Ikea launches UK secondhand marketplace and will pilot online buyback in Spain and Portugal
Ikea is launching a secondhand marketplace for its own products in the UK this week and will trial an online version of its buyback service in Spain and Portugal by the end of December, with a possible UK rollout.
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The story, neutrally told
Mixed · 2Ikea is to test an online version of its buy-back service, in which it offers vouchers for unwanted secondhand furniture, in Spain and Portugal before the end of December. Evening StandardN “Ikea will trial the integration of Buy Back into the platform in Spain and Portugal in late December.” Read at Evening Standard ↗ The GuardianLC “The service will be tested in Spain and Portugal before the end of December and will be launched in the UK if it proves successful.” Read at The Guardian ↗ Mixed · 2Ikea already offers buy-back in stores, including in the UK; the scheme was launched in 2021 and lets customers sell certain products back to the retailer for store credit. The GuardianLC “Ikea already offers buy-back in stores, including in the UK.” Read at The Guardian ↗ Evening StandardN “The platform is an extension of Ikea’s Buy Back scheme launched in 2021 to enable customers to sell certain products back to the retailer in exchange for store credit.” Read at Evening Standard ↗ Mixed · 2The plan emerged as Ikea launches its own secondhand online marketplace in the UK this week, taking on Vinted and eBay. The platform is already online in other countries, including Spain and Portugal. The GuardianLC “The platform, which is already online in other countries including Spain and Portugal” Read at The Guardian ↗ Evening StandardN “Ikea has launched a second-hand marketplace for its own furniture and homewares as it takes on the likes of eBay and Vinted.” Read at Evening Standard ↗
Centre · 1Members of Ikea's loyalty scheme, Ikea Family, can list Ikea home furnishings, excluding mattresses, appliances and food. Sellers scan an item to get a listing with recommended pricing, photography, measurements, descriptions, assembly instructions and care information, though they can set their own price. Evening StandardN “Members of the firm’s loyalty scheme Ikea Family will be able to list home furnishing products, with the exception of mattresses, appliances and food.”“although sellers can set their own amount.” Read at Evening Standard ↗ Centre · 1Sellers can be paid in cash or as an Ikea gift card carrying a 15% top-up. Ikea says prices average 60% below new. Evening StandardN “Sellers can receive their proceeds in cash or as an Ikea gift card, which will come with a 15% top-up.”“prices on average 60% lower than new items” Read at Evening Standard ↗ Left · 1The UK service will initially be free, with a buyer protection fee of about 5% of an item's price to be introduced later, according to the Guardian. At launch, buyers and sellers arrange collection or delivery themselves, and Ikea says it is exploring ways to ease delivery. The GuardianLC “The UK service will be free initially, but a “buyer protection fee” of about 5% of an item’s price will be introduced in time.”“Ikea said it is exploring ways to make delivery easier in future.” Read at The Guardian ↗
Mixed · 2Greg Lucas, sustainability manager at Ikea UK and Ireland, said secondhand shopping is now mainstream and that more customers are considering pre-owned furniture alongside new. The GuardianLC ““Secondhand browsing and shopping is now mainstream.”” Read at The Guardian ↗ Evening StandardN “more customers are considering pre-owned furniture alongside new” Read at Evening Standard ↗ Left · 1The Guardian reports that the UK secondhand home products market is worth more than £4.5bn and growing about 6.5% a year, that Ikea products make up about 9% of furniture sold on UK secondhand marketplaces, and that Ikea expects pre-owned goods to take 16% of UK homewares by next year. It adds that 63% of UK consumers bought via resale platforms in 2025, up from 51% in 2024. The GuardianLC “The secondhand home products market is now worth more than £4.5bn in the UK and is growing at about 6.5% annually.”“In 2025, 63% of UK consumers bought products through reselling platforms, up from 51% in 2024.” Read at The Guardian ↗ Mixed · 2Competition is heavy: Vinted has expanded from clothing into homewares and electronics, and retailers such as Currys, AO and John Lewis also sell pre-owned goods. The GuardianLC “There is heavy competition for the secondhand market, with the electrical goods retailers Currys and AO, for example, both selling pre-owned items.” Read at The Guardian ↗ Evening StandardN “Other retailers such as John Lewis and Currys also sell pre-owned and refurbished products through their platforms.” Read at Evening Standard ↗
Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.
Left1 outlet
- Framing
- Leads with the Spain and Portugal buyback pilot and a possible UK rollout, set within the wider boom in resale.
- Emphasis
- Market size and growth figures, competition from Vinted, eBay, Currys and AO, and the planned 5% buyer fee.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Does not list excluded items such as mattresses and appliances or the 60% average discount.
- For example
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“Service to be tested in Spain and Portugal this year, with a UK rollout if successful, as pre-loved markets boom” — The Guardian
Centre1 outlet
- Framing
- Leads with the marketplace launch and how it works for Ikea Family members, with the buyback trial as a secondary detail.
- Emphasis
- Seller tools, excluded items, 60% average discount and the Ikea Family requirement.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Gives no market size or growth figures and no specific buyer protection fee percentage.
- For example
-
“Ikea has launched a second-hand marketplace for its own furniture and homewares as it takes on the likes of eBay and Vinted.” — Evening Standard
Right0 outlets
No right outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
What every side reports
- Ikea will trial online buyback in Spain and Portugal by late December.
- Ikea is launching a UK secondhand marketplace for its own products, competing with Vinted and eBay.
- Sellers can take payment as an Ikea gift card with a 15% top-up.
- Greg Lucas of Ikea UK and Ireland is quoted saying customers increasingly consider pre-owned furniture.
Ikea organisation
Presents the marketplace and buyback as making pre-owned Ikea items easier to buy and sell, in response to changing customer habits.
“gives people a straightforward way to pass on items as their needs change” — Evening Standard
“The way people furnish their homes has changed.” — The Guardian
Left1 article
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Ikea to pilot online buyback service for secondhand furniture
Neutral Business report treating the buyback pilot as part of a retail shift towards secondhand, with market data.
Centre1 article
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Ikea launches second-hand marketplace for its own furniture and homewares
Neutral Product-launch report describing the marketplace's features and Ikea's stated aims, largely relaying Ikea's account.
Right0 articles
No coverage yet.
- 7 Oct 00:01 First Evening StandardN Ikea launches second-hand marketplace for its own furniture and homewares
- 7 Oct 00:01 First The GuardianLC Ikea to pilot online buyback service for secondhand furniture
Times are when each article was published, or when we first saw it if the outlet gave no time.