Our Desk | No more expensive second-hand furniture, go to Ikea.cn

Julie Zhu

Are you shocked by how much money furniture owners ask for their unwanted items? Are you tired of the uniform furniture that real estate agencies put in your rental apartment? Is your budget not enough to afford buying new furniture in Macau or to order items from Hong Kong? Are you not satisfied with the styles of furniture available on Taobao? Well, maybe mainland Ikea might be a good choice for you.
First of all, shopping in the mainland Ikea is similar to shopping on Taobao; perhaps even better because the mainland Ikea website is available in both English and simplified Chinese. Thus, you don’t have to worry anymore about messing around when asked to properly input your address, phone number and name.
I will introduce you to mainland Ikea from these different perspectives: price, options and promotion.
Who may be interested in mainland Ikea? Certainly not everyone. Mainland Ikea prices are nearly always cheaper than those offered in Macau or Hong Kong. Very few items are more expensive in mainland Ikea when compared to the Hong Kong Ikea.
One of the most popular products, the Ektorp three-seater sofa in Harllarp beige, costs 3,690 Hong Kong dollars according to the Ikea Hong Kong website. But it costs only 2,547 Hong Kong dollars on the mainland Ikea website. Price differences between the SARs’ Ikea and the mainland Ikea can be even bigger for other items. So far, I have not found any item more expensive in the mainland.
The second thing related to the price is shipping. From my experience, mainland Ikea charges, at most, 169 Chinese yuan per order, regardless of the number of the items. That being said, my personal Ikea shopping experience consists of paying 169 Chinese yuan either for buying just one towel or 30 large pieces of furniture, such as sofas and wardrobes.
You can certainly use the same address that you use for your Taobao orders, but do consult your service supplier first to make sure they accept large items such as beds or wardrobes. The Ikea items come in pieces, as per tradition, and you can always check the size of each package and provide the information to your package receiver.
Another money-related issue will be how to transport the items from your receiver to your house.
This money issue is now solved.
The second reason to order from mainland Ikea lies in the options you have. I will use the example of the Ektorp three-seater sofa. Mainland Ikea offers a total of 18 different colors in the Ektorp three-seater sofa series, compared to three color choices available in HK’s store. Not only do the same items have more options on the mainland Ikea website, but you can also shop for all types of furniture online, including unit kitchens, which are not available on Hong Kong Ikea’s online shopping platform.
The final Ikea mainland advantage is the promotions. Similar to Hong Kong Ikea, mainland Ikea offers non-stop promotions, which are often really tempting, depending on what you are looking for. Actually, if you are interested, take a look at the website; August promotions are happening.