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Buying decision

Best Time and Place to Buy Furniture (2026)

Last verified · How we are paid

The short answer

Furniture goes on sale on a schedule, not at random. Labor Day weekend is one of the two deepest windows of the year, and it closes Monday, September 7, 2026.

Where to buy

IKEA and Costco for the lowest prices and the most forgiving returns. Wayfair for selection. Article for mid-range delivered pieces. Our partner brands pay cashback on top: Grand Patio 17%, Tribesigns 10%, Welax 10%, Malouf Home 8%, COLAMY 6%.

When to buy

Now, then January. Labor Day markdowns are live and end Monday, September 7. If you can wait, January clearance ahead of the spring collections is the other deep window. 1 2

Codes

Real codes exist at three of our partners: Grand Patio TENMOMO, Welax TENMOMO15, COLAMY IG10. Tribesigns and Malouf Home have none today, so do not hunt for one. At the big-box stores the markdown is the discount.

Cards

Nothing beats paying with money you already have. If you shop Costco, the Costco Anywhere Visa pays 2% back there, no annual fee on a paid membership. Skip store "no interest if paid in full" plans: an unpaid balance gets back-billed. 16 17

Where to buy it

Retailer Cashback Code Good for Watch out
IKEA 5 — — Lowest prices on new furniture, and the best return terms in the category: 365 days on new and unopened products, 180 days on opened ones, with proof of purchase. Mattresses get a one-time exchange within 90 days, not a refund. Plants, cut fabric, custom countertops and as-is items cannot come back at all. You assemble everything yourself.
Costco 6 — — A small, well-edited furniture selection at member pricing, and no clock on the return. Furniture is not in the 90-day exception list that covers TVs, computers and major appliances. Stock rotates and disappears without warning. Custom-manufactured special orders are excluded from returns. You need a membership to buy at all.
Wayfair 4 — — The widest selection online, and the deepest holiday clearance of the four: up to 70% off rugs, living room furniture and nursery decor in this year's Labor Day event. We could not open Wayfair's own returns page to check its terms, so read them yourself before you order. Discount depth varies item to item behind an "up to" headline.
Article 7 8 — — Mid-range delivered furniture with one coherent look, so a room assembled from it matches. The Labor Day banner reads "UP TO 40% OFF" on hundreds of styles. You get 30 days from delivery, and a return inside the standard service area carries a return shipping fee. On a sofa that fee is not a rounding error. Budget for it.
Grand Patio 9 2 17% ◆ TENMOMO 10% off, Tenmomo members ◆ 10GP 10% off, first order ◆ Outdoor furniture only: umbrellas, sectionals, recliners, dining sets, pergolas. Highest cashback rate on this page. Free shipping to the contiguous US, 30-day returns, one-year warranty. Outdoor stock is at its end-of-season low right now. New outdoor lines land between mid-March and mid-April, so a sold-out piece is gone until spring, not until October.
Welax 10 10% ◆ TENMOMO15 $15 off your order, Tenmomo members ◆ welcome $10 off, all products ◆ Ergonomic office chairs, accent chairs and sofas. A 60-day return and exchange window, which is double the category norm, plus free delivery in the contiguous US. Narrow catalogue. This is seating and sofas, not a place to furnish a whole house. Both codes are flat dollars off, so they matter most on a small order.
Tribesigns 11 12 13 10% ◆ — Desks, bookcases, console tables, dining tables, closet systems and entryway storage. Free delivery across the contiguous US, and the policy states plainly: "We do not charge any restocking fees." Thirty days to return, and a change-of-mind return means you pay the actual return shipping. Their own policy warns that this is substantial on large, heavy, bulky items. No live code right now.
COLAMY 14 6% ◆ IG10 10% off the entire order ◆ AETHER20 20% off the AETHER ergonomic chair only ◆ Office chairs, dining chairs, bar stools and recliners, plus a line of small case goods. Free shipping on every order and a 30-day return window. Lowest cashback rate among our partners at 6%, so the code usually beats the cashback here. AETHER20 covers one chair model, not the catalogue.
Malouf Home 15 8% ◆ — Beds, adjustable bases, headboards and bedding. The Labor Day banner on their site reads "20% Off Mattresses, 10% Off Everything Else". A sleep brand, not a general furniture store, so it only answers the bedroom half of the question. No live code. Their homepage advertises a 100-night sleep trial whose terms we did not verify.

◆ Cashback rates and codes without a footnote come from Tenmomo's own affiliate-network feed, re-read on the date shown under Last verified.

