Ikea will launch a platform for the sale of used furniture: a new competitor for eBay

Ikea has announced the launch of a new platform that will be a place to sell used furniture and compete with giants such as eBay, Craigslist and Gumtree. A new platform called Ikea Preowned will allow customers to buy and sell used furniture directly from each other. This was reported by the Financial Times.

According to Ingka CEO Jesper Brodin, the platform will initially be tested in Madrid and Oslo until the end of the year, after which it is planned to expand to the global market. Ikea's goal is to create a new, convenient service for those who want to sell or buy used furniture, thereby offering an alternative to existing online platforms.

On Ikea Preowned, users will be able to enter information about the furniture they want to sell, add photos and set a price. Artificial intelligence from Ikea will process this data, adding promotional images and product characteristics to the ads, making the sales process faster and easier.

Buying furniture will also be quite convenient for customers. Buyers will be able to pick up goods directly from sellers. In addition, sellers will have the opportunity to receive money or a voucher for a 15% discount on new purchases in Ikea stores, which further incentivizes the use of the new platform.

Jesper Brodin noted that Ikea aims to offer customers a new level of service in the second-hand furniture market, which is currently dominated by companies such as eBay. At launch, the platform will include both large pieces of furniture, such as sofas and wardrobes, as well as smaller items, such as toilet paper holders.

Posting ads on Ikea Preowned will be free, but a small fee may be introduced in the future. The company expects the platform to help it connect more closely with customers and contribute to environmental initiatives, including a goal to become "circular and climate positive" by 2030.

It is worth noting that Ikea has previously tested the sale of new furniture on third-party platforms, but Ikea Preowned is the company's first major project focused on the sale of used furniture. The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly accelerated Ikea's digital transformation process, and the new platform has become an important part of this strategy.