Riding the steadily growing wave of the second-hand market worldwide, Ikea is trialling its new second-hand online marketplace “Ikea Preowned”, a platform that allows the buying and selling of used furniture produced by the company. The pilot initiative, for now only active in Madrid and Oslo, was created with the twofold aim of encouraging reuse to reduce Ikea’s environmental impact and discouraging the resale of its items on sites such as eBay, Craiglist and Gumtree, expanding the company's reach on the online market.

The “Preowned” platform offers the possibility for customers to sell used IKEA items directly to each other by placing an advertisement, attaching photos, choosing the selling price and adding all the product features available automatically from the Ikea website. Those interested in buying will then be able to browse “Ikea preowned” as if they were on the company's main website, selecting filters and categories, but without the need to interact with an intermediary or use third-party platforms.

Opening image: Courtesy Ikea