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For years, if you wanted to get rid of an old bookcase, phone, pair of trainers or games console, your choices were fairly predictable. You could stick it on eBay, brave the messages on Facebook Marketplace, take it to a charity shop or, if it really had reached the end of its useful life, find a way to recycle it.
But something interesting is happening on the British high street. The shops that sold us all this stuff in the first place increasingly want it back.
IKEA has now launched its own second-hand marketplace in the UK, allowing customers to buy and sell pre-owned IKEA furniture and homewares directly to one another. Meanwhile, Argos is building a much broader online marketplace of its own and already operates a trade-in scheme which can pay customers for unwanted technology.
They are far from alone. John Lewis, Currys, Apple, Decathlon, Schuh and CeX are among the familiar names offering ways to trade in, recycle, reuse or buy pre-owned goods.
And that raises two important questions for MoneyMagpie readers: could the growing second-hand high street help you make money from things you already own, and could buying somebody else’s unwanted stuff save you a significant amount too?
Before you throw it away…
An unwanted phone, table, games console, bike or pair of shoes may still have a value. Before putting anything in the bin or taking it to the tip, check whether you can sell it, trade it in, donate it or recycle it.
We have plenty more ideas in our make money guides, including ways to turn things you already own into extra cash.
IKEA has launched a second-hand marketplace in the UK
This is perhaps the most interesting development because IKEA isn’t simply taking old furniture back and reselling it itself.
Its new UK second-hand marketplace allows IKEA Family members to sell genuine pre-owned IKEA products directly to other customers.
Creating a listing should also be considerably easier than starting completely from scratch on a conventional marketplace. IKEA can identify eligible products and provide information including recommended pricing, product photographs, measurements, descriptions, assembly instructions and care information.
That could be particularly useful if you’ve ever tried to remember the name of an IKEA bookcase you bought eight years ago.
There are restrictions. The marketplace is for genuine IKEA products and excludes certain categories including appliances, mattresses and food. Products must also be safe and usable.
Sellers can set their own price, although IKEA provides a suggested figure, and the maximum listing price is £1,995. Buyers pay through the marketplace, with the money held by a payment provider during the transaction.
Perhaps most importantly for anyone decluttering, this isn’t simply a voucher-for-your-old-furniture scheme. It means you are selling your IKEA item to another customer.
Check IKEA’s latest second-hand and Buyback information.
Could you save money buying second-hand IKEA?
Potentially. Furniture is one of the areas where buying used can produce substantial savings, particularly if you can collect it yourself. However, always compare the second-hand asking price with IKEA’s current new price before assuming you’ve found a bargain.
Remember to include transport costs too. Saving £40 on a wardrobe doesn’t look quite as impressive if you then spend £35 hiring a van to collect it.
You could already sell furniture back to IKEA
The new marketplace sits alongside IKEA’s existing Buyback & Resell scheme, and it’s worth understanding the difference.
With Buyback, IKEA itself assesses eligible used IKEA furniture and gives you a refund card rather than you having to wait for another person to buy it.
Eligible products can include bookcases, shelving, cabinets, dining tables, desks, chairs, stools, chests of drawers, some children’s products, mirrors, shoe storage, plant pots and certain lighting, although you should always check the latest eligibility before making a journey.
Items generally need to be complete, clean, properly assembled, unmodified and in a condition suitable for resale.
The obvious downside is that you’re receiving IKEA credit rather than unrestricted cash, so somebody who simply wants to clear their house and put money into their bank account may prefer the customer-to-customer marketplace.
On the other hand, if you were planning to replace that old IKEA desk with another IKEA desk anyway, Buyback could be considerably less hassle than photographing it, listing it and arranging for somebody to collect it.
MoneyMagpie tip: don’t confuse convenience with getting the best price
Retailer trade-in schemes can be wonderfully easy, but convenience can come at a price. Before accepting an offer, spend five minutes checking what similar items are selling for elsewhere.
If you’re having a proper clear-out, take a look at our latest ways to make money before giving valuable belongings away.
What about the new Argos marketplace?
There is an important distinction here.
Argos has announced that it is developing an online marketplace, but this is not currently a second-hand marketplace for ordinary customers to list unwanted possessions.
Instead, selected third-party marketplace sellers will be able to offer products through the Argos website and app, increasing the range available to shoppers.
So, if you’re wondering whether you’ll be able to put your old toaster on Argos in the same way you might put it on eBay, that’s not what has been announced.
