Ikea takes on Craigslist with classifieds site for its used furniture
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Unfortunately, it's more like "Takes on Facebook Marketplace", AKA where your last shred of hope for humanity goes to die
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Some bean counter obviously thinks so.I've never had furniture last very long from IKEA - it's typically a "we need something now" type of furniture.
Is there actually a market for it?
Out in the real world, I have doubts.
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Hemnes and Billy bookcases are built to last, there's definitely a secondary market for their furniture.I've never had furniture last very long from IKEA - it's typically a "we need something now" type of furniture.
Is there actually a market for it?
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If it's solid wood furniture, it'll survive at least one move. But their particle board stuff... yeah. Good luck. I feel like 'used' and 'Ikea furniture' go together like nuts and gum.I've never had furniture last very long from IKEA - it's typically a "we need something now" type of furniture.
Is there actually a market for it?
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I am all for recycling old furniture by buying/selling second-hand -- almost all of my husband's and mine furniture are second-hand -- but...I haven't heard a lot of good about Ikea stuffs' longevity. We've never owned any Ikea furniture, but aren't they mostly just sawdust and glue or have I just let other people's biases colour my perception?
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If you pick Ikea furniture, you have to look for their solid wood stuff. If you do, it's still affordable and has better longevity than you'd think. I have a Jerker desk (yes, I know...) from 2000 that has survived a couple of moves and is still going strong, but it's built with steel tubing. The Jerker and a handful of other sets have surprisingly strong secondhand markets.
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Their really cheap stuff is crappy particle board that will fall apart if you look at the wrong way. But they do sell some nicer furniture as well.
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I can understand at first glance the motivation for Ikea since if you can sell your old furniture, you can buy new from IKEA.
But I'm concerned with Ikea's conflict of interest. Do they really want people to buy used when they should buy new from them!?
But I'm concerned with Ikea's conflict of interest. Do they really want people to buy used when they should buy new from them!?
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Our futon was purchased (a really long time ago) and is still kicking. Had to replace the mattress along the way.
Some of their gear lasts.
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Old Ikea stuff were pretty good, but the newer it is the worse it is, generally. But it also depends, some of their cheaper office chairs are very ok. I bought a used Markus for like €100 some years ago and it's fine. I bought a 5x5 Kallax last year and I'm not looking forward to moving it...
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When assembled it's sturdy enough. My 5x5 Kallax is pretty solid but it will not do well when/if I have to move.
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Oh no, don't tell me that IKEA is getting into legal disputes over its furniture.
Oh thank fuck, they're going after them with fair competition.
That said, Ikea furniture doesn't hold up on re-use very well, especially if you disassemble it. I've had pieces that were absolutely amazing in the first house I've used them in. The particle board might not be as strong as naturally grown wood under the hand of a competent carpenter, but Ikea furniture is engineered around these material limitations.
The upside is that you can buy cheap new furniture of relatively good quality, but they're not Legos, you can't disassemble them and expect everything to be okay at the next location, especially if you accidentally put things together wrong at any point in reassembly.
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Nora Lenderbee
Ars Tribunus Militum
There are a substantial number of folks who must move to temporary jobs in distant places, and it's cheaper to rent an unfurnished apartment for a few months and get a few pieces of garage sale furniture or cheap Ikea stuff. Then when you leave you just abandon the stuff or give it to a thrift store. It's been 40 years or so ago, but "been there, done that". The company I worked for paid a daily per diem during these temporary jobs, and if you could live cheaply you could save some bucks.
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I still have the first Billy bookcases I bought over 30 years ago. Still loaded with books, too. As others have said, the solid wood stuff is very durable. I've even used older wood stuff as the internal framework for a stereo cabinet I built. Their quality has been consistent which is unusual these days.
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"Typically" is the key word here.I've never had furniture last very long from IKEA - it's typically a "we need something now" type of furniture.
Is there actually a market for it?
IKEA sells a lot of cheap furniture indeed, but also some quality stuff that could very well last some years.
But even the most former, if well treated, could have a second chance. I mean, I've seen some terrible junk being sold in second hand markets...
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Given how generally bad Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace are, I am not adverse to paying a fee to a guarantor that mediates the whole transaction. A fee and Ikea-gated communication makes scamming a whole lot more difficult.
If they start out with a fee, no one will try the service and find out that things could suck a lot less.
