Malaysians love to decorate their homes using furniture from the Swedish brand Ikea. The simple but modern and often practical designs allow people to create Pinterest ready designs on a budget.
But though there are hundreds of thousands of Ikea lovers all over Malaysia, there are only 3 branches of Ikea in Malaysia – one in Cheras, another one in Damansara and the final one in Terbau, Johor.
This makes it hard for people who don’t live near an Ikea to buy Ikea.
The good news is, there are many ways you can get Ikea furniture into your homes without living near one. Yay!
So, how do you buy furniture from Ikea if you don’t live near one?
Let’s take a look at your options:
1. Buy from Ikea’s Official Store
As of the 29th June 2018, Ikea Malaysia’s online store is officially live!
So no matter where you live, you can have Ikea furniture delivered to you.
All you have to do is go to Ikea Malaysia’s official website and look for the furniture you want to buy:
Depending on where you live, Ikea provides a few different shipping options:
For those living in West Malaysia, you have the option of parcel delivery starting at RM40 or truck delivery starting at RM98.
But if you live in East Malaysia, shipping can get slightly pricey, beginning at RM100 for parcel delivery and RM675 for truck delivery and RM575 for Click & Collect. Parcel delivery is available for small furniture items whereas you will need to go for either truck delivery or Click & Collect for larger furniture.
You can even get Ikea to help you assemble your furniture for you. Of course, this will come at a fee as well. The assembly fee will be 10% of your product cost.
To know more about how to shop using Ikea’s official Malaysia site, here’s a step-by-step guide by World of Buzz.
2. Buy from Shopee or Lazada
The other place you can get your Ikea furniture is on online marketplaces like Shopee or Lazada.
All you have to do is type ‘Ikea’ into the search bar and you will see all the Ikea products you can buy:
These products are not listed by Ikea but people who probably live near an Ikea and see the opportunity of making a small profit by marking up on products they can buy for people who don’t live near one.
Although the prices are marked up from the normal prices in Ikea’s stores, they are worth buying especially when the item is small and not worth paying the RM40 or RM100 minimum shipping fee on. The shipping fee for small Ikea items on Lazada or Shopee will likely be a more reasonable RM5 – RM20.
Click here to start shopping for Ikea’s products on Lazada and here for the Ikea products on Shopee.
3. Get an Ikea Personal Shopper to Help You Buy
Since there is only three Ikea stores in Malaysia, personal shoppers specialised specifically in buying from Ikea have popped up.
Like the people who list their products on Lazada and Shopee, personal shoppers are usually made up of people who live near an Ikea and see the opportunity to make a small profit by marking up the prices of the Ikea they help people to buy.
It’s pretty easy to find them. All you need to do is look for ‘Ikea Shopper Malaysia’ on Google, Facebook or Instagram.
All you have to do is contact them, let them know what you want to buy and they will give you a quote on the items you want to buy.
The only downside for me when using personal shoppers is that they often don’t display their prices upfront. So you have to go through the tedious process of getting them to check and quote for you whereas on Ikea’s official site, Shopee and Lazada, the prices are clear.
Verdict: Where Should You Buy?
Personally, I prefer buying from either the Ikea official store or from online marketplaces like Shopee and Lazada.
My main reason is that I like to know the prices upfront without needing to go through the hassle of having someone look through my requests and making a quotation for me. As I mentioned earlier, personal shoppers normally do not display their prices until you ask them.
I dislike the feeling of having gone through the entire process only to find out that they are selling the furniture piece at an unreasonable markup. If you are like me and want to see the price right away without waiting for a quote, Ikea’s Malaysia official store and Shopee and Lazada will be your best choice.
You can just compare the total prices (product price + shipping) to see which one offers the cheaper option.
Ikea’s official page has one advantage over marketplace vendors, however, in that they offer services to help you assemble your furniture.
On the other hand, if you are have very specific requirements on the products or packaging you require, a personal Ikea shopper may be a better choice for you.
Conclusion
It has become very easy to shop for Ikea online in Malaysia even when you don’t live near an Ikea store.
You can buy your Ikea in Malaysia using the Ikea Malaysia official store, through online marketplaces like Shopee or Lazada or even use the service of a personal Ikea shopper.
Regardless of which option you prefer, it is clear that you won’t need to go without your Ikea furniture if you live in Malaysia!
