The best time to buy garden furniture depends on what you’re after and how much you’re willing to spend.
The time of year can have a huge effect on the price of garden furniture. Credit: Shutterstock
Garden furniture is available online and in some stores all year round, but for the best deals, you’ll need to shop at specific times. With a bit of planning, you can get the most value for every pound you spend. Here’s a timely guide for when to buy garden furniture:
For the best selection: shop in early spring
Just like the flowers, the retailer’s stock blossoms in the Spring; Credit: Shutterstock
If you want a lot of options, start shopping in gardening pre-season during early spring. Another advantage of shopping for garden furniture in spring is stock availability. Most items will be ready to ship, so you don’t have to wait too long for them to arrive.
Early spring is the time when most garden furniture retailers—online or offline—renew their stock for the new season. So, it’s likely you’ll find the pieces you’re after in stock unless we’re talking about some crazy best buy.
On the other hand, prices during this time are average at best. Many people want to buy garden furniture they can use during the rest of spring and summer, and sellers know this. You can still find discounts and great deals, but to be safe from disappointment, it’s better not to expect them.
For lower prices: buy in early to mid-autumn
Selection will be limited but you could find furniture at half the price; credit: Shutterstock
If you’re after best deals, you may find them off-season, from late August to late October. This is the time when most furniture supplies are trying to sell their remaining inventory before preparing for the winter sales or closing shop.
What is old stock for them, can be high-range garden furniture at half or less the normal price for you. This is often a good time to upgrade old furniture without breaking the bank.
On the other hand, the selection available at this point is going to be slim. So, be prepared to do some digging to find what you’re after. Shopping for garden furniture in autumn can be rewarding, but it’s good to start early and be quick. Know what you want and get it before another discount shopper snatches it from you. Call and reserve it if you have to.
For great deals: purchase in mid-winter
Look online for great deals in mid-winter; credit: Shutterstock
It can be difficult to find garden furniture in gardening centres or brick-and-mortar stores during the winter. But this can be an inspired time to shop for outdoor furniture online. Some online stores will try to take advantage of the low competition at this time of year and feature garden furniture before their competitors do in the early spring pre-season. Other stores may simply try to offload leftover stock from last year.
You can often buy garden furniture online for less than what physical stores offer. And in mid-winter, you can find some of the absolute best deals, though the selection is admittedly small.
If you have your sights on some new outdoor furniture and like to shop online, don’t wait for spring. Start looking for deals in mid-winter and you may be rewarded for your efforts with a great deal. The downside to shopping for outdoor furniture in mid-winter is that you’ll likely have to store it somewhere before spring. Make sure your garage is ready for the task. Alternatively, you could buy protective covers.
For eco-friendly furniture: browse around Earth Day
Earth Day might score you good deals on eco-friendly garden furniture; credit: Shutterstock
So far, we’ve looked at seasonal trends but specific dates can encourage garden furniture sellers to provide special deals. Earth Day, which is celebrated on April 22, is a good example.
This date marks the birth of the modern environmental movement, which has its roots back in the 1970s. Retailers around the world feature deals on eco-friendly products, garden furniture included. So, if you’re after a rattan set or some FSC-certified hard-wearing outdoor furniture, be on the lookout for special offers around this date.
For rare deals: shop on Black Friday or at Christmas
You might get lucky with crazy deals on leftover stock; credit: Shutterstock
Black Friday or Christmas aren’t the usual dates to go shopping for garden furniture. You probably don’t want to wait for them to come round to start comparing your options.
That said, large stores that have leftover furniture from the last season can feature some crazy discounts on these dates. These may not always apply to traditional garden tables and chair sets, but if you’re looking for less mainstream garden furniture, you may get lucky.
Don’t expect to find much on the main sales page or catalogue. Leftover garden furniture stock will most likely be buried under all the tech and home product deals. Do a bit of deep digging on their websites to see what pops up.
What about summer?
Summer is not the best time to shop for garden furniture. High demand drives prices and some stores won’t have renewed their spring stock, so all they may be left with is what they didn’t manage to sell so far. But since it’s summer and garden time, they won’t think about lowering prices just yet.
Think twice about shopping for outdoor furniture after mid to late May. If you have to, maybe start your search online where you can often find better deals.
The bottom line
Early spring, early autumn, and mid-winter tend to be the best times to buy garden furniture. This is true whether you shop online or in local stores and gardening centres. Special days like Earth Day may also bring special offers.
That said, you can always snatch great deals online, so you may want to keep an eye on online sales throughout the year. After all, if you really like it and need it, any time’s a good time to buy it, right?
You might like: The best buy now pay later garden furniture.
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