ANYONE who’s been to Ikea before will know that your receipt can easily add up.
The retailer might be known for its bargain homewares, but Ikea shoppers will be wary that it’s easy to keep grabbing more items as you wander through the store.
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So how can you do an Ikea trip without ending up spending a fortune?
Here are savvy tips for keeping costs down – including some from Ikea shopping expert Jules Yap, who runs the website Ikea Hackers.
Get a Family Card
One of the easiest things you can do is to get Ikea’s loyalty card, which will let you get freebies and extra discounts.
If you don’t already have one, you can either sign up online or in your local store.
Even if you forget to bring it with you, you can download the Ikea Store app and log in to your account to access a digital version of the card.
Here’s what you can get with the card:
- Free coffee or tea in the restaurant: The deal is valid Monday-Friday, but it’s not available for to-go cups. The hot drinks usually cost £1
- Free refills on all drinks
- Cheaper meals: Card holders get a six-piece breakfast for £1.75 (normally £2.50) from 9.30am to 11am Monday to Friday
- Exclusive discounts on certain items: Ikea Family members get an extra 10% off sale items, as well as better prices on selected items not for sale
- Free product insurance: Swipe your Family card at the checkout and you’ll automatically get free product insurance for accidental damage on the way home and during assembly. This applies to items bought in store and excludes Bargain Corner items, cut fabric and custom made goods.
Jules says the card can also earn you points on your purchases which can be converted to discounts on products, delivery charges and meals.
Keep an eye on your emails
Another benefit of signing up to the Family card is that you’ll be emailed offers and vouchers exclusive to your local store.
It’s not clear how often the offers are available but you should keep an eye out for emails from Ikea.
Make sure you scroll all the way to the bottom of any emails to check for codes.
Get Click and Collect instead of delivery
One of Jules’s top tips is to use Ikea’s Click and Collect service instead of paying for delivery.
“If you’re buying smaller items, Click and Collect is free for all orders,” she says.
“If you can’t get to the store, have your items sent to pick-up points near you like Tesco, self-serve lockers, and local convenience stores.
“For this option, it’s free for orders above £100.”
Use the buyback scheme for free gift cards
You might not be aware of this, but Ikea has a buyback scheme that lets you trade in your old furniture from the store for a gift card.
Depending on the item’s condition, you can get up to 50% of its original selling price.
Items which are “as new”, aka with no scratches, can get 50% of the original price.
Those in “very good” condition, so with minor scratches, will get 40%.
Furniture that is “well used” with several scratches can get 30%.
These are all the items that can be returned:
- Bookcases and shelf units
- Cabinets
- Chairs and stools (excluding upholstered or leather chairs and stools)
- Chest of drawers
- Children’s furniture (excluding baby items such as cots and changing tables)
- Dining tables and desks
- Display storage
- Dressers
- Multimedia furniture (for example, TV benches and storage units)
- Office drawer cabinets and other small structures with drawers
- Accessories for Ikea’s PAX wardrobes (for example, clothes rails, shelves)
- Sideboards
- Small tables
To get an idea of how much you could get back, you can use Ikea’s buyback estimator tool.
You can then take the item into your local store within 30 days to be inspected by Ikea staff.
They may alter your quote if they think there are any discrepancies.
You should then be offered a gift card that can be used in-store or online, although it can’t be used in the Bistro, Swedish Food Markets or restaurants.
It’s worth noting that the buyback scheme is not available at the Hammersmith store or at Plan & Order points.
You should also consider whether you might get a better price for your item if you sold it elsewhere, such as on Facebook Marketplace or eBay.
Know when the sales are
Generally Ikea has two sales a year – one in the summer and one in the winter.
The sales start on slightly different dates each year, but you can get a rough idea of when they will begin by looking at previous years.
For example, in 2023 the Ikea summer sale ran from June 5 to July 9.
The year before it was from June 13 to July 10, and the year before that it was June 7 to July 18.
The winter sale is usually in mid December.
You can stay ahead of them by signing up to Ikea’s email newsletter for updates as this will notify you about upcoming sales events.
Jules says you could try to plan your visit around the sales events, although “it can be a bit of a hit and miss as not all items will be discounted”.
She recommends following your local store on social media as they might announce flash sales or special offers there first.
Look out for ex-display or damaged bargains
If you’re particularly observant, you may have noticed Ikea’s Circular Hub in stores.
This is usually found by the tills and it’s where Ikea puts reduced items, such as those that are ex-display, secondhand or damaged in some way.
The damage could be as minor as a ripped box, so it’s worth taking a proper look.
Jules suggests checking this section before doing the rest of your shop, particularly if you have a project in mind already.
You can also buy Re-shop and Re-use products online.
You’ll need to reserve them and you can collect at your local branch.
But you can only reserve up to six items at one time and if you don’t pick up a product within 48 hours you’ll lose it.
Get missing parts replaced for free
If you’re missing a part, you won’t need to replace the whole item.
Spare parts such as screws, cam locks, dowels and more can be picked up for free in Ikea at the returns department.
You can also order them online through Ikea’s spare parts page and arrange for them to be delivered to you for free.
Just go to the self-service part of the Ikea website and click “Order here” under “Spare parts”.
After that, it’ll ask you to type in a spare part number, which will be included in your product’s instruction manual.
If you don’t have the manual, you can find the number on the website by searching for the product and then looking under the product detail section.
You’ll need to click on “Assembly & Documents” down the sidebar and it should be in there.
Avoid walking through the whole store
Ikea’s store is perfectly set out to encourage you to impulse buy more.
But if you go in with a plan and avoid walking through the whole store, it can help you to cut back on impulse purchases.
Most stores have shortcuts where you can bypass certain sections and avoid traipsing through the entire branch.
If you already know what you want to buy, you can check on the website first to find its exact location and aisle number.
You could also enter through the store’s exit so you don’t end up browsing through the showroom first.
Buy on Amazon
Did you know you can find Ikea products on Amazon?
Sometimes this is where you can get the best deals on its products.
Plus, if you have Amazon Prime you can get free postage on your items.
Get your furniture secondhand
You could check sites like Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist for secondhand Ikea furniture.
Often you’ll get items for a fraction of the retail price here.
“Many people sell perfectly good furniture when they move or redecorate,” Jules says.
“The beauty of IKEA furniture is that it’s standardised, so you can often find replacement parts if something is missing, and most pieces are easy to disassemble and transport.”
Check for price adjustments
According to Yahoo Finance, it’s possible to get a price adjustment at Ikea if a product you buy goes on sale within 90 days.
However, you will have had to have swiped your Ikea Family card at the checkout.
Just bring your receipt to your nearest store and you’ll get a refund for the difference.
Look for furniture hacks
You may be able to transform your furniture in creative ways to save money.
One of the most popular sites is Ikeahackers.net, which gives you tips on everything from what to do with your kid’s artwork to how to turn your studio into a one-bedroom flat.
By buying new handles, legs and knobs for your furniture and kitchen at Ikea, you can also create a whole new look by spending very little money.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.
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