Shopping for furniture at Ikea feels like a rite of passage. At some point, you’ll either go off to college or move out after taking your first “real” job. When that happens, you’ll likely furnish your new place with cheap, stylish furniture from the Swedish megastore. And there’s a reason for that — Ikea sells furniture that actually looks good for way, way less than most major furniture retailers. In fact, you can probably buy a whole bedroom set at Ikea for the cost of one bed almost anywhere else.
With that said, deals at Ikea are often so good it’s easy to overspend. Especially when you’re browsing the aisles, losing track of time day, eating Swedish meatballs at the restaurant and daydreaming among their displays about how you’re going to decorate your new place.
So, if you’re on a budget and looking for ways to save at Ikea, there are a few things you can do. First, make a real plan before you go. Know what you’re getting, taking shortcuts throughout the store to bypass any temptations. Second, skip the dreamy displays. Look up products online before you get to the store. And finally, shop smarter with these tips for saving even more at Ikea.
1. Join the Ikea Family Club
The Ikea Family Club is free to join and definitely worth it.
How to Sign Up for Ikea Family
You’ll answer a few questions, including your name, phone number, address, birthday, email and preferred Ikea store. Download the Ikea app to access your Ikea Family card any time.
- In-store: Sign up at one of the Ikea Family digital kiosks — usually near the entrance — and you’ll get your membership card right then.
- Online: Sign up online and the membership card is mailed to you — though you’ll receive your Family number at the time of signing up.
Ikea Family Club Benefits
These are just some of the Ikea Family benefits:
- 5% off in-store purchases when you present your IKEA Family card (or give your IKEA Family number at checkout).
- Ikea Family member-only prices for select Ikea products. These discounts change monthly.
- Exclusive Ikea discounts and partnership offers.
- Annual birthday discount (in-store use only).
- Access to free workshops and events.
- Entry into a giveaway to win a $100 gift card every time you visit and scan your card.
2. Get Discounts at the Ikea Restaurant
Another reason to join the Ikea Family Club is you’ll get exclusive discounts at the IKEA Restaurant. These offers change, but most recently the discount was 15% off!
Plus, Ikea Family members get these offers Monday through Thursday:
- Monday: All plant and veggie ball plates are $3.
- Tuesday to Thursday: Meatball plates are $2 off from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. (local time).
- Tuesday: Spend $20 in the Ikea Restaurant and get 20% off in the Swedish Food Market on the same day only.
- Wednesday: Two kids’ entrees are free with the purchase of an adult entree from July 1 to Aug. 31.
- Thursday: Buy one entree and get a second one 50% off of equal or lesser value.
3. Score Free Hot Beverages
If you’re an Ikea Family member, you’ll get a hot beverage (coffee or tea) for free every time you visit an Ikea store — just head to the restaurant and show your card.
4. Use Ikea ‘Buy Back & Resell’
Ikea will buy back your used Ikea furniture to “help pave the way toward sustainable living.” It’s available at participating Ikea locations and is an exclusive benefit to Ikea Family members. Check the merchandise exclusions.
How Ikea Buy Back & Resell Works
- Fill out a form, including the type of merchandise you’re trading in, to get a quote of your buyback value.
- Bring a copy of the quote with the buy-back number and the clean fully assembled item (no missing parts) to a participating Ikea store.
- Someone will inspect your furniture and verify its value.
- You’ll receive a store credit and then your old item gets a second life in the Ikea As-is section. Ikea will also recycle or dispose of the item if it can’t be resold.
5. Use Ikea ‘New Mover’
Sign up for the New Mover Program and receive a one-time $25 discount on your in-store Ikea purchase of $250 or more.
How Ikea New Mover Works
- Register online with the date you’re moving, along with your address and email.
- You’ll receive a discount of $25 off a purchase of $250 or more via email.
- The coupon is only valid for in-store purchases for 60 days from the date it’s issued.
6. Get a Free Consultation at Ikea
When you’re upgrading your kitchen, but need help planning the design, then get a free two-hour in-store sesh with an Ikea kitchen expert. You can also get an appointment online for free using screen sharing for up to two hours with another 30-minute follow-up sesh for minor revisions.
Ikea offers an in-home measuring service, but it’s not free. However, the fee for your measurement is applied as a discount upon the purchase of a professional Ikea Installation.
7. Use Ikea ‘Click & Collect’ for Pick Up
For small online orders, Ikea shipping rates start at $5.99 and go up depending on the weight of your order. Orders with a scheduled delivery start at $49 and orders with an in-home delivery start at $69.
To avoid those costs, use Ikea’s Click & Collect is free when you place an online order of $49 or more. But Ikea began charging a $5 service fee on orders under $49 starting in January. The Click & Collect service is available at all Ikea store locations (excluding the Planning Studios).
How to Avoid Ikea Shipping Costs:
- When you’re finished shopping online, select “Click & Collect” at check out.
- Then choose a participating Ikea store near you.
- You’ll receive the first of two emails confirming your order.
- When your order is ready, you’ll receive a second email with the date and time for pickup.
- Ikea temporarily modified its Click & Collect process. Now, you must pick up your order within 24 hours of the pickup date or it’ll be canceled, and you’ll receive a refund less the $5 service fee.
Does Ikea Have Free Shipping?
Ikea doesn’t offer free shipping. To avoid shipping costs, use Ikea’s Click & Collect to pick up your order for free if it’s over $49.
8. Know the Ikea Return Policy
Ikea has a pretty generous return policy. You can return new and unopened Ikea products for up to 365 days for a full refund with your receipt. For items that are open, you have up to 180 days to receive a full refund with your receipt. Either way, hold on to your receipt. Mattress purchases can be exchanged for another mattress within 90 days of purchase — but just one time.
