Free Stuff Finder

How to Save Money at Ikea

Free coffee, free childcare, and crazy cheap prices… what’s not to love about Ikea? Check out these awesome Ikea hacks that will make your trip even better.

1. Sign up for Ikea Family

Your first step to scoring great deals and freebies at Ikea is to sign up for Ikea Family. It’s their loyalty program that gets you access to all kinds of great stuff AND it’s free! You’ll also get $20 off your in-store purchase of $150+ when you first sign up! Here’s the full list of benefits:

• Delivery Savings. Door to door and more on select delivery options. See details here.
• Free hot drink. Every time you visit. They like to treat their members like family. So, next time you swing by, make yourself at home and enjoy a free hot drink in their restaurant.
• Price Protection. So you don’t miss out on offers. When you scan your IKEA Family card at checkout, you activate the 90-Day price protection benefit. If a product you buy using your card goes on sale within 90 days of your purchase, simply bring in your receipt and they’ll refund the difference. 90-Day Price Protection is only available for product purchases. Service purchases are excluded from this benefit.
• Playtime for the kids. More time for you. Everyone has a right to play. That’s why member’s little ones get an extra 30 minutes in Småland, Ikea’s supervised child play area. This way you can shop worry free knowing everyone is having a great time.
• A surprise for your Birthday! Valid during your birthday month.
• Learn with IKEA Family. Free workshops and events. Are you a dreamer or a doer? Well, now you can be both! With Ikea’s tutorials, workshops and events, they share home furnishing knowledge, tips and skills to make your life at home better.
• Access to deals and specials through IKEA Family partnerships.
• Buy Back & Resell Service. Find your furniture a new home.

2. Get a birthday freebie

One perk of being an IKEA Family member is a yearly birthday coupon and treat! Coupons are emailed the week before your birthday month starts, valid for that month only. While you’re at it, make sure to check out the full list of birthday freebies here.

3. Get free childcare

Don’t want to lug your kids through the enormous Ikea store? You can get FREE childcare for 1.5 hours if you’re an Ikea Family member (1 hour for everyone else). Just drop the kiddos off at Smaland and enjoy!

4. Enjoy a free hot drink

Ikea Family members also get a free cup of coffee or tea with every visit. Just pour yourself a cup and flash your Ikea Family card to the cashier to get yours for free.

5. Shop the As-Is section on Monday mornings

The As-Is section is filled with things that were display models or items people returned. Shop it to get rock-bottom prices on all kinds of things. For example, a close friend of mine found a perfect stainless steel range hood for his kitchen remodel for 70% off the shelf price. It looks great and the price was even greater! Make sure you shop Monday mornings because that’s when the section is refreshed, so you’ll have the most selection. You can also check out their online As-Is section here!

6. Ikea Restaurant Deals

Check out Ikea Restaurant Deals to get some of the best prices possible. Currently, through September 30th, IKEA Swedish Restaurants offer meal deals from Monday through Thursday and Saturday. Check out the details here!

7. Enter through the exit

Ikea stores are intentionally laid out into a maze-like pattern that is supposed to force shoppers into seeing everything they have for sale and, thus, make more impulse purchases. Save yourself time and money by researching exactly what you want online before you go, then enter through the exit and grab only those items. You’ll save a TON of time from walking, and also save money by not grabbing those impulse buys.

8. Get missing parts shipped free

Missing any parts of an item you purchased? Don’t fight the crowd at Ikea again; have them shipped free to your home. Check out all of the details here.

9. Bring your own bag

Ikea doesn’t supply shopping bags for free. Make sure you bring your own bags or you’re going to have to buy one of theirs.

10. Get connected for sales alerts

Sign up for Ikea Family to get sales information sent straight to your phone. They’re also pretty active on social media so make sure you head to Facebook and “like” Ikea’s page. While you’re there, you can also “like” Free Stuff Finder.

11. Shop the Weekly Specials

Each Ikea location has different Weekly Specials. Check with your local store to see what is a “Weekly Special” at yours. These are typically items available for a decent discount, so it’s worth checking up on regularly.

12. Check out the yellow tags

Yellow tag items = last chance items. They’re clearing these out to make way for new stock. Typically, last chance items will also be discounted, so keep your eye out for those money-saving yellow tags!

13. Avoid the delivery fees

If you know you’re purchasing larger items, plan ahead and see if a friend with a truck will accompany you because Ikea’s delivery charges can be pricey. Ikea Fammily members do have discounted delivery fees, but they’re still steep. They start at $59 and go up from there. I don’t know about you, but I’m always game for saving at least $59. 😉

14. Buy discounted gift cards

This last tip on the Ikea hacks list is actually one that you don’t do at Ikea at all! Shop for discounted Ikea gift cards on Raise and use those gift cards to pay when you shop. It’s an easy way to save on top of sales and other deals. Plus, new users get a free $5 credit off their first purchase. Sign up for Raise now.