Ikea shipping is expensive only when you purchase one piece of furniture at a time. The lowest Ikea shipping rate is $49 for one large purchased item, typically a piece of furniture, which is considered expensive. These basic shipping costs can increase depending on your zip code.
So Ikea shipping can be more expensive than you might believe, especially for small items. There’s a flat shipping rate of $5 for small purchases such as Ikea LED light strips. But even this rate can be higher depending on where you live.
Why is Ikea shipping so expensive?
Expensive Ikea shipping prices mainly have 2 causes. Furniture is expensive to ship and Ikea wants you to shop in their stores.
1. Furniture is expensive to ship
Furniture has never been easy to ship. Ikea increased shipping costs in line with the high demand over the past few years. But large pieces of furniture have never been easy to ship. The starting rate of $49 can increase with a few pieces of furniture. Both the weight and the size of the furniture affect Ikea shopping costs.
2. Shopping in Ikea stores is an experience
One of the main reasons why the delivery costs for Ikea orders are so high is because you need to shop in stores. There are currently 50 Ikea stores in the US and shopping here is often better for the business as most people tend to spend a few hours in the store and actually end up buying more products.
The Ikea shopping experience can decrease shipping costs, however. You can pay no shipping costs if you can arrange to pick it up at a local Ikea store. Those living within the driving range of an Ikea store can order items that aren’t in stock without paying a shipping fee.
How you can make Ikea shopping less expensive
There’s currently no free shipping policy at Ikea. The shipping costs can be calculated differently from country to country, but as an Ikea fan, you aren’t bound to certain prices if you know what to do.
Collect your order in an Ikea store
Ikea’s Click and Collect services allow you to pick up your orders online. If you want to avoid Ikea shipping costs, you need to calculate your personal pick-up cost at your nearest Ikea store. If you pay an average of $2.6 for gas in the US, you might only be saving money if your nearest Ikea store is not further than 20 miles away. At the same time, you need to have a car that can accommodate pieces of furniture.
Consider Amazon shipping for Amazon Ikea shopping
Ikea also sells on Amazon. We know that Amazon has its own policies on shipping, especially with express 2-day Prime shipping. It’s always worth checking if Amazon deliveries are a bit lower than direct Ikea deliveries.
Delay your order until you purchase multiple items at once
The easiest way to avoid Ikea shipping costs is to order multiple pieces of furniture at a time. While shipping costs are going to be higher than $49, these costs are going to be lower when split per piece of furniture. In some situations, you can pay more than double the cost of the purchased Ikea item for shipping alone. This is where bulk orders tend to make sense a bit more.
| Ikea shipping | Cost | Delivered to |
| Small items | $5 minimum | Door – no extra fees |
| Large items | $49 minimum | Any room in the house – no extra fees |
Conclusion
High shipping costs are one of the main reasons buyers change their minds when it comes to placing an online order and this is also the case of Ikea. However, their flat rates are also impacted by the distance the orders need to travel to.