7 Things to Know About Buying Costco Furniture

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When you think about buying furniture for your home, does Costco come to mind? The warehouse club chain may not be the best-known seller of furniture, but it offers great deals because everything the store sells has exceptionally low markups. It can be a great perk for Costco members.

What You Need to Know Before Buying Costco Furniture

Money expert Clark Howard is a big fan of Costco furniture and has bought many pieces for his own home over the years.

Clark says he likes furniture from Costco because he knows he’s always getting a great deal.

“Furniture at traditional furniture stores is usually very heavily marked up, often by 100% to 200%. Those retailers make their money not just from the sale of furniture, but from the financing and the delivery costs built into making a purchase. But with Costco furniture, they strip all that bare. You know you’re getting a real deal if you like what they have.”

In this article, we’ll take a look at when Costco has furniture in its clubs, what kind of markup they charge and what type of delivery options are available. Plus, read on for real customer reviews from Clark’s Facebook fans who’ve bought Costco furniture.

Quick Links: 

  1. When Is Costco’s Semi-Annual Furniture Sale?
  2. Where Are Furniture Sale Items in the Store?
  3. What Is the Costco Markup on Furniture?
  4. Does Costco Deliver Furniture?
  5. Can You Buy Costco Furniture Online?
  6. Does Costco Offer Furniture Financing Plans?
  7. What Is the Return Policy on Costco Furniture?

1. When Is Costco’s Semi-Annual Furniture Sale? 

Costco has two primary furniture events each year: One that starts after the Fourth of July and one just before Christmas.

If you want the first pick of the great deals, get used to checking your local warehouse club around July 15 and December 15 because that’s generally when the semi-annual sales begin.

You can also buy furniture from Costco year-round on Costco’s website (more on that below).

2. Where Are Furniture Sale Items in the Store?

Costco usually puts the furniture out on the floor in the middle of the warehouse club. Look for it right where you’re accustomed to finding seasonal items on display.

You may also find furniture bunched in a corner of the store, but that’s the stuff that’s already been sold to other customers.

“During the furniture events, there will be an area near the pharmacy where you can see piece after piece of sold furniture waiting to be picked up,” Clark says.

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3. What Is the Costco Markup on Furniture?

The beauty of buying furniture at Costco is that the markup on it is no more than 14%. Compare that to traditional furniture retailers who routinely jack the price up by hundreds of percent!

In fact, let’s take a look at how that plays out in real-world numbers:

MarkupFinal Price on Piece Costing the Retailer $500Final Price on Piece Costing the Retailer $1,000
14%$570$1,140
100%$1,000$2,000
200%$1,500$3,000

The numbers are stark, right? Even at the low end, you could either pay $570 or up to $1,500 for the exact same piece of furniture that costs the store $500!

4. Does Costco Deliver Furniture?

One possible drawback to buying Costco furniture in-store is that the warehouse club does not deliver. When you buy a piece or a set, they simply move it aside for you.

Then, it’s up to you to furnish a truck and take it home. Of course, the nice thing is with only a 14% furniture markup, you can afford to rent a truck if you don’t have one or can’t borrow one from a friend.

One of our Facebook fans recently answered a Clark.com poll about buying Costco furniture. Sheila Guin says she used an app called GoShare to get the piece of furniture home.

facebook comment on costco furniture
Facebook comment on buying Costco furniture

Sheila went on to say that she loves her sideboard. She even scored some unexpected extra savings on it, too!

“I think it was $299,” she told us. “It [originally] was $499. [But] I went home to measure, went back the next day and it was reduced!”

5. Can You Buy Costco Furniture Online?

Costco also sells a lot of furniture online, but that’s a very separate shopping experience from in-store.

“It seems to be for people who don’t want to lug stuff home and it tends to be more expensive furniture,” Clark says. “It’s almost a different target buyer than the people who buy the furniture in the store.”

While you typically can’t buy the stuff you see in the store at Costco.com, one of the nice perks of buying online is that there are a couple different delivery options:

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  • Threshold delivery provides placement inside your front door, garage or first dry area in an unopened box.
  • White glove delivery means the delivery team will provide placement, set-up and removal of packaging materials. This service typically starts at $50.

6. Does Costco Offer Furniture Financing Plans?

The furniture business is infamous for what Clark calls “No-No-No plans.” These are the kinds of financing options where you put no money down, pay no interest until a certain future date and make no initial payments for a period of time.

You won’t find any of this at Costco. While you could put a purchase on your Costco Anywhere Visa — or any other Visa credit card — and pay it off at the end of the month, there’s no traditional financing like you’d find at other furniture stores.

7. What Is the Return Policy on Costco Furniture?

Costco is known to have one of the most generous return policies in retail. You can basically return anything, at any time — with some limited exceptions.

That means you could buy a piece of furniture and if it doesn’t work out for whatever reason — whether it’s how the piece fits in with your existing decor or the quality of the furniture itself — you can return it no questions asked.


Costco Furniture Reviews

As we mentioned earlier, Clark Howard says he loves buying furniture at Costco. He knows he won’t get ripped off when it comes to price and he’s impressed with the quality.

“You know you’re getting a deal with furniture from Costco, where that’s usually not the case at all in the larger industry,” Clark says. “And I’ve found the quality of the furniture to be extremely high. Of course, the taste has to be the taste you like before you open your wallet.”

We polled our Facebook audience asking if they’d ever bought furniture from Costco.

Of the nearly five dozen people who responded, the overwhelming sentiment about buying furniture from Costco was positive. Only a couple of people complained about the furniture being of low quality.

Here are a few of the comments we received:

  • Kevin Robertson: “Always good quality and feel more comfortable with their guarantee! I have ended up with junk from pick and deliver stores but Costco is my go-to for furnishing!”
  • Kay Lusby Kauffman: “We bought a couch and reclining loveseat. Great quality and lasted 25+ years.”
  • Crystal King: “I bought a recliner chair with electronic remote for reclining, heat, massage. It worked less than 6 months, BUT Costco is amazing about accepting returns!”

Have you bought furniture from Costco? What do you think of the price, quality and your shopping experience overall? Let us know in our Clark.com Community!

And to learn about the best deals and coupons at Costco Wholesale this month, visit ClarkDeals.com!

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