One of the best ways to find bargains is to visit a furniture clearance center. Other than providing a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction that go with finding bargains, furniture clearance centers are a great solution for small budgets. They are also a great resource for finding one-of-a-kind pieces of furniture.
All different ways of finding furniture bargains require patience and legwork, but the pay-off makes it worthwhile. Some other places for finding furniture bargains are garage sales, estate sales, flea markets, auctions, or even furniture sales at retail outlets. However, you need to wait for most of these. You can walk into a clearance center any day of the week.
You will find that many furniture stores, such as IKEA, for instance, have clearance centers on their facilities, while others might offer them at different locations. You can find online furniture clearance centers as well.
Not all clearance centers are alike. The quality of furniture is as good as the store it is affiliated with. For instance, if you are looking for high quality furniture, one good resource is Furnitureland South's clearance center in North Carolina. You can also see images of their clearance inventory on their website and order from it online.
It is worth looking around a bit, and doing some legwork and research. Make sure that the piece you are buying merits its price. Visit often and look around, but it is equally important to remember that you should be prepared to buy on the spot as the piece you like may be gone the next time you come back. Patience and hard work usually pay off in the pursuit of bargain pieces.
What can you expect to find at a clearance center? Why do certain furniture pieces end up there? And are all those furniture pieces damaged? Here are some answers to those questions.
Closeout Merchandise
When manufacturers discontinue a line, certain items might be left behind. This closeout inventory is then sent to a clearance center with huge mark downs. While the price may be great, what you see is what you get, as they won't be taking special orders for those particular items anymore. So a dark wood piece will not be available in lighter wood, and the upholstered pieces will be in just the fabric that you see there.
However, that does not rule out the chance that you might end up finding something that is just what you need, or were looking for.
One of a Kind Pieces
These pieces could be left-overs from larger groups, or items that were overstocked. Sometimes retailers stock entire groups, but may have to sell just some pieces from it. A customer may only want four chairs instead of six, leaving two "orphaned" pieces behind. Or a night stand might or chest may get left behind from a larger group.
Some items may be over-stocked because the retailer bought too much inventory from the manufacturer. Or, sometimes the manufacturer gives the retailer a good price on certain over-stocked items. Either way, the furniture may end up in the clearance center. Customer Cancellations
Some furniture pieces end up in clearance centers due to customer cancellations. Sometimes customers special order and item, and then find that they don't want it anymore for a variety of reasons.
These custom-made pieces may be too big or small, or have unusual upholstery, and therefore may be hard to sell. They are then marked down and sent to clearance centers. One such custom-made piece could be just what you are looking for.
Scratched and Dented Items
Maybe scratched and dented is just what you think of when you think of clearance items. As you can see after reading this far, this is far from the case.
Floor models often end up in this category. Since they've been on display for a while, they might show minor wear or tear. Other pieces might have been slightly damaged during transportation from the factory to the store. You may also find some seriously damaged pieces going for next to nothing. It might be a chair with an arm coming loose or a yable that is missing a leg. If you're handy with tools, you might be able to salvage them.