Ikea offers removal and pickup services at customers’ homes in select markets. If it’s available in your area, put the product on your covered porch, garage or doorstep. Call Ikea’s Customer Support Center to learn more.
9. Get Free Ikea Replacement Parts
Ikea will deliver small spare parts to you for free within seven to 10 business days when you use the self-service tool. For bigger spare furniture parts, check your local Ikea store.
10. Shop the Ikea Marketplace
What is the Ikea Marketplace? It’s an area in-store and online featuring affordable home accessories, cooking essentials, bedding, lighting, pet furniture and more. Plus, you can shop for products under $20. And Ikea makes shopping the smorgasbord of merchandise easier, organizing it by style, color and the latest design trends.
11. Shop Ikea ‘As-is’ Furniture
Every Ikea store has an “As-is” section where you’ll find discounted, pre-assembled products, as well as home decor items, including throw blankets and baskets.
These are usually items that were previously on display, slightly damaged or returned by other shoppers. Ikea discounts the prices by at least 10% — sometimes more. Don’t forget that all sales are final for anything you buy from the As-Is section.
One thing to remember is the “As-is” section varies day-to-day and store-to-store. There’s no guarantee that you’ll find what you’re looking for, or that it will still be there tomorrow. Shopping tip: Rumor has it the best day to shop “As-is” is on Monday when people have returned their purchases over the weekend.
12. Shop Ikea ‘Last Chance’
Ikea’s “Last Chance” merchandise is literally your last chance to “shop now or forever hold your peace.”
As the retailer makes room for new products, the old stuff has to go. So, when Ikea discontinues a product, you’ll see a yellow tag — both in-store and online — letting you know they’re selling off their remaining stock. This means you’ll usually score items for 15% to 50% off, including décor, indoor and outdoor furniture and storage options, to name a few.
13. Shop Ikea ‘Lowest Price’ Products
Ikea lowers the prices of popular merchandise when the retailer can save on production costs. This isn’t technically a sale, but it is a great way to save on items for every room in your home with a price drop. You can check these price drops online (or the items are marked with a red tag in-store).
14. Get an Ikea Price Adjustment
Ikea has one of the more liberal price adjustment policies. You have up to 90 days to request a refund of the difference if an item you’ve purchased goes on sale. Just bring in your receipt, and IKEA will refund the difference. The only caveat is you must have purchased it using your free Ikea Family membership to qualify.
This is a great technique if you’re doing a kitchen renovation project. If you ordered a couple grand worth of kitchen countertops, for example, and then see IKEA start running a countertops sale, that’s a huge potential refund, if you take advantage of price protection.
15. Use Ikea Coupons + Promo Codes
Ikea occasionally (but rarely) offers coupons. Monitor their website, sign up for their newsletter or check out Ikea at RetailMeNot for current deals.
16. Wait for a Countertop Sale to Order Materials
If you’re embarking on a kitchen project and ordering materials from IKEA, ask if there are any upcoming sales. Sometimes, waiting just a few weeks to order countertops can save you 15% when a deal comes around. For example, here’s a sale we saw this past year:
Remember: You can take advantage of IKEA’s price protection to get a refund of the difference if the materials drop in price within 90 days of the purchase date. So knowing in June that a countertop sale is approaching in, say, November might be a good enough reason to wait until August to buy your countertops so that you are within the window for the price protection.
17. Get Ikea Credit Card Promos
Ikea offers two types of credit cards:
Ikea Visa Credit Card
Earn cash back on everyday purchases toward Ikea rewards, including:
- $25 off your first Ikea purchase of $25 or more when you open and use the card.
- 5% back in rewards for Ikea purchases.
- 3% back in rewards on dining, grocery services and utility purchases.
- 1% back in rewards for all other purchases.
- $25 Ikea reward dollars when you make at least $500 in qualifying purchases outside Ikea within 90 days of opening your account.
- No annual fee.
Ikea Projekt Credit Card
Pay for a single Ikea purchase over time with:
- Six months with 0% interest (minimum purchase of $500 or more).
- 12 months with 0% interest (minimum purchase of $1,500 or more).
- 24 months with 0% interest (minimum purchase of $5,000 or more).
- No annual fee.
The Best Times To Shop at Ikea
Like other major retailers, Ikea has periodic sale events throughout the year. If you’re an Ikea Family rewards member, they’ll email you notices of upcoming sales.
Ikea Presidents Day Sale
Presidents Day is Feb. 20, 2023, so expect sales from Ikea and a slew of other retailers to pop up the week before. Ikea’s Presidents’ Day sale includes deals on kitchen appliances, Swedish-inspired food, and Task Rabbit assembly, along with Ikea’s Spend & Get promo.
Ikea Memorial Day Sale
Ikea’s Memorial Day Sale is its kickoff to summer. Deals include limited-time savings on affordable and stylish outdoor furniture for any size space. Memorial Day is on May 29, 2023.
Ikea Midsommar Event
The Ikea Midsommer Celebration features tons of already-affordable furniture, organization solutions and stylish décor for every room inside and outside your home. Make sure to join the Ikea Family Club so that you don’t miss out.
Ikea Labor Day Sale
Ikea usually puts certain items on sale ahead of the holiday, including 15% to 20% off things like outdoor patio furniture.
Ikea Black Friday Sale
Yep, Ikea offers Black Friday discounts starting the day after Thanksgiving. This year, Black Friday is Nov. 24.
Ikea Annual Winter Sale
Usually, at the end of the year between December and January, Ikea’s Annual Winter Sale offers discounts of up to 50% off select items.
The post How To Save at Ikea Every Time You Shop appeared first on The Real Deal by RetailMeNot.
