Monday, January 27, 2014

Top 10 Ways to Save Money On Office Furniture

It's no secret that furniture of any kind can get expensive. One day your chair falls to pieces or your new puppy tears a hole in the sofa, you turn around to get a replacement, and bam! You're slammed with a price tag that seems too demanding to even exist. Shopping for furniture isn't easy, especially if it's furniture for your office space. Often, manufacturers just assume you're a manager or a business owner with lots of dough, and they certainly price their products like it. But shopping is also supposed to be fun, like a game, and we believe that even those unfamiliar with the experience should have a fair chance to get a deal! To help you out, here are some of the top ten best ways to save money on your new office furniture!

Coupons

Coupons and Apps

Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em. If you know someone who goes by the title of "extreme couponer" you likely don't go over to their house very often because they're often too busy cutting paper to answer the door (but you can bet they save a country ton at the grocery store). We all know that coupons get everywhere, but they certainly are an amazing way to get deals. Luckily for you, you don't have to go to extremes nowadays. Today, if you own a smartphone, computer, or tablet, there are loads of great apps like Groupon, SnipSnap, the Coupons App to help you shop and save hassle free. They're not only great for office furniture, but also groceries, classes, books, fitness memberships, and everything in between. Download one and start saving today!

Bulk Discounts


Bulk Discounts

Earlier, we talked about how many office furniture manufacturers price their products as if all shoppers are business owners with lots of dough to spend on new furniture. Well, this entry is for you guys. Even if you're shopping for the whole office and not just for yourself, we're still of the firm belief that business owners deserve discounts too. That's why bulk discounts are so great for the large-scale shopper. When you find an affordable office chair or desk, one of the best ways to save money is to look for a "bulk pricing" button. If you don't see one, there may be a phone number you can call listed in the product description or someplace on the website. Remember, furniture dealers are there to make money, and bulk pricing is a great way for them to get a big sale. They're usually more than happy to offer a bulk discount if you call them up.

Clearance

Clearance

Clearance pricing is one of the most effective ways to save a bundle on office furniture. For those of you unfamiliar with the process, office furniture manufacturers price their products extra low on clearance because they're trying to get rid of a certain product to make room for new inventory. This means that prices are probably at the lowest they will ever get. The best part of shopping on clearance is that dealers are often willing to negotiate even lower prices just to get rid of an item. If you've never shopped on clearance before, give it a go. We promise you'll be hooked!

Factory Closeout

Factory Closeout Deals

In layman's terms, factory closeout is just another way to say clearance, but the two terms do vary slightly. As with clearance, factory closeouts are a great way to get guests to walk into a store because they are excellent for patrons looking to save money. Factory closeouts are times when products are priced unusually low because the store is looking to add new merchandise, but where clearance pricing is usually available year round and kept in a permanent section of the store, factory closeouts often occur only a few times a year when dealers are trying to get rid of seasonal or themed furniture. Finding seasonal office furniture is rare, but factory closeouts are still clever ways to get customers to purchase regular priced items as well as the ones on sale. Shop smart in this category, and you'll definitely save tons of money!

Newsletters


Email Newsletters

We know these can be a bane to your mailbox, but newsletters are still excellent ways to get deals. Subscribing to a company's newsletter is the ideal way for guests to be more familiar with the deals going on, and businesses know it. In fact, most companies are hipping up to the fact that customers don't like their mailboxes cluttered up with nothing but ads, so nowadays, most newsletters are sent only on a weekly or monthly basis with deals listed that are good for a long time. However, if you still want the deals, without all the ads, a great way to keep yourself organized is to set up a separate email account exclusively for ads and junk mail. That way, you don't have to see those annoying ads everyday, but you still get all the benefits of being a full time subscriber. When you know you want to shop for something, just open your separate email and type a search for all newsletters from the dealer you want to shop from. It saves money, time, and patience!

Free Shipping

Free Shipping

Free shipping is a great way to save big time on things like office furniture. When the shipping price isn't included, it's hard to know what the real price is. Often a person might find what they think is an incredible deal, but when they get to checkout, the price of shipping and handling is twice the asking price of the item itself. A good rule of thumb to go by when shopping for items without included shipping rates is "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is." However, when you shop office furniture with free shipping included, what you see is what you get on the price tag. Don't scramble around from the get go adding items to carts that only calculate shipping at checkout. Instead, search for sites that offer free shipping to begin with. You'll save yourself money as well as time!

Call Your Dealer

Call the Dealer

It may sound a little awkward, but when trying to save money, calling the dealer is one of the best ways to save. Even if products are offered at a certain price on a website, calling the dealer may get you those ergonomic office chairs with leather upholsteries for a lot less if you take advantage of that phone number. Dealers are there for the sale, and they're always looking to draw in customers. If you call them up, most are more than happy to negotiate a deal with you. Give it a try, and see if it works.

Comparison Shopping

Comparison Shopping

Shopping online for deals is often just as difficult as shopping in person. In both scenarios, most people are running or clicking around with a pen and paper listing the deals on an item from all the different places they've visited. Shopping by comparison though is a surefire way to know if you're getting the best deal possible. Websites that offer "compare" features on a listed item are likely very confident that they can offer you the best deal. Taking advantage of that feature lets you see what the same item would cost on a bunch of other sites. If you're looking for things that are often really pricey, such as stylish glass desks for computer use, clicking that compare button may save you hundreds!

Shopping Engines

Shopping Engine Logos

The one drawback to the compare button is that not all websites have them. This is where shopping engines come in. Even the name alone sounds awesome, and with all the deals people are getting from these things now, they're truly worthy of the title. For those of you who don't trust the "compare" label on a particular website, shopping engines are the answer. These sites search the internet for you to find loads of prices from numerous dealers and list them without bias. Some of the best shopping engines you can rely on are Google Shopping, Nextag, PriceGrabber, and Amazon. When shopping expensive items like luxury chairs for office use, taking advantage of a shopping engine can help assure you that you're buying at the lowest price.

Shop By Price

Shop By Price

If you already know your budget (and if you're prone to spending), shopping by price is a great way to eliminate the temptation. Furniture dealers that really care about their customers' shopping experience will usually list a "shop by price" feature somewhere on their website page. This is usually in the form of a drop-down box that lets users select their price range, allowing customers to peruse items that are only in that selected range. With office furniture, there are often large categories of things like mesh back chairs for office tasking applications, or even office desks with modern design, available in all sorts of prices. Selecting your price from a drop-down box lets you choose only from objects at the right price for you, and it reduces the risk of buyers' remorse.

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