Ikea Wants to Buy Back Old Ikea Furniture

Forget hawking your Ikea bookcase on Facebook Marketplace. As of November you'll be able to sell it back to Ikea—so long as you live in one of 27 countries. Spoiler: The US isn't on the list. "By making sustainable living more simple and accessible, Ikea hopes that the initiative will help its customers take a stand against excessive consumption this Black Friday and in the years to come," says the company, which references Black Friday for a reason. The "Buy Back" initiative kicks off in late November and extends to countries like Australia, Canada, Japan, and Russia. Customers won't get cash in return for their dressers and bookcases (furniture with upholstery largely doesn't qualify, reports the BBC) but rather a voucher that can be put toward an Ikea purchase.

Items should be returned assembled, and those "as new" will get 50% of the original price in voucher form. Lightly scratched items will get 40%, and more heavily scratched ones 30%. Ikea will in turn refurbish and resell what it can in its stores' "As-Is" section and recycle or donate what it cannot sell. As for why Americans are being left out, the New York Times got this from an Ikea rep: "It is a country decision, and Ikea Retail US will not participate in the buyback program. The US is currently exploring ways to bring Buy Back to the country in the future.” (More Ikea stories.)