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Why Are Some IKEA Items Not Available for Delivery

IKEA offers the convenient option of delivering your affordable items right to your doorstep. This is really convenient when you have purchased a large bookcase (albeit a dissembled one) and your only means of transport is a Kia Picanto.

However, you must be aware that not everything you purchase from IKEA can be delivered. The vast majority of the time, the issue arises when you make an online purchase.


Only online orders have delivery issues. These are filled at warehouses, not the store. Warehouses have different stocks. They can be too far away. If stocks are low, preceding orders may finish the stock. IKEA are slow to update the website and the recent increase in online shopping makes it worse.

No Problem With Delivery When Purchased In-store

We’ve all been to IKEA to purchase a small side table and ended up purchasing a wing-backed armchair that is absolutely gorgeous and absolutely won’t fit in your car. It’s not just me, right?

Even if it’s not an impulse purchase, large items purchased in-store often need to be delivered—not everyone owns a large vehicle or a trailer. Some people don’t have their own transport at all. In these cases, delivery is the only option.

The good news here is that you will almost certainly be able to organize the delivery while you are there in the store.

Motion of people paying product at self check out counter inside Ikea store

You will simply need to find an IKEA employee and ask them to assist you with the process.

You will pay for your purchase like normal at the check-out counter, pay for delivery at the Home Delivery desk, and then you will be able to set a suitable date for the item or items to be delivered to the required address.

It is easy as that!

Delivery Is Less Reliable With Online Orders

As I mentioned at the beginning, issues with some items not being eligible for delivery arises when you make your purchases online. There are various reasons for this.

Online Orders Are Filled at a Warehouse

Many people think that when they order online, they are ordering from the “online branch” of their local or nearest IKEA.

However, online orders are filled from IKEA warehouses. These have different stock lists and amounts to the physical stores.

This means that if you saw an item at a particular IKEA branch, there is no guarantee that it is also stocked in the IKEA warehouse, and it is not available for delivery because it is simply not there.

ikea boxes are filled warehouse

Stock is not shared between warehouses and stores, so don’t waste your time trying to ask them to do this.

In such cases, go back to the IKEA where you saw the particular item, and arrange delivery from there.

Warehouse With Stock May Be Too Far Away

Another possible reason why your order may be unavailable for delivery is that your address is too far away from the warehouse.

It might be stocked in another warehouse but typically, if your home address is out of the nearest IKEA’s usual radius, they won’t try and deliver it from an alternative warehouse.

The time it will take to get there, as well as the fuel costs involved, won’t be covered by the low delivery fee charged.

It just won’t be worth it for IKEA, so they will not give you the option to have it delivered.

IKEA Can Struggle to Keep the Website Updated

The previous two reasons are valid. However, sometimes the lack of delivery option on certain items is merely the consequence of poor website maintenance.

A common customer complaint against IKEA is that their online stock availability is frequently inaccurate.

When items are sold, either in-store or from the warehouses, it can take a while for the system to update the stock count and confirm whether an item is available or not

Unsatisfied Guy Complaining About Problems With Laptop By Phone Indoor

In-store, this is not usually an issue as you make your purchase based on what you see in the store as opposed to what is included in their stock lists.

Online, however, these lists are your only indication of what is available, so when they are inaccurate, it causes a lot of confusion and frustration.

The item you want can appear to be in stock, but when you try to place the order, you get a notification that it cannot be delivered because it is actually out of stock.

If you are after an item in particular, you can call your local IKEA, ask about the availability of the item in-store, and just go buy it from there.

Yes, you still have to leave the house to go buy it, but you at least know that you can get it. You can even arrange delivery if you want to in order to avoid the hassle of transporting large and/or awkward boxes.

No Delivery if Stocks Are Low

When ordering online, you may be unable to get an item delivered if the stock of that particular piece is low.

IKEA will prevent you from ordering a particular item if only a few items are available as the item may be sold out before your order can be filled.

At first glance, this doesn’t make any sense but there is actually logic behind the practice.

Processing online orders takes time. If the item you are interested in has already been ordered by others, the website can show it as available when in actuality, the previous orders just haven’t yet reached the stage where the item is removed from the stock list and the website updated.

Instead of IKEA having to go through the process of canceling your order and issuing you a refund in these situations, they will simply say that the item is not available for delivery.

It might be very frustrating, but if you are really set on the piece then maybe contact a few of your local IKEA’s and see if they have that item in-store, as that will be a different stock list than the online warehouse. You can then take a trip there to place your order.

Recent Spike in Delivery Issues

The growing trend of online shopping boomed exponentially when the pandemic hit. More and more people were forced to stay at home and work from home.

Not only did most of the “normal” IKEA shopping shift online but people also had to start purchasing home office furniture—kitchen counters and dining room tables are ergonomic nightmares when it comes to working an eight-hour desk job.

Additionally, people were also motivated to renovate their homes as they literally had little else to do.

All of these factors resulted in skyrocketing online order numbers.

This increase in online ordering meant that the IKEA warehouse stocks were quickly being depleted. Their online systems were not being updated as quickly as individuals were placing orders, so a lot of people were trying to buy goods that ended up being unavailable for delivery.

Something like this can be considered a transient problem as things have calmed down in terms of the pandemic.

But, as I said, online ordering was already on the rise, so hopefully the powers that be at IKEA are working on a way to mitigate this problem.

Best Solution: Go In-Store and Order

While frustrating and defeating the point of having access to online ordering, the best solution to the issue of unpredictable delivery is to go into the IKEA store of your choice and place your order physically.

This way, you will always be guaranteed to be able to purchase and deliver the items that are stocked in the store, and unlike with the online system, you will be able to get real-time feedback relating to the stock available in the store.

How to Arrange a Delivery From IKEA

When you are purchasing an item in-store, you can arrange to get the item delivered right to your house, plus you can even choose same-day delivery (an option exclusive to in-store purchases).

You will simply purchase your desired items at the check-out counters, and then when you are ready, you must find your way to the Home Delivery desk and pay for your items to be delivered to your home address.

You will pay a fee depending on how far your house is from the IKEA store, and how big your parcel is as certain items can’t fit into the smaller delivery vehicles.

You can then go about your day with peace of mind that your delivery will come soon, often the very next day.

IKEA also offers you the opportunity to track your parcel, so you will know exactly when to expect the arrival of your package using just your order number.

If loading and unloading the item into the car is your concern, then you should know that IKEA employees are happy to assist in loading up your vehicle if the items will fit. You’ll need to arrange for family or friends to help with the off-load, but at least half your problem is solved and without any additional fees.

Sources

https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/customer-service/faq/top-questions-pub539c3e51

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