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I'm moving from Nashville to Denver and selling all sorts of stuff wherever. I sold my Kallaxes and other Ikea furniture in minutes of listing, I still can't find a buyer for my TV.I've never had furniture last very long from IKEA - it's typically a "we need something now" type of furniture.
Is there actually a market for it?
Ikea furniture tends to fall apart just by looking at it and yet it's always in high demand. Especially Kallaxes.
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I don't like throwing away stuff that still is whole and does it job, so a lot of my furniture is pretty old. That also includes a fair bit of Ikea stuff that lives on from student times. Still does its job, in most of the cases, though I recently replaced a worn down Ikea office chair that was about 12 years. Most other stuff also keeps, but of the ones who are in the worst shape none area Ikea, for sure. Also bought a couple of used ones, mostly Billy bookshelves (because I had old ones, and Ikea stopped selling that particular colour) and most of the childrens' room furniture. None of it broke and when the kids got larger the furniture passed to a new owner.
I probably forget a bunch of things that broke quickly (oh yeah, frying pans were a mistake), but all in all, quality has been fine. Now that I have money, I'd probably go more for actual crafts furniture though.
I probably forget a bunch of things that broke quickly (oh yeah, frying pans were a mistake), but all in all, quality has been fine. Now that I have money, I'd probably go more for actual crafts furniture though.
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IKEA is first marriage furniture. This may be a great way to meet recent divorcees on the rebound.
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Gonna go out on a limb here and say most sellers are going to choose cash over Ikea vouchers (even with the bonus on top)
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Aside from so much of their stuff falling apart if you call it a mean name, the sole vendor aspect to this is a bit weird. I mean, would you sell your used CB2 stuff on one site, secondhand IKEA stuff on one site, and so on? What value does IKEA bring by being the marketplace - can they stand behind the quality (cough) of the second hand item, especially when the off the rack stuff can be a bit shaky fresh out the store?
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Yea, most of that stuff is designed to be put together ONCE and not ever taken apart. It is amazing what they have done with particle board, but it's still just that.
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I have lots of > 20 year old Ikea furniture, including some hand me downs from a relative, that is still just fine.
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For what it is worth, you can make the particle board stuff last much longer and even survive a move if you glue every piece as you assemble it. They always fail at those little peg things. A bottle of wood glue is a couple of bucks at your local hardware store and makes an enormous difference in the strength of the completed piece.
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Agreed. I sold stuff online during covid to great success (not toilet paper, we were having a second kid and needed to make room). I tried again recently and it’s all scams. Oh, I need to validate your phone number send me the six digit code you get (incoming Google voice validation code), or some other means of scamming.
Facebook doesn’t give a shit its platforms are being used for scams. If IKEA does that is a substantial value add. And if they charge a fee to cover it, fine with me.
I do have some ikea furniture and it’s in decent shape. Not perfect but definitely still usable and in good shape. Sellable for sure. I don’t think IKEA is in the position of having to compete with itself because their furniture isn’t that durable, but it should be durable enough to be resold once.
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When I retired, brought 4 bookcases worth of books came home from work. Now the books are in my retirement home and reside in cheap IKEA bookcases. Don't yet know if the cheap bookcases will outlast my body.I've never had furniture last very long from IKEA - it's typically a "we need something now" type of furniture.
Is there actually a market for it?
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So the logic of it is: "the used furniture market has a lot of Ikea goods. We'll act as middlemen and hope people take gift cards with bonuses to our stores to replace what they just sold."
Not sure how well that'll work. If I'm selling furniture, it's because I'm downsizing or getting something nicer than the loveseat or dining table from my first apartment. I guess they have some fancier offerings, but I usually associate their brand with the particle board stuff.
Not sure how well that'll work. If I'm selling furniture, it's because I'm downsizing or getting something nicer than the loveseat or dining table from my first apartment. I guess they have some fancier offerings, but I usually associate their brand with the particle board stuff.
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Is anyone else seeing the image caption running vertically up the page from the image along the left side? I'm not seeing it in another ars technica article I have open so it's not site wide, but it's weird. (bog standard chrome, win11 here if it helps)
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Peak Design does this resale model the right way, and I doubt IKEA will even remotely try to do this right.
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Tangentially related: I bought a replacement cover for an old ikea couch I had online for ~$350. Entire couch feels brand new. Much cheaper than dropping 2 grand on another sectional. Highly recommend it to anyone with an aging ikea couch. Therese several vendors who offer this, cutting the fabric to the model you have.
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