Ikea is taking on eBay to try to become the go-to destination for secondhand furniture online

The Swedish furniture company known for its minimalist designs and in-store meatballs is testing a peer-to-peer marketplace called Ikea Preowned, where consumers can buy and sell their secondhand Ikea furniture and other products, the Financial Times reported. 

To use it, sellers can enter their product name on the website or upload a photo if they can’t remember the name of the item. They can then choose the condition of the product, add photos, and choose a price, while Ikea’s own platform adds measurements and promotional images. 

When a customer buys a product through the website, they pick it up directly from the seller, who can choose to accept money or an Ikea voucher with a bonus of 15%. To compete with other online resellers like eBay, listings on Ikea Preowned will be free for now, and if there is a future fee, it will be “a symbolic fee, a humble fee,” Jesper Brodin, the CEO of Ingka, Ikea’s largest retailer, told the FT.

The move comes as Ikea has grown and enhanced its digital presence over the past few years. In February, the company launched an AI assistant to help shoppers browse its catalog, receive recommendations, and get design inspiration. 

Ikea Preowned could also help the flat-pack furniture company achieve its environmental goals, which include drastic emission reductions by 2030 and reaching net-zero emissions by 2050 without relying on carbon offsets. The company has said it wants to be a “circular business,” which includes using only renewable and recycled materials for its products by 2030.

The company already has a small service in place where it buys and then sells pre-owned furniture in its stores, but it could be well positioned with the new peer-to-peer marketplace, according to Brodin, who estimates Ikea has a higher market share in resale than in new furniture sales.

In the future it could also help as a way to engage customers, Brodin said.

“We’re going to verify the full scope [of the platform] including the economics,” he told the FT. “If a lot of people use the offer to get a discount with Ikea—it’s a good way to reconnect with customers. I am very curious. I think it makes business sense,” he said.

The Ikea Preowned service is going to be tested through the end of the year in Madrid and Oslo, with the goal of eventually rolling out globally.

“This has been a dream in the making for a while,” Brodin said. “We are in a place in Ikea where we can do more advanced and cool stuff.”