You Can Return Your Old Ikea Furniture For A £250 Shopping Voucher

If ever there was an excuse to go shopping AND be sustainable too, we've found it - as furniture giant Ikea has launched a scheme to help the planet and our pockets.

As part of its drive to become "climate positive" by 2030, the home store will now give out vouchers to any customers who return items they do not use anymore, providing they are in good enough condition to sell on.

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Ikea will give back 50% of the price of the original item if it is in as-new condition, while customers returning items with minor scratches can expect to receive 40% of the item's value back in vouchers to spend in-store.

Furniture with a number of scratches will be bought back for 30% of its original retail value.

The pilot scheme has been rolled out across all stores across the UK and was initially supposed to launch in November, but due to the pandemic, it was postponed.

The scheme has already proved successful after trials in several cities and 26 other countries will also take part.

Customers will be able to pick up used items from the buy-back scheme in a separate part of the store, called a Circular Hub, and items will include dressers, cabinets, bookcases and shelving units.

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Small tables, dining tables and desks will also be available to buy second-hand.

Meanwhile, the furniture store has also announced a partnership with Gumtree to sell second-hand items through their online marketplace.

A spokesperson for Ikea told the BBC they thought the buy-back scheme could be of real value to their customers.

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Hege Saebjornsen, environmental and sustainability expert at Ikea, said: "I'm not saying we have all the answers, but we learned enough from the pilots to tell us that this could be something of real value to us and our customers."

Ikea has already said that it wants to have a fully circular business model by 2030 and recently announced that it was investing €4bn in renewable energy.

Customers wanting to take part in the buy-back scheme should go to ikea.co.uk to fill out an online form, which will give them a preliminary offer, before taking the items to their nearest store to return them and pick up their vouchers.

Topics: Home, Home Decor, IKEA, Style

Aneira Davies

Aneira Davies is a freelance lifestyle journalist with a particular interest in interiors and craft. She has written for the Evening Standard, Prima, House Beautiful and Good Housekeeping.

@aneiradavies