When to buy it

Labor Day weekend, through Monday, September 7, 2026
Open now, and the reason to act this week. Article is up to 40% off, Grand Patio up to 60% off outdoor, Tribesigns up to 60% off. Media roundups put Wayfair clearance up to 70%, Ashley up to 70%, Crate & Barrel up to 60% and West Elm up to 50%. Not one of them printed a calendar date. Tribesigns gives only a countdown clock; Article and Grand Patio give nothing at all. September 7 is our read of the holiday, not their promise. 1 4 7 9 11
January, after the holidays
New indoor styles reach retail floors every spring, so stores mark down the current floor as soon as the holidays end. NerdWallet names the end of winter as one of the two best windows for indoor furniture; Castlery puts living room and bedroom pieces in this slot. 2 3
Presidents Day weekend, February 15, 2027
The other reliably deep holiday event for indoor furniture. NerdWallet singles out Presidents Day and Labor Day together as the two especially good holiday weekends. 2 3
Fourth of July through Labor Day, for outdoor furniture only
Outdoor stock arrives between mid-March and mid-April, and stores want it gone by August. That is why patio prices bottom out in the same weeks indoor prices are only average. 2
Black Friday, November 27, 2026
Thanksgiving falls on November 26 in 2026, so Black Friday is the 27th. Castlery ranks Black Friday and Cyber Monday as the deepest discounts of the year across almost every category, which makes it the fallback if you miss this week. 1 3
Before January 1, 2027, for imported wood furniture and cabinets
A 25% Section 232 tariff already applies to certain imported upholstered wooden furniture, kitchen cabinets and vanities. A scheduled increase, reported as going to 50%, was deferred by a proclamation signed December 31, 2025 and now takes effect January 1, 2027. If you are ordering imported cabinets, the deadline is real. 18 19

The long answer

Furniture pricing runs on a two-season calendar

The industry ships new indoor styles to retail floors in spring and fall. Old inventory has to leave before the new collection lands, which is why the markdowns cluster in January and again in late summer rather than falling evenly through the year. NerdWallet frames it as "the end of winter (January and February) or the end of summer (August and September)". Castlery, a retailer describing its own cycle, lists January to February for living room and bedroom pieces and July to August for sofas. Two sources with opposite incentives, same calendar. 2 3

What this Labor Day is actually worth

Read the headline numbers as a ceiling, not an average. "Up to 70% off" at Wayfair describes the deepest single item in a clearance bin, not the sectional you want. The honest way to use a sale like this: pick the piece first, note its price today, then check whether the sale price is below what it sat at in July. Three of the sales we opened ourselves, on Article, Grand Patio and Tribesigns, were live on September 1, and none of the three printed a calendar end date. Tribesigns runs a countdown clock instead. Article and Grand Patio say nothing about when the sale stops. 4 7 9 11

Return shipping is the cost nobody quotes you

A sofa that costs nothing to return and a sofa that costs a few hundred dollars to return are not the same purchase. Tribesigns states it directly: they charge no restocking fee, but a change-of-mind return means you pay the actual return shipping, and their own policy warns this is substantial on large, heavy, bulky items. Article gives you 30 days and charges a return shipping fee inside its standard service area. IKEA takes unopened goods back for 365 days and opened goods for 180. Costco has no time limit on furniture at all. That gap is worth more than a few points of discount on a piece you are unsure about. 5 6 8 12

The tariff clock on imported wood

Imported upholstered wooden furniture, wooden kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities carry a 25% Section 232 tariff today. The step up was originally set for January 1, 2026; a proclamation signed December 31, 2025 pushed it to January 1, 2027. Reporting on the delay puts the higher rate at 50%. We have not seen the Federal Register text ourselves, and the two trade-compliance sources we did open differ on how much the increase is, so treat the direction as solid and the exact number as unconfirmed. The practical read: if a cabinet or vanity order is coming, earlier is cheaper. 18 19

Best time to buy a couch, specifically

Upholstery follows the same calendar as the rest of indoor furniture, only harder. Castlery puts sofas and living room sets squarely in the July to August clearance that runs ahead of the fall collections, which is the window closing this weekend, and lists January to February as the other one. So the answer to "best time to buy a couch" and "best time to buy furniture" is the same answer, and right now both point at the same seven days. 2 3

Financing a big piece without paying for it twice

Furniture is where deferred interest offers live. The CFPB describes the mechanic plainly: with "no interest if paid in full in 12 months", failing to clear the full promotional balance means interest going back to the purchase date gets added on top of what is left. A true 0% APR offer only starts charging from the day the promotion ends. The two are advertised in nearly identical language and are not the same product. If you shop Costco often, the Costco Anywhere Visa pays 2% back on Costco and Costco.com purchases with no annual fee on a paid membership, which is a plain rebate rather than a financing bet. 16 17

Questions people ask

When is the best time to buy a couch?

