Shipping your IKEA order to the US: how it works
It happens to expats and enthusiasts all the time: the IKEA item you're after exists in Europe, but not in the United States. The Dutch web shop only delivers to Dutch addresses, and IKEA doesn't do forwarding. Yet there is a route that simply works: you order here, we collect and ship onwards.
In this article you'll read what that route looks like, step by step — and what you need to know about the American import rules, which changed considerably in 2025.
Why IKEA doesn't ship to the US itself
IKEA operates per country: every national organisation has its own web shop, its own stock and its own — partly different — range. Product lines that are common in Europe were sometimes never released in the US, or have already been discontinued there. And the Dutch web shop delivers to Dutch addresses only; entering a US delivery address simply isn't possible.
So the route runs through an intermediary: a Dutch delivery address that receives your order and forwards it internationally. That is exactly what we do with our click & collect and reshipper services — including packing for a crossing that's rougher than the trip from the distribution centre to your street.
How it works, in four steps
Step 1 — you order from IKEA Netherlands yourself, just as you're used to, and have the order delivered to us; you receive the exact delivery address when your booking is confirmed. Prefer us to visit the store, or unsure about stock or model? Then our personal shopper makes the purchase for you.
Step 2 — we receive and check everything. Every parcel is logged on arrival, inspected for damage and documented with photos. Ordering several items, or from several shops? We hold everything until the last box is in; the first fourteen days of storage are free.
Step 3 — we pack for the ocean. IKEA boxes are made for the drive home, not for an intercontinental journey with several handovers. Where needed we reinforce or repack, and we bundle multiple parcels into one shipment — which saves considerably on shipping costs.
Step 4 — we ship with customs paperwork and track & trace. You receive the shipment details as soon as the parcel is on its way, and can follow it to the front door in the US.
Customs and import duties: the rules right now
Until the summer of 2025 the US had a generous exemption: shipments up to 800 dollars remained exempt from import duties. That so-called de minimis exemption was suspended for all countries on 29 August 2025. Since then, every shipment to the US can attract import duties, regardless of value — including a single cushion or a box of tableware.
How much depends on the product category and the US tariffs in force at that moment; import duties are charged to you as the recipient by default. On the customs paperwork we always declare the true purchase value. Declaring a lower value or marking it 'gift' is customs fraud, with the risk of seizure and fines — we won't take part in that, not even on request.
So budget for two items: our collection and shipping costs up front, and the American import duties on arrival. No surprise afterwards, but a known cost you can weigh in advance when deciding whether the price difference is worth it.
Furniture is heavy — and that's fine
A wardrobe ships differently from a box of glasses. For large or heavy IKEA shipments we look at the best form case by case: as a parcel in size class L, or as freight when that works out better. For unusual dimensions you get a quote instead of a standard price — so you never pay the rate of the wrong category.
For common sizes the calculator gives a from-price straight away, based on weight, size and destination. Fill in what you know; we weigh and measure everything again on arrival anyway.