Still one of the best kept decor secrets today is that Crate & Barrel has select Outlet store locations around the country offering discounts of up to 80% off furniture, decor, lighting, and other home goods. These outlet stores also carry items from the sister brand CB2 as well as Crate & Barrel Kids.
A short drive from Washington, DC hides one such sizable outlet in Alexandria, VA. I traveled to this outlet to answer for shoppers just how much of a discount on different items to expect, if there were superior days to snatch up the best deals, the quality and quantity of inventory, uncover insider shopping secrets, and more.
Price, condition, season, and discount schedule were documented, summarized, and analyzed. Over 100 items in the store were inspected and I did the math to give you the most information before planning your next shopping trip.
I found some pretty lucrative outlet store tips I haven’t seen anywhere else online, so be sure to read them all to prepare for the best deals.
Outlet Discounts By Department
Discounts of 15% off up to a whopping 80% off can be expected on great quality furnishings according to my review of the inventory at the Alexandria outlet. Overall average savings are about 40%-50% off retail prices. The best deals are not equally distributed across all departments though.
Big ticket furniture items are where most people come looking for deals at the outlets and that’s exactly where the largest discounts were found. Cabinets, media consoles, and cradenzas averaged 47% off while desks, chairs, tables, and sofas all averaged a respectable 40% off.
| Maximum Discount | Average Discount | Minimum Discount | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Furniture | 78% | 43% | 20% |
| Rugs | 67% | 49% | 29% |
| Lighting | 60% | 40% | 15% |
| Decor | 70% | 40% | 0% |
Bargain hunters can find plenty of well above average savings. The Kinney Teak Outdoor Chair, Ancestors Cabinet, and Flynn Dining Table were all discounted 70% off or more and 50%-60% off furniture deals were plentiful.
Outdoor furniture usually gets good discounts everywhere, but can we talk about this current season (not on sale in store) CB2 fire pit that was discounted 60% off to $399 while similar ones from Crate & Barrel were currently selling for over $3000!
Rugs were a surprising sleeper value too. They averaged 50% off and all started at about 30% off.
I probably wouldn’t make a trip solely for home decor items (e.g. planters, pillows, plates, etc) but they could make great add-ons. That’s not to say there weren’t great buys. Many items were discounted up to 70% off but others weren’t discounted off MSRP at all.
Additionally, the majority of discounted home decor and kitchen items I looked up online, such as outlet dishes, had the exact same sale price as in the regular Crate & Barrel stores. So do you due diligence and look these items up online before grabbing them because, as far as I can tell, the decor prices mirror the sale prices of online and regular store inventory.
Up to 60% off lighting is nothing to turn down either. A new floor or table lamp can be a very economical way to elevate a room.
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Best Days For Deals And New Inventory
For increased savings on the already heavily discounted final sale items at Crate & Barrel Outlet stores, prices are reduced by an additional 5-10% weekly until they are sold. Each product’s tag contains a stamp with the day the price will be discounted again, which is also usually the same day as the item hit the floor.
Shopping on certain days can greatly increase your chances of snagging the best deals according to our investigation though!
The majority of items will be discounted an additional 10% off the full retail price weekly until sold but a few select or “1st Quality” pieces were only being marked down an additional 5%. “Off the full retail price” means that you’ll get hefty 30%, then 40%, then 50% off discounts and so on until sold, not those sneaky diminishing discounts “off sale prices”.
If you’re feeling brave with a piece that’s still a bit over your budget and you’re not ready to purchase it just yet, you can test your luck by coming back the following week on the day it is scheduled to be reduced again. Unless someone snatches it up first, that is.
The store staff verified that new items are put out and given additional discounts every single day of the week. Interested in which days have the most new products and price reductions? Drum roll please…
According to our research sample, half of the products and furniture at the Crate & Barrel Outlet were discounted an additional 10% on Thursdays or Saturdays. These would also be the best days to swing by for new inventory arrivals at the store.
The next best days to catch additional price reductions as they dropped were Wednesdays and Fridays. Mondays, Tuesdays, and Sundays had the lowest percentage of item markdowns but excellent pieces were still found. This was only based on the inventory that was still in stock, so YMMV.
See the graph below for a breakdown of which days the products surveyed were discounted most frequently from our audit of the outlet. This was still valid during a 2022 audit of the store.
Honestly, you can find great deals any day of the week and I wouldn’t risk sleeping on an item you find that you really love. I can personally attest to the continuous influx of new couches, chairs, desks, and tables being delivered on a Saturday to replace the equal outflow of items being bought from the store.
I recommend calling your nearest outlet to inquire about their recent shipments. This is anecdotal evidence and will differ between stores and seasons, but can give you a great advantage when you figure out your location’s sale schedule.
