Lost a Screw to Your BILLY Bookcase? Here's How to Order IKEA Replacement Parts—For Free

Realizing you’re missing a screw, a washer, or some other pivotal piece of hardware can put a serious damper on the IKEA furniture assembly party you’re throwing in your living room (even if you’re the only attendee). But while you will probably have to reschedule the party, you won’t have to make time for a road trip to the nearest IKEA store. 

Instead, you can order replacement parts through the IKEA website—completely free of charge. If you have a hard copy of the assembly instructions right in front of you, locate the missing part inside it and enter its ID number on the spare parts webpage. Select how many you need, add them to your cart, and complete the transaction by entering your address. Your spares will be shipped to you within days.

But maybe you purchased your BILLY bookcase secondhand from a third party and the original owner didn’t happen to send the assembly instructions along with it—don’t worry. Head to the IKEA homepage and search for the product you’re assembling. (If you don’t know its name, you can also upload a photo of the item in the search bar.) Once you’ve found the product page, scroll down to “Product details” and choose “Assembly & documents.” There, you should be able to open a PDF version of the instructions. The rest of the process is the same: Find the spare part ID number, enter it here, and finish out your order. 

It’s a handy perk, but if replacing a lost part seems like a good way to justify an otherwise unnecessary IKEA visit, don’t let us stop you: Those Swedish meatballs are calling your name.