Andrew Heinzman
Moving IKEA furniture from one home to another is a nightmare. But have you ever tried to transport a fully assembled KALLAX shelf unit back to your local IKEA store? That’s what IKEA is asking customers to do as part of its new “Buy Back & Resell” pilot program.
IKEA already runs Buy Back programs in Canada, the UK, and Australia. The premise is pretty simple—bring an eligible IKEA item back to a store and trade it for some store credit. Furniture returned in the Buy Back program must be in good condition, and it must arrive at the IKEA warehouse fully assembled.
For most people, that means renting a truck or van (a $60 or $70 expense) and praying that your old shelf’s particle board won’t spontaneously disintegrate during its journey. There are some situations where this Buy Back program could be useful, though—maybe you’ve already rented a moving van and decide to ditch some old furniture, for example.
The IKEA Buy Back & Resell program runs until September 19th in Conshohocken, PA (perhaps the best-named city on Earth). Hopefully the company finds a way to make this sustainably minded Buy Back program work in more cities, even if it’s a little bit impractical.
