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Second-hand is taking an increasing share in a lot of markets, and Ikea is looking to add to that. The Swedish chain is already selling a range of second-hand articles, but now it is also going to trial a platform where customers can sell their own (Ikea) furniture.
Preowned in Madrid
Currently, the chain is testing its “Ikea Preowned” platform, which allows customers to resell their Ikea products to other customers, in Madrid. On the platform, “nearly all” products may be sold, as long as they are from the Ikea brand itself. However, mattresses, kitchen appliances and food items can not be resold.
Ikea takes care of handling the payments, but not the shipping itself: for that, buyer and seller still have to agree between themselves. After the transaction, the seller can choose to be paid the full amount in cash, or to be paid in Ikea gift cards and receive an extra 15 % on top of the selling price.
No fee
In the Financial Times, CEO Jesper Brodin says the test will also come to Oslo. He talks about “a dream in the making for a while”, to use the platform to compete with the well-known platform giants. Brodin also says that Ikea itself does not want to capitalise on platform sales. Currently, these are completely free – both for buyer and seller – with the CEO adding that, at most, a “symbolic fee” could be asked in the future.
In addition to the platform, Ikea also continues to offer the option of selling second-hand products directly to the chain itself through the Ikea Buy-back service. The approved second-hand items then find their way to customers through Ikea shops themselves, a service the chain also offers in Belgium.