What is interesting is that Argos already operates a separate Trade-In service for technology.
Yes, you can sell old technology to Argos
Argos Trade-In accepts a range of unwanted technology, including mobile phones, tablets, smartwatches, games consoles, headphones and Mac computers.
You get a quote, send the device using the service provided and, following inspection, can receive payment depending on the options currently available through the service.
That makes Argos worth checking before automatically putting an old phone on an online marketplace.
It doesn’t necessarily mean Argos will offer the highest possible price. Whenever you sell an old phone, laptop or games console, compare the trade-in quotation against what similar devices are actually selling for elsewhere.
A trade-in service is partly selling you convenience. You may receive less than you could achieve by finding a private buyer yourself, but you don’t have to create listings, answer messages, negotiate with strangers or worry about somebody failing to turn up.
Check the latest Argos Trade-In information.
Old tech could be worth more than you think
Don’t assume an old phone, tablet, console or laptop is worthless. Get several trade-in quotations and compare them with realistic private-sale prices first.
You can find more ideas for generating extra cash in the MoneyMagpie Make Money section.
Currys will also take old tech
Currys operates technology trade-in and recycling services covering old devices and electrical products.
The retailer’s recycling schemes are particularly useful when an electrical item has reached the point where it no longer has a meaningful resale value.
An ageing phone sitting untouched in a kitchen drawer isn’t earning you anything and its components aren’t being reused either.
Before trading anything in, however, compare the valuation. The easiest option isn’t automatically the most profitable one.
See the latest Currys trade-in information.
John Lewis has buyback and recycling schemes too
John Lewis has also operated schemes designed to keep products in circulation for longer, including technology trade-in and fashion initiatives.
As with all retailer schemes, availability, eligible products and rewards can change, so check the latest terms rather than assuming something you bought several years ago will automatically qualify.
Check John Lewis’s current technology trade-in options.
Decathlon could buy your old sports equipment
There is another cupboard worth investigating before a clear-out: the one containing all those abandoned sporting ambitions.
Decathlon operates a Buy Back service covering a range of sports equipment, allowing customers to obtain an estimate for eligible items before taking them into a participating store.
This could be particularly useful for expensive equipment that children have grown out of, bikes that are no longer used or sporting equipment bought enthusiastically in January which hasn’t seen daylight since February.
See what Decathlon currently accepts through Buy Back.
Apple will give you credit for old devices
Apple Trade In allows customers to exchange eligible devices for credit towards another purchase or an Apple Gift Card.
Devices with no trade-in value may still be eligible for recycling.
Again, don’t assume a manufacturer’s trade-in valuation is automatically the best price available. Check it against other trade-in companies and realistic second-hand selling prices.
But for somebody already intending to buy another Apple device, it can provide a relatively simple way of reducing the cost.
Check your device with Apple Trade In.
CeX remains one of the simplest places to sell unwanted tech
CeX has effectively been doing the circular economy on the high street since long before the phrase became fashionable.
It buys a broad range of products including phones, computers, digital electronics, games, consoles and Blu-rays before selling second-hand products back to customers.
For anyone doing a serious declutter, it is worth checking the value of old games and technology before assuming they’re worthless.
Check CeX buying and selling prices.
Schuh could give you money off for old shoes
Your old shoes could have some value too, although not necessarily as cash.
Schuh operates its Sell Your Soles recycling initiative, allowing customers to take unwanted footwear into participating stores in return for a reward towards another purchase, subject to the latest terms.
It’s a useful example of why we need to stop thinking about unwanted possessions as simply either “sellable” or “rubbish”. There is an increasingly large middle ground.
Check Schuh’s latest recycling information.
Where can I sell my old stuff?
IKEA: Eligible IKEA furniture and homeware – customer-to-customer resale or Buyback credit.
Argos: Selected technology – trade-in options.
Currys: Technology and electricals – trade-in or recycling depending on the product.
John Lewis: Selected technology and other eligible products – trade-in, reuse or recycling depending on the scheme.
Decathlon: Selected sports equipment – Buy Back.
Apple: Eligible technology – credit, Gift Card or recycling.
CeX: Phones, games, consoles, computers and electronics – sell or exchange.
Schuh: Old footwear – recycling reward subject to current terms.
Retailer schemes and eligibility change regularly, so always check the retailer’s current terms before travelling to a store or posting an item.
