Forget Facebook Marketplace — IKEA's new tool for buying and selling second-hand furniture will launch in the UK 'later this year'

IKEA is bringing its second-hand resale platform to the UK
The 'Second-hand Marketplace' will let IKEA fans buy or sell 'pre-loved' versions of its products from each other
It's already live in seven countries including Sweden and Spain

IKEA has revealed that its second-hand marketplace for buying and selling "pre-loved" products directly with your fellow IKEA fans is coming to the UK soon.

If you're tired of hawking your Kallax shelving unit or Billy bookcase on the likes of Facebook Marketplace, eBay or Gumtree, the official 'Second-hand Marketplace' could be for you. The only downside is that it won't be live for a little while, with IKEA promising a launch "later this year".

IKEA's marketplace is already live in several countries — those are Sweden, Spain, Norway, Belgium, Luxembourg, Portugal and Poland. While the furniture giant hasn't revealed exact details of how it'll work in the UK, in those regions it's currently a free service with no listing or commission fees to pay. However, from January 1, 2027, buyers will need to pay 5% of the purchase price to cover payment and support.

You'll also need to be an IKEA Family member to use the service when it arrives in the UK. This is IKEA's free loyalty scheme, which gives you discounts on food, delivery and some products like your marketplace impulse buys.

Doesn't this already exist?

IKEA does already offer its similar Buy Back service. However, this only lets you return IKEA products to the retailer in return for in-store credit. The new Second-hand Marketplace will differ by letting you buy and sell pre-owned products directly with other IKEA fans.

In other words, this is IKEA's answer to Facebook Marketplace, Vinted and Gumtree, which are already flooded with its affordable products. What exactly will you be able to sell? We've asked IKEA to confirm, but its current FAQ for the service in other regions says you can "list any current or historic IKEA product — except food items, mattresses and kitchen appliances".

Naturally, all items have to be "in good working condition" and be genuine IKEA products, which means fans of the 'IKEA hacks' subreddit won't be able to sell their modified creations. If you do sell something, IKEA says the payment will be released to you 48 hours after the buyer confirms they’ve accepted your item.

We'll have to wait to see if this is exactly how it'll work in the UK, with IKEA promising more details "in the coming months". We've also asked if this will be a web-only service or if it's something that'll be available in IKEA's iOS or Android apps, and will update this story when we hear back.

Mark is TechRadar's Senior news editor. Having worked in tech journalism for a ludicrous 17 years, Mark is now attempting to break the world record for the number of camera bags hoarded by one person. He was previously Cameras Editor at both TechRadar and Trusted Reviews, Acting editor on Stuff.tv, as well as Features editor and Reviews editor on Stuff magazine. As a freelancer, he's contributed to titles including The Sunday Times, FourFourTwo and Arena. And in a former life, he also won The Daily Telegraph's Young Sportswriter of the Year. But that was before he discovered the strange joys of getting up at 4am for a photo shoot in London's Square Mile.