How To Get the Best Bargains On Furniture

1. Never pay retail!

Most furniture brands can be purchased at 50% to 80% off retail at factory outlets. I found factory owned factory outlets for about 99% of all major furniture brands, including Thomasville, Henredon, Hammary, Councill-Craftsmen, Kincaid, La-Z-Boy, Theodore Alexander, Mitchell Gold, Hickory White, Hooker, Bassett, Stanley, Baker, Hickory Chair, Bernhardt, E. J. Victor, and Century.

2. You'll get the best deals (50% to 80% off retail) if you go to the outlets in person

Most of the legitimate factory owned factory outlets for furniture are located in North Carolina and southern Virginia. The average travel cost to fly to North Carolina and stay for the weekend is $450. The savings on just one sofa or armoire can more than cover the expense of traveling to North Carolina. In general, if you're buying more than two pieces of furniture, you'll get the best deal overall if you go to North Carolina personally.

Example: I recently traveled to North Carolina myself to buy furniture. The price my local furniture store charged for the furniture I wanted was $9,750.00. By traveling to North Carolina, I got the very same furniture in new first-quality condition for only $2,200.00. Even after adding in my travel expenses and the freight cost to have the furniture shipped to my home, I still saved about 74% off of the price I would have paid for the same furniture locally.

3. Order by phone!

If traveling to North Carolina isn't practical for you, you can still save 40%-50% off retail on almost any brand of furniture by ordering it over the phone. Although they usually aren't allowed to advertise outside of North Carolina, there are legitimate discounters that will take your order over the phone and ship your furniture at big discounts.

4. Let the outlets arrange return freight for your purchases.

Freight lines normally give businesses a 50% discount off of the prices they charge the general public. Also many outlets do so much business that they have their own fleet of trucks. They will deliver your purchases inside your home and put your furniture exactly where you want, just like local furniture stores do. You would save little or nothing by renting your own truck, not to mention having to move all the furniture yourself.

5. Know what is a reasonable cost for shipping.

A good rule of thumb for freight expenses: the cost to ship your furniture home normally runs approximately 5% of the retail price. For example: an armoire costing $2,000.00 at retail would normally cost about $100.00 to ship to your home from the outlet.

Obviously, 5% of retail is an average cost.  If you live on the extreme West Coast, freight will run a bit more.  If you live near North Carolina, the freight will run a bit less.

6. Don't get taken in by phony outlets.

There is no government authority that inspects stores that claim to be outlets to be sure that they actually are. There are hundreds of retailers all over the US that claim to be factory outlets but in fact offer little or no savings at all. Any store can put the word "outlet" on their sign without having to substantiate to anyone that they are actually factory owned and offer the big discounts they claim. There are no "outlet police" except for me. I am the only person who travels around and inspects furniture factory outlets to be sure they're legitimate.

One tip off to a phony outlet: advertising in magazines. The "outlets" advertised in the backs of national decorating magazines are almost never real factory owned factory outlets. Furniture manufacturers do not advertise their outlets in magazines, or anywhere else outside of North Carolina, to avoid offending the local furniture retailers all over the US who carry their products.

7. Shop at the right time of year.

Many factory outlets hold special sales once or twice a year that have even better discounts. These sales are frequently at the factories themselves and offer discounts of 75%-90% off retail. If you plan to go to North Carolina in person, be sure to plan your trip around these sales if you can.

Example: I attended a special unadvertised sale at the Drexel-Heritage Factory. These sales were held two weekends each year (unfortunately, Drexel-Heritage has since stopped holding these factory sales). I found a beautiful king-sized brass and iron headboard and footboard that normally retailed for $2,200.00. I only paid $149.00 for the set. Even with the cost to ship it home, I still saved about 90% off the price my local furniture retailer charged.

8. Get new first-quality furniture at huge discounts.

About 95% of the furniture stocked in any factory outlet, the vast majority, is new and in first-quality condition. Most of this furniture is either discontinued, overstocked, or has been shown to retail furniture store buyers at a trade show. Furniture store owners look at a piece of furniture and place orders for a week, and then the piece goes to the outlet for about 60%-75% off. That's quite a deal for a new piece of furniture in first-quality condition.

9. Beware of phony discounts offered by local furniture retailers.

Some retailers offer exaggerated discounts in an effort to compete with North Carolina discounting. They may offer 30%, 40%, or even 50% off "retail". Often, these prices are not discounts off the real retail as set by the manufacturer, but are discounts off of a phony inflated "retail" price invented by the retail furniture store.

Example: A local retailer may take a sofa that is supposed to retail for $2,000.00, mark it up to a retail of $3,000.00, and then put it "on sale" for $2,000.00, and call it a "1/3 off sale". In reality, the customer is paying full retail for that sofa.

Misleading the public into believing that they are receiving bigger discounts than they actually are is illegal. Unfortunately, it's also quite common. In 1996, a major national furniture store chain was sued by the attorneys general of seven states and fined over one million dollars for this practice. I've personally observed these phony discounts in retail furniture stores all over the US.