This Store Will Buy Back Your Used Furniture (And 8 Other Ways to Sell Your Stuff)

You might be ready for a design change in your living room, office, or other space in your home. But what are you going to do with your old furniture?

If you need a little cash to pay for your home redesign, there are options to get some money for your furniture. IKEA recently announced a buy back program, which is one great option if you have furniture from the retailer.

Here’s a look at IKEA’s program, plus other ways to sell your stuff.

Swedish-based furniture retailer IKEA recently announced that its Buy Back & Resell program will become a permanent part of its stores in the United States. It’s a push to encourage sustainable living. “By finding your furniture a new home, we are making the things we love last longer,” the company says.

Their website includes a checklist to determine if your IKEA furniture is eligible for the program, and there are things that it excludes like mattresses, sofas, or anything that’s been altered. In exchange, sellers can get in-store credit.

If you’re interested in buying IKEA furniture at a discount, you can check the store for as-is items to give those pieces a second life.

eBay could be a good option to get rid of unique pieces that might interest a large audience. One thing you may want to factor in is shipping costs. The right buyer may not worry too much about shipping fees depending on the item, but you may find more success with smaller items that may not cause as many logistical or financial stumbling blocks.

Pro tip: If you like selling on eBay, one business idea inspiration may be to help others sell their items and charge a small fee to write product descriptions, take photos, and handle shipping items.

You can list your item for sale on Facebook Marketplace. They make it easy to filter by location if you would prefer to limit your sales to a local buyer and avoid the hassle of trying to ship a piece of furniture.

In addition to Marketplace, Facebook has other community groups that may be helpful if you’re looking to sell something specific. Some communities have their own groups to sell items. There may even be parent groups where you can sell or purchase baby items.

Consignment shops could be a good option if you’re trying to keep your sale local and get extra cash for your stuff. They’ll either pay you for your item upfront or offer you a percentage of the final sale price once your furniture is sold. They also may offer photography services to attract online buyers or will pick up and store your furniture so it doesn’t clutter up your house while it’s on sale.

Craigslist may be one of the older marketplaces on this list, but it still is a good place to find buyers. The site, which started in 1995, allows you to easily list items on its website. You can focus on certain metro areas depending on where you live or add photos of your furniture.

While it may not be as flashy as other websites, the simple design can make it a good alternative for you to list items and buyers to find them.

Sometimes it’s the tried-and-true methods that work the best. Collect your items up and pick a good weekend to sell whatever you can from the comfort of your front yard. You might want to be ready with cash on hand for sales or be prepared to take payment with an app like PayPal or Venmo.

Pro tip: One way to make extra money is to get your community together to have a giant yard sale that may attract people from neighboring towns.

Shopify may be a good option if you have a large amount of furniture to sell or are looking for a side hustle. Sign up for the site and then create a business home page using Shopify templates to organize your inventory and sales. Depending on what you want to sell, you may want to do some additional research on shipping costs through your new store front.

Sellers who may be concerned about shipping furniture to another location may want to try OfferUp as a local alternative. The website and app tries to emphasize local connections and sales, which could be a bonus for furniture sellers. After all, getting a couch to a buyer is much different than sending a book or shirt.

OfferUp also has a community forum to help you connect with other buyers and sellers in your area.

If you have some vintage or antique furniture cluttering up your space, Ruby Lane may be a good option to offload some of those items. The online store specializes in vintage items of all kinds, including jewelry, clothing, and furniture.

The platform has some restrictions, so check out what you can sell and how you can sell to see if it’s right for you.

IKEA’s offering is a great one for people who are ready to part with their gently used items. For all other furniture sales, research your options to figure out if there’s a particular niche or local market that may find your furniture appealing.

Selling furniture saves it from a landfill, creating a sustainable life for a piece. You get cash and someone else gets what they need at a discount.