IKEA’s Furniture Buy Back Program Launches Abroad Before Black Friday

We love IKEA furniture for the affordable prices and trendy, minimalist design, but we wouldn’t exactly call all of it heirloom quality. The truth is, after a few years, it’s often time to move on.

To keep old pieces out of the landfill, IKEA is launching a new Buy Back program where they will not only take that used dresser off your hands, but give you a partial refund in store credit, too.

According to The New York Times, Buy Back launches in Great Britain on Nov. 24, just before Black Friday, one of the biggest international shopping days of the year. (They’re calling it Green Friday, “making climate change the biggest deal for the planet and your wallet.”) The program will also be available in 26 other countries, including France, Australia, Canada, Italy and Germany — but not the U.S. While it’s a temporary offer in most countries, the program has no end date in Britain or Ireland.

And no word yet on if and when it will launch in America, though The Times did report that the U.S. is “exploring ways to bring Buy Back to the country in the future.”

What Is the IKEA Buy Back Program?

The Buy Back program is pretty much what the name describes: IKEA will buy back furniture from their customers. It’s actually more of a partial refund than a purchase — the returner receives store credit good up to one year from the issue date.

The IKEA Australia website says, “The service enables us to help customers prolong IKEA furniture’s life, by buying back their used IKEA furniture in return for an IKEA refund card and then reselling the returned furniture in the as-is area.” The latter is a collection of gently used, discounted furniture, usually found near the registers.

How Does It Work?

To participate in the Buy Back program, customers fill out an online form that asks for contact information, the item you wish to sell and which store you intend to drop it off. Once you’ve filled out the form, IKEA estimates the buy-back value. However, the estimate isn’t final until you bring the assembled piece to the store, where an IKEA employee will inspect it and give you a final refund price. Then you’ll receive an IKEA refund card for the agreed buy-back value.

Which Items Are Accepted for Buy Back?

IKEA furniture qualifying for Buy Back includes drawer units, tables, chairs, cabinets, desks, shelving or cupboards. Things like used mattresses, outdoor furniture and light fixtures are not eligible. The furniture must be assembled, fully functional and unmodified. (Sorry, no buy backs for IKEA hacks.)

Upholstered items like sofas or armchairs must be clean and free of stains. Basically, if you don’t think it’s in good enough condition to sell on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace, IKEA probably won’t take it either.

IKEA also specified they’re only buying back personal household items. It will not accept large quantities of commercially used furniture.