Best Time to Buy Appliances: Sale Cycles Explained

Best Time to Buy Appliances: Sale Cycles at Home Depot, Lowe's, Costco

The best time to buy appliances is when a holiday promotion or an outgoing model brings the total installed price below your target, with delivery available before you need it. For most planned replacements, that means comparing major holiday weekends, watching September and October for model turnover (May for refrigerators), and checking late-year clearance.

Start with the refrigerator, washer, or range you actually need. A calendar tells you when to look; the exact model number and a complete checkout quote tell you whether to buy.

Best time to buy appliances: the annual sale cycle

Treat these as recurring US shopping windows, rather than appointments with a guaranteed discount. Retailers can begin promotions before the holiday and continue them afterward. A model that qualifies at one store may be excluded at another.

February brings Presidents' Day promotions worth checking if a winter replacement is already on your list. In May, Memorial Day offers another comparison point for kitchen and laundry appliances. July Fourth provides a summer window, especially useful when a renovation schedule makes waiting until autumn impractical.

Labor Day in September is another useful checkpoint. Compare the same model against the prices you recorded beforehand, including whether delivery or installation has changed. A larger crossed-out price does not establish a better deal.

September and October are also worth watching for outgoing models. When a manufacturer introduces a replacement line, a retailer may clear remaining units of the older version to free warehouse and showroom space. The markdown then belongs to that outgoing model; it does not mean the newly launched replacement becomes cheaper.

There is no universal autumn changeover across refrigerators, dishwashers, ranges, washers, and dryers. Ask whether the exact model is being replaced and whether the successor changes anything you need. A different control panel alone may not justify paying more.

November brings Black Friday and Cyber Monday promotions, while December and early January can produce remaining-stock clearance. Selection may narrow as the price falls. Keep an acceptable alternative ready if a particular finish or width becomes unavailable.

Best time to buy a refrigerator, dishwasher, or washer and dryer

Refrigerators run on their own calendar. Most other large appliances follow the autumn changeover. Use the month for your appliance, then check whether your exact model is the one being replaced.

Refrigerators: May

The best time to buy a refrigerator is May. Manufacturers bring out new fridge models in spring, and stores cut prices on the previous year's models to make room, according to the retail experts Kiplinger quoted. Memorial Day falls in the same month, so you get the clearance and a holiday promotion in one window.

Dishwashers, ranges, washers and dryers: September and October

New dishwashers, stoves and washer and dryer sets reach stores in September and October, and older models get cleared. The same Kiplinger guide puts typical discounts on these at around 20%, with deeper cuts on some clearance units. This Old House also names fall as the main season for new appliance models. Labor Day sits at the start of that window, so compare prices that weekend and again in October.

Microwaves and smaller kitchen appliances: Black Friday

Black Friday and Cyber Monday bring markdowns on most appliances, microwaves included. For a countertop microwave or a small kitchen appliance with no installation, late November is the simplest window to wait for.

Compare Home Depot, Lowe's, and Costco at checkout

Use all three retailers as quote sources, with the same delivery ZIP code and model number. Their most useful comparison is what each can deliver and install for your final total.

Home Depot

Select the model and finish, enter your location, then build a cart with the services and connection parts you need. Ask what the quote covers: new hoses, cords and connection parts are usually not reusable, and haul away of the old unit is normally a separate charge. That is why a bare product price is an incomplete comparison.

Lowe's

Follow the product through delivery and installation choices before comparing totals. Ask the appliance desk to itemize delivery, hookup, required accessories, and removal in writing if the online cart leaves anything unclear. Confirm whether the installer and delivery team arrive together; your kitchen schedule depends on that answer.

Costco

Costco describes delivery and basic hookup, basic installation parts, and like-for-like haul away among included services, with limitations. Check the particular appliance and your address before assuming everything applies. Costco: Appliance Advantage.

If joining solely for this purchase, count membership as a purchase-related cost. Existing members should avoid counting a membership fee they would pay anyway.

