Buying Guide · Timing
When Is the Best Time to Buy Outdoor Furniture?
An Honest Answer From People Who Sell It
The internet says "fall clearance." That is true for the big-box aisle. For furniture you plan to keep for decades, the calendar looks different, and we would rather tell you how it actually works.
Every September a wave of articles goes up promising that patio furniture is about to be practically free. Some of it will be. We sell teak, and we are going to give you the version of this answer that applies to furniture with a long life ahead of it.
What this guide covers
- Why the big-box clearance happens, and what it tells you
- When teak furniture actually goes on sale
- The part nobody mentions: spring is a queue
- Fall is when the new designs arrive
- A plain answer by situation
- Frequently asked questions
Why the Big-Box Clearance Happens
Mass-market patio sets are made in a run, shipped in spring, and expected to be gone by the time the same floor space needs to hold artificial trees. Whatever is left in September gets marked down because it is cheaper to sell it at a loss than to warehouse it until March. That is the whole mechanism. It is real, and if you want a resin dining set for the price of dinner out, late September is your moment.
The catch is built into the mechanism. The set is on clearance because there will not be another run of it. If a chair breaks in two summers, the replacement does not exist. Clearance is a great deal on something you are fine replacing. It is a bad way to buy something you want to keep.
When Teak Furniture Actually Goes on Sale
We are not going to pretend there is a secret window. Here is our calendar, which you can also work out by reading our promotions page for the last couple of years: Presidents' Day in February, a mid-year sale in June, the Fourth of July, and Labor Day. Those are the sales. They tend to land on the pieces we have in stock rather than on everything in the catalogue, which matters for the next section.
Solid teak does not get clearanced the way resin does, for a simple reason. It does not go bad in the warehouse. A Grade-A teak dining table that did not sell in August is exactly as good in April, so there is no reason to give it away. What you get from a teak sale is a real discount on a real piece, not a bargain on something the seller needs to be rid of.
Where the money actually is
On a dining set that costs a few thousand dollars, a holiday sale is worth hundreds. That is real money and worth planning around. What it is not worth is missing a summer. If the sale is in June and you wanted the table for May, you did the math backwards.
The Part Nobody Mentions: Spring Is a Queue
Our busiest months are May and June. Every year. The first warm weekend arrives, everyone looks at the patio at the same moment, and the orders come in a rush. Freight carriers, delivery crews and our own warehouse are all at their busiest in the exact weeks people most want their furniture to show up.
So if you have a date in mind, a graduation party, a Memorial Day cookout, a wedding in the garden, work backwards from it and order in winter. Not because we want the sale early, but because January orders ship into an empty queue and May orders ship into a full one. If you need something faster, our Quick Ship program covers the pieces we keep in stock and ready to go; for anything else, ask us about the current lead time before you commit to a date.
Fall Is When the New Designs Arrive
This is the part of the calendar that surprises people. We show new collections at Casual Market in Atlanta every July, and those designs reach the website in the months after. Right now that means the Kaia, Isla, Adler, Mira and Mori pieces in new arrivals, some of them available on pre-order ahead of the first shipment.
Buying in fall, then, is not about a markdown. It is about choice. You are looking at the widest range of designs we will have all year, the sizes and finishes are all still available, and the piece is on your patio before anyone else on the street has seen it. The trade-off is patience: you will own it for a few months before you spend a long evening on it.
A Plain Answer, by Situation
| If you... | Then... |
|---|---|
| Want the lowest price on a set you are fine replacing in a few years | Big-box clearance, late September. That advice is correct for that furniture. |
| Want the widest choice of designs and do not mind waiting for spring | Buy in fall from new arrivals. Pre-order if the piece you want is inbound. |
| Need furniture on the patio by a specific spring date | Order in winter. Check the Quick Ship collection first, and ask about lead times on anything else. |
| Have a specific in-stock piece in mind and want a discount | Watch the holiday sales: Presidents' Day, June, the Fourth, Labor Day. |
| Are shopping in April for Memorial Day | Quick Ship, or accept that the queue is already full. Ask before you plan the party. |
One Last Thing About the Math
The reason timing matters less for teak than for anything else on the patio is that the purchase is not annual. A well-made Grade-A teak piece stays outside for decades, weathers to silver-grey if you let it, and does not need to be replaced when a season ends. Spread a price over that many summers and the difference between buying in a sale and buying at full price is small. The difference between buying the right table and the wrong one is not.
If you are trying to work out which table is the right one, start with our outdoor dining table guide or the teak buyer's guide. Then buy it when it suits you, and let it outlast the trend.
See What Just Arrived
New collections from Casual Market, plus the pieces we keep in stock and ready to ship.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does patio furniture go on sale?
Mass-market patio furniture is typically cleared in late September and October to free up floor space for the holidays. Premium teak furniture is different: HiTeak runs sales around Presidents' Day, mid-year in June, the Fourth of July and Labor Day, usually on in-stock pieces, and does not clear inventory at the end of the season.
Is it cheaper to buy outdoor furniture in winter?
Not necessarily cheaper, but easier. Winter orders ship into a quiet queue, while May and June are the busiest months of the year for delivery. If you need furniture by a spring date, winter is the time to order.
Does teak furniture go on clearance?
Rarely. Solid teak does not deteriorate in storage, so there is no reason to sell it at a loss at the end of summer. Discounts on teak come from scheduled holiday sales rather than end-of-season clearance.
When do new outdoor furniture collections come out?
HiTeak shows new collections at Casual Market in Atlanta each July, and the designs reach the website in the months after, often with pre-order available before the first shipment lands. Fall is when the choice of designs is widest.
Can I buy now and get it in time for Memorial Day?
If you order in winter, usually yes. If you order in April or May, check the Quick Ship collection for in-stock pieces and ask about the current lead time on anything else before you plan around a date.
