IKEA Out of Stock Questions Answered – Here’s When They Restock
It’s no secret that IKEA is feeling the crunch from the global supply shortage and it’s gonna last for a while. So you may notice that your local IKEA is out of stock on some pieces of furniture or even home décor items. This begs the questions when does IKEA restock their inventory and can you shop on specific days of the week to get “first dibs” on items before they’re out of stock yet again.
When it comes to understanding when IKEA restocks, the short answer is “it depends”.
The long answer is a little more complicated and depends on the size and popularity of the item.
Let’s break it all down and make some sense of IKEA’s supply issues.
IKEA Restocks Large Items Every 5-7 Days
When it comes to large furniture items like desks, bookshelves, couches, beds, etc., IKEA restocks these items about once a week.
But the problem recently is that they can’t replenish stock if they don’t physically have it.
And due to supply holdups and lack of truck drivers some popular IKEA items take weeks to restock.
This is especially true for home office desks, chairs, and furniture as the demand has soared in the past year as more people are working from home.
Also, while many aren’t currently working form home, they are setting up a home office just in case they need to in the future.
PRO TIP: IN-STOCK NOTIFICATION HACKS
The tip here is to add high-demand products to your shopping list and mark them as favorites.
Many customers have reported receiving updates about restocks for favorited items faster than others.
Also, some notifications for favorites will highlight nearby stores that receive stock first.
If your local IKEA doesn’t have it yet, the system often suggests another location where the item is already available. Win-win.
See Also: 6 IKEA Shopping Hacks That’ll Save You BIG Money
Small Stuff Gets Restocked Every 1-2 Days
Smaller items like lamps, storage products, kitchen stuff, and home décor are restocked every day or two, or when bins are empty.
But obviously restocking can only happen if IKEA has stock available, which is often a problem on more popular items.
The same can be said for “smart home” electronics sold at IKEA.
New stock of electronics arrives at the IKEA warehouse every couple days and is stocked as inventory levels grow low.
It’s been my experience that electronics at IKEA are not seeing the same shortages as the more popular bookshelves, desks, and furniture.
PRO TIP: THE IKEA APP IS BETTER THAN THEIR WEBSITE
The IKEA app provides much quicker updates on item availability compared to their website.
So download the app and enable push notifications so you know when stuff is back-in-stock.
Follow these 5 steps within the app to make it happen:
1. Go to Settings – Profile.
2. Turn on notifications for restock alerts or favorites.
3. Search for the product you want, and select it to see the stock status for your preferred store.
4. If it’s out of stock, you’ll see an option like “Notify Me When Available” or “Check Back Soon”
5. Tap the heart icon to add it to your Favorites and get notified when it’s back in stock.
Shop the As-Is Section on Mondays
Most IKEA stores stock the As-Is section as items are returned to the warehouse.
According to Apartment Therapy, always shop the As-Is section on Mondays as you’ll get first dibs on weekend returns which is when most people return items.
If you’re not familiar, the As-Is section is stuffed with clearance deals on things that people have returned.
Some items may be damaged, half-built, or have a scratch, but they are ALWAYS a great deal and a great way to save money.
See Also: IKEA Return Policy: We Answer All Your Questions
How To Check If Something is In-Stock
IKEA has a cool little feature on their website called Product Stock Availability that lets you look on the product page to see if your local IKEA stocks a particular product.
You’ll quickly learn if the item is either available, out-of-stock, or low in-stock.
If the IKEA product is out of stock, you can create a SMS text alert or email alert and get notified immediately when it’s back in stock which is really handy.
See the screenshot above to see what this feature looks like.
3 Things To Do If Item is Out of Stock at IKEA:
1. Check Online – Often times the IKEA website will stock smaller items more frequently then your local warehouse. You stand a good chance of buying it online and having it sent directly to your house.
2. Check a Different IKEA – If you live in a large metroplex, often times a nearby IKEA will have vastly different stock. They just might have the item in-stock that you’re looking for.
3. Get a Text Message or Email When Item is Back In-Stock – Easily sign up for this feature on the particular IKEA product page of the item that’s out-of-stock.
Ask the Reader: Have you noticed a lot stuff being out of stock at IKEA? What’s your best tactic to finding the IKEA products you’re looking to buy?
By Kyle James
Photo credit to: Karl Baron
I started Rather-Be-Shopping.com in 2000 and have become a consumer expert and advocate writing about out-of-the-box ways to save at stores like Amazon, Walmart, Target and Costco to name a few. I’ve been featured on FOX News, Good Morning America, and the NY Times talking about my savings tips. (Learn more)
Thank you! I have been looking for a glass door to the Billy bookcase and there are NONE in any store anywhere. How do you figure out if an item is going to be discontinued? It seems like this might be.
The best way is to call IKEA directly and ask. They can do a quick search in their system and tell you if the item is discontinued.
Sadly, a lot of this doesn’t hold true for IKEA lately. In particular, they sell these sweet new enhet bathroom sinks, but the plumbing needed to complete the sinks is a separate product. And that plumbing part has been out of stock every store in western Canada for MONTHS. There’s lots in eastern Canada, and it’s a pretty small part, so I’m really not sure what’s up. The date when it’s expected to be back stock just keeps changing by a week or so.
So unaware of this situation, and being a long time IKEA fan, I was excited to find this amazing little sink when I was renovating the only bathroom in our new house. After weeks of waiting for the sink to be back in stock, along with their sektion kitchen cabinets, I finally had to pull the plug when we found black mold and rip out the existing cabinet and sink.
8 weeks later and I STILL I can’t get the plumbing part, although they have lots of sinks. I also live 6 hours away from an IKEA and it’s not available for delivery. Even though I was ordering a complete new kitchen as well as the bathroom. It’s also not available for click and collect. So I signed up to be notified. FINALLY I got a text and luckily was closer to an IKEA than normal. Drove an hour and a half only to be told it was a system error. There was no part in stock.
At this point I just cried. Actually. At the warehouse desk. We have been without a bathroom sink for over 2 months because of this issue, and no end in sight. In tears, I asked if there was really no way they could order one in from eastern Canada? The warehouse guy took pity on me and said I could try pleading my case with the Kitchen department. They are the only people in IKEA who can order something in from another store. So I pleaded and the staff there begrudgingly agreed to do it, but told me she didn’t mind helping nice customers like me. Even then, once it came in, I would only have 4 days to pick it up. That may seem like a lot, but when you live 6 hours away in Canada and it’s winter…. that’s still a serious challenge.
Luckily, when I got the email a few days later that it was in, I found someone who lived nearby to go in, and miraculously, the order was there and they were able to pick it up. It’s still 6 hours away from me, and I’m not paying $75 to ship a $15 part, so we will still not have a sink for a couple more weeks. But at least I have it.
This is MADNESS when Amazon can put almost anything on anyone’s doorstep in days. I love IKEA but WOW. They need to figure this out. The ‘global supply issues’ have been solved by almost every industry. The limitations IKEA puts in what’s available for home delivery (even parts of my kitchen order could not be delivered), as well as many items not available for click and collect, is crazy. Couple that with the massive price increases over the last two years and I’m seriously wondering if I should be such a hard core IKEA fan.
Um no there is not a major truck driver shortage anymore. During covid yes but since about end of Q3 capacity has gotten much much better. I am a logistics broker. I can get you a truck any day you want. Usually it’s places being cheap thinning rates should be prepandemic when fuel was $2.50 a gallon