your user information. It features exactly the same typeface, vibe, and product images as the ones you see in Ikea’s regular online catalog.

On the left, you can click a settings button that allows you to filter the products shown using different parameters: distance from you, price, product category (say, bathroom), type of product (bathroom accessories, bathroom lighting, bathroom vanities, etc.), condition, color, size, and material.

Once you click on the product you want, you access its details, which include comments by the seller, product condition notes, and any other product information you find on the regular Ikea website. It contains images of the used product for sale, so you can check out its condition. After adding a product to your cart and purchasing it, you’ll be connected with the seller to arrange pickup. Simple as that.

If you want to sell, the process starts by uploading a photo. An AI tries to figure out what the product is so that it can automatically attach all the right images and product information to the listing. This sounds great in theory, but I was disappointed with its execution.

When I uploaded a very clear, well-framed, perfectly lit photo of an Ikea chair, I got a long list of potential chairs in return. The actual chair model wasn’t even near the top; I had to scroll down to find it, which feels like a bug that will need to be worked out. Once you choose the right product, you will need to fill in the information fields, add more photos if you want, and wait for someone to buy.

Save the world or make even more money?

According to Jesper Brodin, CEO of Ingka Group, the company won’t charge commissions on people’s sales, for now. Ikea is considering introducing a “humble fee” for the service in the future, but first it’s gathering data on how the platform works in Spain and Norway.

People can pay for products in cash, but there’s another option for getting paid with Ikea credit. If you choose to get paid with Ikea credit, the company will add a 15% bonus to the total sale price. That’s a pretty big incentive for people to choose the second option. It’s a clever way to get people into the platform and to get them spending more on Ikea’s new products.

It feels like a way for Ingka Group to gain control of the huge business that secondhand Ikea represents, which is something Brodin himself hinted at. “The global secondhand furniture market is growing rapidly, with a projected annual growth rate of 6.4% in 2024,” he says. “Already today, 10% of the secondhand home furnishing market is made up of Ikea products. With this platform we see possibilities to simplify and enhance experience for both.”

Ikea Preowned also ties into the company’s existing buyback program, where customers can sell their used furniture back to Ikea for in-store resale. These initiatives are part of Ikea’s broader goal of ensuring that all products are reusable, refurbishable, or recyclable by 2030. “By keeping Ikea furniture out of landfills and finding them new homes instead, we hope to reduce waste and prolong the life of our products,” the company says.

As the trials in Madrid and Oslo continue, the company is closely monitoring the platform’s performance and customer feedback. The company will do a full evaluation after December, which will dictate whether it rolls out the platform globally. The stakes are certainly high if Ikea wants to fulfill its promise of becoming a “circular” company.

https://www.fastcompany.com/91180074/i-tried-ikea-preowned-new-secondhand-market