Costco appliance sales: when they happen

Costco does not publish a calendar of appliance sales. Going by past events, its appliance promotions cluster around Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, Labor Day and the winter holidays, and the bigger appliance savings events come around Memorial Day and Labor Day, Chowhound found. Those events run online, last while supplies do, and need a membership. Some give a larger discount when you buy two or more appliances.

So if you want a dishwasher or refrigerator from Costco, write down its price before Memorial Day or Labor Day and compare the event price with the installed total at Home Depot and Lowe's. Costco's Appliance Advantage page adds two things the other quotes may not include: the manufacturer's warranty extended to two years on major appliances and a 90 day return window. If the price falls after you buy, check the Costco price adjustment rules before you ask for the difference.

Calculate the price of a working appliance

Use one calculation for every store: appliance price plus tax, delivery, required parts, installation, removal, and any chosen protection, minus discounts you actually qualify for. Keep conditional incentives separate until you confirm their requirements.

Delivery is transport. Installation may mean only connecting a freestanding appliance to suitable existing utilities. A dishwasher, wall oven, or gas appliance can involve additional work. Ask who handles disconnection, whether a separate installer is required, and what happens if the existing connection fails the installation requirements.

Measure the opening and the delivery route. Include door swing, ventilation space, handles, stairs, and the narrowest doorway. A refrigerator that fits between cabinets can still block a drawer when its doors open. Use the manufacturer's installation instructions, rather than relying only on the product's headline width.

Get haul away written into the order if you need it. Confirm whether the old unit must already be emptied and disconnected, and whether a built-in appliance needs separate removal. Otherwise, you may finish delivery day with two machines and nowhere to put the old one.

Treat an extended warranty as an optional purchase with its own comparison. Read when coverage begins, which repairs qualify, whether labor and service visits are covered, and who arranges repairs locally. Check for overlap with included coverage before paying for additional years.

An appliance package deserves the same discipline. List the exact models in the bundle and price each separately with equivalent services. A bundle can be worthwhile, but adding a microwave you do not need or accepting the wrong dishwasher can erase its practical value. Count only savings on items you intended to buy.

Prepare for your best appliance-buying window

When waiting stops helping

Wait if the appliance works, you have measured the space, and another comparison window falls before your deadline. Buy sooner if repeated breakdowns, laundry trips, or disruption already outweigh the possible benefit of waiting. Get a repair estimate when it could help you keep a suitable appliance running economically.

For clearance stock, confirm that the unit is new, open-box, or a floor model, and ask about missing parts and applicable coverage. A discontinued model can be a good purchase when it meets your needs and service support is available. It becomes a poor purchase when the attractive price persuades you to accept the wrong size or an unworkable delivery date.

A quote also needs an expiry date. Ask how long the price is valid, whether the unit is physically available, and when payment is collected. If the retailer offers a later price adjustment, read the eligible period and exclusions before relying on it. Keep the promised delivery date distinct from an estimated shipping date. This matters most when an inexpensive outgoing model is listed online but cannot reach your home before the contractor needs it.

The best buying window ends when a verified total meets your target and solves the replacement problem. You do not need to prove that no future shopper will ever pay less.

To see what the timing of your past purchases may have cost you, run five of them through this check on buying at the wrong time. For the next appliance, you can hand the watching to Tracy in dEssence: save the exact model and ask her to watch the price, and she messages you when it drops.

Frequently asked questions

What month is the best time to buy appliances?

September and October for most large appliances, when new dishwashers, ranges, washers and dryers arrive and older models get cleared. Refrigerators are the exception: buy them in May, after the new fridge models come out.

Is Labor Day a good time to buy appliances?

Yes. Labor Day is one of the three-day weekends with deep appliance discounts on selected models, along with Presidents' Day and Memorial Day. It also lands at the start of the autumn changeover, and Costco usually holds an appliance savings event around it.

Is Black Friday the best time to buy appliances?

For many models, yes: Black Friday and Cyber Monday bring markdowns on most appliances. For a refrigerator, May can be just as good, and by late November the finish or width you need may be sold out.

Are appliance bundle deals cheaper than buying each one?

Only when you wanted every appliance in the bundle. Price each model separately with the same delivery and installation, and the bundle wins only if its total is lower for the items you planned to buy anyway.