In general, many furniture purchases are stimulated by some form of life experience.

Buying or selling a home, weddings, job promotions, births, deaths, holidays, moving, and college are just a few of these events. The key to saving money and maximizing your furniture dollars will rest in the ability to plan and anticipate these purchases. The purpose of this page is to help you understand when to buy when the purchase can be planned and those times when you must react in a quicker fashion. The furniture industry is laced with a multitude of retailers with a variety of selling strategies. The advertising is intense and the promotions can be overwhelming. Do certain product categories offer better values at different times of the year? What about those heavily advertised holiday sales? When are the best clearance periods of the year. Do tent sales offer value? Is the end of the month the time to buy? Please read on.

LIVING ROOM FURNITURE is generally a staple of most furniture stores. Sofas and loveseats are usually promoted on a consistent basis with no relative regard to the time of the year. However, look for your best values in sleeper sofas in the fall when you are preparing for those guests. Read "How to Buy Fabric and Leather Living Room Furniture".

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RECLINERS AND CHAIRS

will see significant activity in May and June. The advent of Mothers day and Fathers day will bring a flurry of advertising. These products in general serve as tools to generate traffic into furniture stores. Legitimate values will abound for the savvy shopper. Read "How to Buy Recliners
   

DINING FURNITURE becomes extremely visible and highly promoted around the late October and early November. The much anticipated holiday season will bring sales and promotions on dining rooms and dinettes. Most retailers will begin to build inventory early in the spring. Look for advertising which promotes complete sets and free extras such as arm chairs, servers, and china cabinets. Read "How to Buy Dining Room/Kitchen Furniture".

BEDROOM FURNITURE is generally one of the last categories people add to their home. The more visible areas of the home usually get priority attention. This same quality carries through with the furniture stores. If you are dealing with a specialty bedroom store then you can expect strong values and promotions around holidays. Read "How to Buy Bedroom Furniture".

OFFICE FURNITURE will make a very obvious and prevalent debut around tax time and back to school. However, with the continuing growth of home based business and the strong growth of the internet, it is not uncommon for retailers to use this category to bring traffic in to the stores. Office furniture takes a great deal of wear and use so be careful of those to good to be true advertised specials. Read "How to Buy Office Furniture".

MATTRESSES AND BOX SPRINGS become highly promoted from late May to the early fall. Most retailers gain significant support from the mattress manufacturers in the form of advertising and special offers. This product category is a quick turn item with low inventory costs. A keen eye coupled with good research of brand names will provide great opportunity to secure a good buy. Read "How to Buy Mattresses and Box Springs".

WHAT ABOUT THOSE HEAVILY ADVERTISED HOLIDAY SALES?
 
Most retailers have steadily altered their promotion and advertising schedule to fit the needs of the consumer. Holidays now represent the shrinking time that people have to get out and shop. The competition between retailers of all types is intense. Holiday periods are some of the best times to shop. Memorial Day, Labor Day, July 4th, and New Years Day are usually the best. Are the best values out there at Thanksgiving and Christmas? In most cases these are not the very best. These periods are times when the retailer has the public as a captive audience and the consumer is pre-disposed to spending.

 

WHAT ARE THE BEST CLEARANCE TIMES OF THE YEAR?
  
JANUARY and JULY are the best clearance times of the year to buy furniture. These time periods are extensions of the furniture industry in general. The primary Furniture Market Trade Shows are held in High Point, North Carolina in April and October. Similar to the automobile business when new models come out and clearance events begin. Though not as structured and refined as the car industry, the furniture stores want to clear out the old and look to bring in the new and supposedly fresher items. This provides some great clearance opportunities for you the consumer.  

DO TENT SALES OFFER GOOD VALUES?
  
There is no question that a tent sale can offer some tremendous values on slightly damaged and odd pieces. The retailer uses the tent sale as the optimum opportunity to move those items which have accumulated in the warehouse. In most cases you can negotiate the price in a tent sale environment. The longer an item sits in the tent the greater your chance of getting a bargain. Be advised that in most cases you will be asked to buy the item with no warranty and no service. Merchandise in the store may or may not represent a good value and must always be evaluated for features and construction qualities.

 

Furniture Store Owners see this sample listing.