Ah IKEA! The land of flat-pack furniture, huge aisles, product names you can’t pronounce, and scrumptious Swedish meatballs. It’s one of those stores that you look to when you want to buy something that is economical and will add a touch of flair to your home but, going to the IKEA store can be a lot to take in, and that’s mostly because of the store layout.
IKEA makes you walk through a lot of displays before you end up in their warehouse where you pick up your desired products, and while for some, this seems like a great way to spend their Saturday, for some of us, it can quickly become overwhelming. That’s where online shopping comes in and saves you this hassle – IKEA’s website has almost all of their products that you will find in the store, and you can easily have them shipped to your house.
Buying online at IKEA means that you may have to pay extra for shipping, and while some retailers offer free shipping, IKEA is one retailer that does not offer free shipping to its customers.
IKEA Shipping Costs
The fact that IKEA doesn’t offer free shipping all the time or after a certain spending limit shouldn’t put you off from ordering IKEA products online.
IKEA has a flat shipping rate for each of its deliveries depending on the size of the items that you’ll be getting delivered. If the item you have ordered is small, such as a lamp, some kitchen utensil, or a decoration piece, you will pay a shipping fee starting from $5, which may go up depending on your delivery location.
If you’re ordering a large item or items, you will have to pay a fee starting at $49, which may go up depending on how far your delivery location is from their nearest warehouse.
There are reasons why IKEA shipping can be expensive, but with some planning, one can certainly minimize those costs. And at the end of the day, chances are that – even with the price of shipping – IKEA items will still be more affordable than items at other stores.
How Are IKEA Shipping Costs Calculated?
Many retailers across the internet calculate shipping costs in a lot of different ways. Some retailers calculate your shipping cost according to the number of items you order. Some focus on the weight that your package has, and some calculate the shipping costs based on the distance from their warehouses or fulfillment centers to your delivery location.
IKEA calculates shipping costs based on the distance of their nearest warehouse to your delivery location. While some of us may have to pay just $49 to get our couch or bookcase delivered to us, some may have to pay a lot more than that if they are based in a location that is far from the nearest IKEA warehouse.
Let’s say you want to order the TARENDO dining table for your house in Carlisle, PA. Your shipping fee will be around $129, which is a lot more than IKEA advertises, but that is because their nearest warehouse from this location is pretty far and hence costs them more also for it to be delivered there. Whereas if you’re based in Los Angeles, CA, you will only be paying the $49 shipping fee as they have a warehouse pretty close to the location.
Does IKEA Ever Offer Free Shipping?
So you look at the shipping fees that IKEA has, and you realize that you may not want to pay it since it doesn’t seem worth it to you or it takes you over on the budget you’ve set for your furniture piece. You naturally will then start to wonder if there is any way you can get free shipping from IKEA.
Well, the answer to that is – it’s very rare, but you might be able to get free shipping if you’re a member of the IKEA Family. Now, free shipping is something that IKEA just doesn’t do as it won’t fit in with their cost structure of the products it has, but sometimes, and that is very rare, some members may actually be able to get free shipping through joining bonuses or coupon codes that IKEA may offer to them.
You don’t need to despair, though, and there are many websites on the internet where you find promo codes that may help you knock off a few dollars from your shipping fee. When you’re shopping online, you don’t have to limit yourself to the IKEA website for discounts only. Search the internet, and you may end up saving some more money.
Hack: Avoid Shipping Costs
One of arguably the best things about shopping online is the fact that you will almost always find a website that will offer discounts and promo codes to be used on your favorite online shop. There are probably a lot of websites that will give you promo codes for the IKEA online store as well, and while most of them are discounts on different products, some may give you free shipping or even discounted shipping. But one of the best hacks to avoid shipping costs that IKEA has is to shop on Amazon.
This e-commerce giant stocks anything and everything in the world and so naturally also has IKEA products on their website. While they may not have everything that IKEA has in stock, they do have a pretty impressive catalog of their products, and the best part is you can actually get free shipping if you’re an Amazon Prime member. Amazon Prime is the best way to shop for IKEA products online and avoid shipping costs, no matter how many products you actually buy or how far you may live from an IKEA warehouse.
Final Thoughts
IKEA is a magical place for people looking to find great furniture pieces and home décor bits at a budget-friendly price, but if you’re shopping online, you may be hit with a huge shipping fee depending on your delivery address. Though IKEA does not offer free shipping, you can always try your luck with websites on the internet that have promo codes or become a member of the IKEA family and wait for the rare occasion that you’re offered free shipping.
IKEA calculates its shipping costs by the distance between its nearest warehouses to your delivery location. Sometimes, that adds up to be a lot so looking for hacks is a natural turn many of us take. Amazon stocks most IKEA products and also offers free shipping to its prime members. Honestly, it is totally worth becoming a prime member if it means you’re saving the huge shipping fee you may have had to pay had you ordered directly from IKEA.
