When Is the Best Time to Buy Appliances?

Last Updated: October 23, 2024

5 min read

Table of contents

Key Points:

Holidays, including three-day weekends, could be a great time to buy large appliances.
Retail holidays like Black Friday, back-to-school sales, and end of season sales may offer steep discounts on popular appliances.
You can use your credit card to earn cash back on your appliance purchase.

If you’re on the market for a brand-new home appliance, you’re may wonder how you could save money on your next purchase. While watching for discounts could help, timing could also play an important part in how much you can save. Many retailers offer discounts and sales during specific times of year. If you plan your shopping around these holidays, you may be able to save big on your next large appliance purchase.

What is the best time to buy appliances?

The best times to shop may vary from retailer to retailer. But in general, there are some times of year that are best for appliance shopping. These include national holidays, retail holidays, back-to-school, end of season, and model closeouts.

Holiday sales

Some appliance retailers offer special sales and deals during holidays. You should watch for appliance sales events during national holidays and three-day holiday weekends like the following:

Presidents Day
Memorial Day
Fourth of July
Labor Day
New Year’s

If you’re willing to wait, saving up to buy an appliance during a holiday weekend may be the best bet for you. Retailers may offer different discounts during the holiday season, so it’s best to shop around and compare prices before buying.

Did you know?

You can earn cash back on your appliance purchase when you use a cash back credit card. For example, with the Discover it^® cash back credit card, you could earn 5% cash back on everyday purchases at different places each quarter, up to the quarterly maximum when you activate.

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Retail holidays sales

Retail holidays, like Cyber Monday and Black Friday, are also great times to shop for appliances. Appliance retailers will sometimes offer discounts on these holidays to shoppers.

You should check your appliance retailer’s website or flyers to see what savings they offer on these days. Many stores will begin to advertise Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals weeks in advance, so you have time to plan your shopping.

Some Black Friday deals are in-store and expire quickly, so if you prefer to shop and save at home, you can opt for shopping Cyber Monday deals online instead. Before settling on any appliance, you should read reviews and check product specs to see if the appliance fits your needs.

Back-to-school sales

The back-to-school seasons can be a great time to get deals on some appliances. Because many students need small appliances for their dorm rooms and apartments, some appliance retailers will offer good discounts on appliances during the back-to-school months of August and September. You may be able to find a great deal on a small kitchen appliance like a minifridge, microwave, and toaster.

End of season sales

Seasonal appliances include items like grills, air conditioners, heaters, and furnaces. Retailers sometimes markdown the prices of out-of-season items to clear their inventory and make room for more appropriate seasonal items. On the other hand, retailers may raise the prices of appliances if they are in season and in high demand.

If you’re strategic, you could buy these items at a steep discount. For example, you could purchase an air conditioner in the winter and a heater during the summer. The complex part is making sure that these items are still in stock at your local store during the off season. One way that you could do this is by taking advantage of end-of-season sales. Some retailers will let shoppers know when they are clearing out their seasonal merchandise. You could check your local store’s website for more details.

Old model clearance sales

Another way that you could save on the cost of appliances is to wait for old model clearances. The price of older model appliances may drop when the newer models come out. That’s because some manufacturers will reduce the price of the older appliance models to clear out inventory for the new products. The only catch is, if you choose to take advantage of these sales, you may be getting a slightly outdated appliance.

You should weigh the pros and cons of purchasing an older model appliance. For example, you may decide the updated features and tech of the new model isn’t a significant change from the previous year’s model. Discounts on older models usually start when the newer models roll out, but some manufacturers will begin sales a month or two before new models are available.

Leverage your appliance life cycle

If your appliance breaks down unexpectantly, you may not be able to plan your purchase for the best time—and you may end up paying the full sticker price to replace it. You should know your appliance life cycle, so you can plan a purchase before the item breaks down. Here are the product life cycles for some common household appliances according to information from Energy.gov.

Refrigerator: 12 years
Washing Machine: 11 years
Room Air Conditioner: 9 years

These numbers are just a general guide. To find the specific product life cycle of your appliances, you can check with the manufacturer or search online by the brand and serial number. When you know how many years of use you have left on your appliances, you can properly save for a new one. Without knowing your product life cycle, you could experience a product breakdown and may have to use your savings or credit card to cover the cost of a new appliance. Product life cycles can also help you when it comes to purchasing used appliances.

With a Discover card your rewards never expire.¹ That means you can save the cashback you earn on purchases and spend any time—save them up or spend now. You can use your rewards just like cash. You can deposit it into your bank account or redeem for a statement credit or to pay your Discover bill.

Track prices

If you’re willing to wait, it may be worth it to track the prices of appliances. As you track appliances over time, you may be able to identify when appliances prices are down and when to take advantage of a sale. You can even track appliance prices across multiple retailers. While you can keep track of these items with a spreadsheet, you may be able to find mobile apps to help you identify the lowest prices.

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