Why retailers suddenly want our old stuff
Retailers aren’t becoming interested in your old bookcase, trainers and iPhone purely out of generosity. There is clearly money in resale.
But there is also an important environmental argument.
Every product that can safely remain in use for longer potentially delays the point at which another product needs to replace it, while reuse can prevent perfectly serviceable possessions entering the waste stream unnecessarily.
Recycling is important, but reuse should often come before recycling.
If somebody else can use your desk for another five years, there is little sense in breaking it down into materials today simply because you no longer want it.
The same principle applies to electronics. A working phone may be worth refurbishing and reselling; a broken device might provide usable components; and something genuinely at the end of its life can finally be recycled so useful materials can potentially be recovered.
Sell it, donate it or recycle it?
1. Sell it: Could somebody else use it and pay you for it?
2. Trade it in: Does a retailer offer cash, credit or a voucher?
3. Donate it: Could a charity shop or reuse organisation make use of it?
4. Recycle it: If it genuinely can’t be reused, find the correct recycling route.
For more ways to squeeze value from things you already own, visit our Make Money hub.
Can buying second-hand actually save you money?
Potentially, yes – but the word “second-hand” isn’t an automatic guarantee of a bargain.
The arrival of retailer-backed resale has some advantages. Product identification can be easier, condition grading may be clearer in some schemes and refurbished products sold commercially can sometimes come with protections that you wouldn’t necessarily get from a casual private sale.
But always compare the second-hand price with the current new price.
This becomes particularly important during sales. A second-hand item advertised at £80 because it originally cost £150 isn’t much of a bargain if the same product is currently available new for £90.
For furniture, factor in collection or delivery costs. With technology, check battery health, age, software support and warranty or returns arrangements rather than looking only at the headline price.
If rising household costs are prompting a wider rethink of your spending, our Save Money guides contain more ideas for cutting everyday costs without simply going without.
Should I trade something in or sell it myself?
This is where a little MoneyMagpie maths comes in.
Before handing anything over, get three figures if you can:
1. The retailer’s trade-in or buyback offer.
2. The realistic price you could get selling it yourself.
3. The price of the replacement item you actually intend to buy.
Don’t compare your trade-in quote with wildly optimistic marketplace listings that have been sitting unsold for six months. Look at what similar items genuinely appear to be selling for.
Then put a value on your own time.
If selling privately might earn you another £15 but requires photographs, a listing, six messages, two ridiculous offers and an afternoon waiting for somebody who may or may not appear at your front door, the instant trade-in starts looking more attractive.
If the difference is £150, doing the work yourself may suddenly feel worthwhile.
Before throwing something away, ask one question
“Is this actually worth something?”
A phone could be traded in. Furniture could be sold to another IKEA customer. A bike might qualify for a buyback scheme. Shoes could earn a recycling reward. Games and old technology could potentially be sold.
Only when an item can’t realistically be reused should recycling become the main option.
Second-hand shopping could become a normal part of the high street
The circular economy can sound like an enormous environmental concept, but for households it can be much simpler.
Before buying new, check whether somebody else has already bought the thing you need and no longer wants it.
And before throwing something away, check whether somebody is prepared to pay you for it.
You could end up with less clutter, more money in your pocket and fewer perfectly usable possessions going to waste.
Frequently asked questions
Can I sell my old IKEA furniture back to IKEA?
There are now two routes worth checking. IKEA’s second-hand marketplace allows eligible IKEA Family members to sell qualifying IKEA products to other customers, while its Buyback service can offer IKEA credit for eligible furniture.
Can I sell second-hand items on Argos?
Argos’s announced marketplace is not a customer-to-customer second-hand marketplace. However, Argos does operate a separate technology trade-in service for selected devices.
Which high street shops buy old items?
Depending on the product, retailers and businesses including IKEA, Argos, Currys, Decathlon, Apple and CeX have trade-in, buyback or resale options. Other retailers offer recycling rewards rather than cash.
Is it cheaper to buy second-hand?
It can be considerably cheaper, but always compare the used price with the current new price and include delivery, collection and potential repair costs. For electronics, check the age, condition, battery health, software support and warranty too.
Should I sell or recycle unwanted items?
If an item is safe and usable, selling, trading in or donating it can keep the product in use for longer. If it has reached the end of its useful life, check the correct recycling route rather than putting electrical products or other recyclable materials into general waste.
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Original source: https://www.moneymagpie.com/make-money/shops-buy-old-stuff-second-hand-marketplaces
