Furniture

When is furniture actually cheapest?

Furniture runs on three holiday weekends rather than a season: Presidents' Day in February, Memorial Day in May and Labor Day in September. Those are the weekends when floor stock is discounted to make room, and they are the only dates on the calendar where a discount is close to guaranteed.

Which months should you avoid?

April and October. New seasonal collections land in those months at full price, and a showroom full of fresh inventory has no reason to negotiate. If you can wait six weeks from either month, you reach a sale weekend instead.

Does the piece change the timing?

Yes, and this is where a category rule stops being enough. A sofa follows a wider window than a dining set: January and February clearance and the August-September changeover both work, because winter and summer clearance overlap with the holiday weekends. Outdoor furniture inverts the calendar entirely, with the deepest markdowns in September and October when retailers clear summer stock.

Is the widest selection at the same time as the lowest price?

Almost never. March and April bring the fullest selection of patio furniture at close to full price; September and October bring the discounts on what is left. The same trade-off applies indoors: buy on a sale weekend and you choose from what the store wants to move, buy on arrival and you pay for choice.

Which guide should you read next?

Start with the best time to buy furniture for the three-weekend calendar in detail. For a specific piece, couches and sofas covers fabric, sectional sizing and custom order lead times, and patio furniture covers the reversed outdoor calendar. Bedroom shopping usually pairs with mattresses, which run on four sale weekends rather than three.