New Year & Winter Sales
Retailers tend to clear out stock of unwanted furniture to make way for new products. Additionally, winter sales are often held in January, so prices on popular items will be lower than usual.
January and July
Since retailers start selling next season's new furniture styles in stores and online in February and August, you'll find the best deals before then. This biannual cycle means you have two guaranteed times to shop at lower prices.
There's arguably no better time to make that big-ticket furniture purchase for your home than on Black Friday, when a bunch of retailers slash prices on hundreds of items like sofas, armchairs, coffee tables, even mattresses.
Mid-Range ($1,500 to $3,000).
You can find high-quality, mid-range sofas with polyester, velvet, and even leather upholstery for anywhere between $1,500 to $3,000. Even with this material upgrade, mid-range sofas are often larger than budget variants, encompassing pieces like 3-4 seat sectionals and sleeper sofas.
Don't Be Afraid to Haggle
While you probably won't have much luck negotiating furniture prices at chains, independently owned shops are usually more open-minded.
That means you'll want to shop toward the end of winter (January and February) or the end of summer (August and September). Retailers will be discounting their old stock during these months to make room for the new styles. Presidents Day and Labor Day weekends are especially good times for sales.
The end-of-season sales
So August to September and December to January are the months when many furniture retailers will be freeing up space for their new stock and a chance for you to swoop in and finally complete your bedroom with that rattan bed from West Elm.
Average cost of sofas
A small budget loveseat costs as little as $300, while a larger sectional sofa could run up to $2,000. Classic leather couches, customized to your liking, could cost $3,000, while luxurious pieces made with expensive fabrics, hardwood frames, and intricate details may cost up to $10,000.
Sofas & Loveseats Prices
According to home experts, the average cost of a couch falls between $400–$1,500, but the price depends on a few factors. For instance, what kind of upholstery a sofa is made of.
The quality of Wayfair's furniture depends on the piece you get. Since the furniture comes from a wide range of brands, their quality varies across the board. And since Wayfair has so many products — including sofas, beds, rugs, lighting, decor, and more — it really comes down to what you buy.
Unfortunately, for the life expectancy of a sofa, your beloved sofa won't come with a specific expiration date that informs you of when you are due an upgrade. However, the average life expectancy of a sofa of around 7-15 years, if it's good quality and has a structurally sound sofa frame when you purchase it.
1. How often should you replace a sofa? The common consensus is that an average sofa will remain in prime condition for around seven years, after which a drop-off will begin. A top-quality sofa might even see you through 15 years of family life, but even that will succumb to sagging eventually.
Like Black Friday, the day after Christmas is one of the best sales days of the year, especially for big-ticket items like furniture and appliances, as well as decor. Some retailers are even offering up to 70% off. But long lines and post-holiday stress can make this the least desirable day of the year to shop.
One rule of thumb you can use to set a furniture budget is figuring your baseline monthly spending needs and multiplying that figure by three. For example, if your regular budget after buying the home will total $4,000 a month, you'd multiply by three to get $12,000.
Unless you're looking for an item that urgently needs replacing, don't waste your time searching for Black Friday deals on furniture. The discounts aren't nearly as good as other sale periods throughout the year.
Take your living room; the furniture should take up two thirds of the area, leaving enough floor space for easy traffic flow like in the photo below. The painting you hang behind the couch, table or above the fireplace should be approximately two-thirds the width.
In August 2022, Bloomberg revealed that the amount of unsold furniture in inventory is 2.06 months, up from 1.43 months in the fall of 2020, setting a record for the furniture industry. And yet prices have remained stubbornly high. Forecasters expected that since inventories are too big, prices should have declined.
Bottom Line on Labor Day Furniture Sales
Labor Day weekend truly is one of the best times to shop for furniture. The deals are some of the best you will find throughout the year. As with any time you shop, always look ahead at the dealer's online site and find the furniture pieces you are most interested in.
How much is furniture marked up? The markup on furniture is the difference between the retail price of a product and its wholesale cost. Typically, the average markup of furniture ranges from 20% to 50% based on the furniture's wholesale cost.
Invest in a couch that you can use for years to come.
You may be hesitant to drop a ton of money on a sofa, but this is one place you shouldn't skimp, according to Sonja Rasula, a former interior designer on HGTV's "Home to Go" and TLC's "Trading Spaces" who founded Unique Markets in Los Angeles, California.
Compared to a hexagonal side table or even a pair of accent chairs, the couch is not only the centrepiece of a living room, it's also the wear-and-tear workhorse. That's why most design experts will tell you it's one item to splurge on.