Damage And Condition
You may be wondering if the Crate & Barrel Outlet is just filled with discounted damaged goods. Some of the items rated “1st quality” are in perfect condition, others have minor imperfections, and some have major damage or missing parts. The discounts reflect the condition, but there were also perfect pieces that had an even larger discount than ones that were damaged.
The furniture, for the most part, was either in excellent condition or had minor imperfections. Those included minor scratches, dents, or misaligned hinges. Examples of the worst damages to pieces are shown in the picture below.
If you can live with small nicks and dents, the “damaged” pieces can be an extremely affordable addition to your home. TV going to cover up the scratch on the media console anyways? Grab the TV stand for 50% off!
Some dining tables with small scratches were going for 40-70% off retail. We’re talking solid wood Crate & Barrel furniture discounted to Ikea particleboard prices here!
The vast majority of furniture at the outlet store is not damaged and the deeper discounts reflect the amount of time the piece has been in the store, not any hidden defects.
If you’re a bit handy, some of the best deals were on cabinets that had misaligned door hinges. One piece probably only needed some wood filler or new screws to fix and was discounted $2000 less than MSRP.
Delivery Options
Crate & Barrel Outlet stores do not offer a native delivery service, but there are plenty of options to get larger furniture pieces back to your home. For items too large to fit in your personal vehicle, the sales associates are well supplied with local moving company options. Just ask them for recommendations and the business card of a reputable service.
My outlet even started posting helpful notes around the store of local delivery options.
They will even hold your items safely at the warehouse after payment and take care of the pickup coordination with your delivery company. There was a whole room of furniture wrapped up with SOLD stickers on them ready for pickup.
Note: I overheard that you only have 3 days to arrange for furniture pickup, so plan accordingly.
Speaking of warehouse… Crate & Barrel and CB2 warehouses are distribution centers where you can pickup furniture ordered in store free of charge. You cannot go shopping at the warehouses and they do not offer discounted items like the Crate & Barrel outlet locations.
Some online businesses have started offering delivery services too if they operate in your city. Check out the Bungii App to connect with local delivery services in select cities or find a “Helper” through Dolly. I actually just bought a sofa from the Crate and Barrel outlet in Virginia and using Dolly was going to be cheaper and much less hassle than renting a moving van.
7 Outlet Store Shopping Tips
- Visit on days most likely to have new inventory and additional markdowns.
- Shop departments with largest discounts at the outlet store, like furniture and rugs.
- Contact your nearest outlet store location before purchasing anything from a regular Crate & Barrel store to check if the outlet has the exact same item in stock for a discount.
- Final Sale tags (prices ending in .47 or .97) and final closeout savings offer greater discounts.
- Talk to the outlet store associates! Shopping in expensive furniture stores can be intimidating but the associates are very welcoming and offered up so many money saving tips even when I was “just browsing”.
- Inspect every piece for damages on nonrefundable items.
- Come prepared with a large vehicle to haul spontaneous finds or take a look at delivery options since the outlet stores don’t offer an in house deliver service.
2022 Update
I visited the same outlet a year later in 2022 to see if the analysis and tips presented in this article were still valid. I arrived before the store opened on a prime holiday weekend to see the best deals before they were picked over (and to snag a parking spot).
The results surprised even me…
I got the EXACT SAME RESULTSfrom a sample of current inventory (about 1/3 the number of items from the initial survey)!
That’s right, 1 year later and the store still not only had the same average discounts but also the same days for scoring the best deals.
Thursdays and Saturdays were still the best days to shop for the most additional markdowns with Wednesdays and Fridays coming in second and Mondays, Tuesdays, and Sundays following behind.
The average furniture discount was still 43% with the lowest being 20% off and highest being marked down 77%.
There was also a similar ratio of “1st quality” pieces to damaged items.
What was different?
The inventory selection was slightly different this year and that will change constantly based on what’s sent to the outlet on the truck that week. I did see one of the exact same outdoor furniture sets as last year, but this year it was only discounted 30% at the beginning of summer and last year it was 78% off (though it was missing a cushion).
That suggests seasonality playing a slight role in discounts, but that’s no secret to how stores clear out inventory for the next season or shoppers’ changing habits. Outlets being no exception.
There was also less inventory available during this trip, but the room with sold items was packed full. Just another reminder to buy an item when you see it because it probably won’t last long.
Every trip I’ve taken there have been amazing items at massive discounts. You can’t always plan for finding the exact piece you’re looking for, but if you’re flexible there are usually a lot of really great options.
Crate & Barrel Outlet Store Locations
Crate & Barrel currently has 12 outlet stores across 10 states located in California, Illinois, Maine, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia. Check out the locations, hours, contact information, and links below for the outlet store nearest to you. New store openings and events are happening all the time, so check out the Crate & Barrel website for updates.