July through August, in the clearance that runs ahead of the fall collections, or January after the holidays. Castlery assigns sofas and living room sets to the late-summer window; NerdWallet names the same two ends of the calendar for indoor furniture generally. This week is that window. 2 3

Is there a working furniture coupon code?

At three of our partners, yes: Grand Patio TENMOMO, Welax TENMOMO15, COLAMY IG10. At Tribesigns and Malouf Home there is nothing live today. At the big-box furniture retailers we checked, the markdown is the discount and there was no sitewide code to publish, so hunting for one is wasted time.

Does Labor Day beat Black Friday for furniture?

Not necessarily. Castlery ranks Black Friday and Cyber Monday as the deepest discounts of the year across almost every category, while NerdWallet names the end of summer as one of the two best windows for indoor furniture specifically. If you can wait ten weeks, November is the safer bet. If you need the piece now, this week is the better of the two available options. 2 3

What is the cheapest place to buy furniture online?

IKEA for new goods, on sticker price. But compare landed cost, not sticker: on a delivered piece, shipping in and the return fee if it does not work out can move the ranking. IKEA takes unopened items back for 365 days and opened items for 180, which is the widest safety margin of anyone on this page. 5

Do I have to pay to return furniture?

Usually yes, if you changed your mind. Tribesigns charges you the actual return shipping on a change-of-mind return, though no restocking fee. Article charges a return shipping fee within its standard service area. Costco and IKEA are the exceptions worth knowing about: Costco puts no time limit on furniture, and IKEA gives 365 days unopened. 5 6 8 12

Sources

  1. Federal Reserve — Bank holiday schedule (Labor Day 2026, Thanksgiving 2026) — accessed 2026-09-01
  2. NerdWallet — When Is the Best Time to Buy Furniture? (updated Feb 26, 2026) — accessed 2026-09-01
  3. Castlery — Best Times of the Year to Buy Furniture (published Jan 19, 2026) — accessed 2026-09-01
  4. Good Morning America — Labor Day sales 2026 (published Aug 31, 2026) — accessed 2026-09-01
  5. IKEA US — Returns & claims — accessed 2026-09-01
  6. Costco — Return policy — accessed 2026-09-01
  7. Article — Homepage, Labor Day banner — accessed 2026-09-01
  8. Article — Returns & Exchanges — accessed 2026-09-01
  9. Grand Patio — Homepage, Labor Day banner and service terms — accessed 2026-09-01
  10. Welax — Homepage, returns and delivery terms — accessed 2026-09-01
  11. Tribesigns — Homepage, Labor Day banner and catalogue — accessed 2026-09-01
  12. Tribesigns — Return policy — accessed 2026-09-01
  13. Tribesigns — Shipping policy — accessed 2026-09-01
  14. COLAMY — Homepage, catalogue and service terms — accessed 2026-09-01
  15. Malouf Home — Homepage, Labor Day banner — accessed 2026-09-01
  16. Citi — Costco Anywhere Visa Card, rates and annual fee — accessed 2026-09-01
  17. CFPB — How to understand special promotional financing offers on credit cards — accessed 2026-09-01
  18. Thompson Hine SmarTrade — Section 232 tariff increase on wood furniture and cabinets delayed — accessed 2026-09-01
  19. Mohawk Global — Furniture and cabinet imports: Section 232 tariff increase delayed to 2027 (published Jan 6, 2026) — accessed 2026-09-01

How we are paid

This page is ordered by what saves you money, not by what pays us. IKEA, Costco, Wayfair and Article sit at the top and pay us nothing; we have no commercial relationship with any of them. Grand Patio, Welax, Tribesigns, COLAMY and Malouf Home do pay us a commission when you shop through our store pages, and that commission is where the cashback comes from. If a partner were the wrong answer for you, it would still rank below the retailers that pay us nothing, which is why four of them are above all five of ours.

What we don't cover

  • Other cashback portals. We do not track their rates, so we cannot tell you whether one of them pays more than we do on the same store.
  • The secondhand market. Facebook Marketplace, estate sales and office liquidators are usually the cheapest way to furnish a room, and none of it is in this entry.
  • Wayfair's return terms. We could not open their returns page, so the only Wayfair claim here is its Labor Day clearance depth.
  • Rugs and wall art. Out of scope for this entry even though we have partners in both categories.
  • Sale end times. None of the retailers we checked printed a calendar date. Tribesigns shows a countdown clock, which tells you a deadline exists without telling you which day it is; Article and Grand Patio show nothing. We treat Monday, September 7 as the deadline because that is the holiday, not because anyone said so.
  • Malouf Home's 100-night sleep trial. Advertised on their homepage; we did not read the terms.
  • Card rankings. We have no card-rate database yet, so this page states two publicly documented facts and stops there.
  • Delivery and assembly fees. They vary by ZIP code and by item, and we have no way to quote yours.

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