The pandemic, supply chain issues and inflation have all changed some of the rules around buying large appliances such as dishwashers and refrigerators.
There was a time when the best periods to buy large appliances were during holiday weekends like President’s Day and Memorial Day. That’s when you would see a lot of sales on refrigerators, ovens, dishwashers and other appliances. That’s still true, but the advice began to change during the pandemic. Once supply chain issues and inflation were thrown into the mix, the argument has often been that the best time of the year to buy large appliances is whenever you can find them.
Depending on what you’re looking for, there are some times during the year that it can still be better, or at least a good opportunity, to purchase large appliances. With inflation coming down, appliance prices aren’t going up quite as much. The price for major appliances went down 2.4% from December 2022 to January 2023 and declined 3.9% overall since last January, according to the Consumer Price Index.
Regardless of all the factors that can affect the prices of appliances, if you’re in the market for a large appliance these days, there’s plenty you’ll want to consider. If you haven’t purchased something like a hot water heater or stove in a while, it may be more difficult than you remember. It’s a real appliance jungle out there.
Why Large Appliances Are Harder to Come By
If you go into any store that sells appliances, you will find appliances. But if you’re searching for a certain brand, however, you may come up empty.
There are several reasons for that, according to experts.
Supply Chain Issues
You may not hear about it as much, but this is still an issue, especially if you’re looking to buy a new refrigerator.
“Appliances are heavy, take up significant cubic space in a load, and are more difficult to move to their final destination than are some other retail products,” says Jeff Shockley, associate professor of supply chain management and analytics at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia.
It’s the high-end, expensive appliances that tend to have the most trouble with supply chain issues, according to Simone Bumpus, a design consultant at Kitchens By Good Guys, a kitchen remodeling company in Scottsdale, Arizona.
“A high-end fridge or oven is taking around 18 months to arrive at the client’s home on average,” Bumpus says.
“The issue for large appliance manufacturers is that they may have most of their appliances built, but they are waiting for another manufacturer to have one particular part. You will have a refrigerator manufacturer with 1,000 fridges ready to go but they are waiting on hinges from another manufacturer. Waiting a year for high-end appliances has unfortunately become the norm for us in the remodeling industry,” Bumpus says.
Even if the hinge situation works out fine, there might be other factors that may keep your home from being stocked with all the appliances you need.
“We have to remember that home appliances all have microchips,” says Gary Barraco, assistant vice president of product marketing at E2open, a supply chain company in Austin, Texas, that works with some of the biggest brands in the world, to make real-time supply chain decisions.
“Ongoing labor challenges and the latest geopolitical unrest between China and the U.S. are compounding a semiconductor shortage that’s loomed over our heads for years,” Barraco says.
Inflation
Here’s where supply chain issues and inflation collide, making appliances not just logistically tricky to get from a manufacturer to your home, but really expensive.
“Increases in gasoline, trucking availability and warehousing space all negatively affected the cost structure of the industry and contributed to inflation,” Shockley says. “In fact, the retailer that I used to work with before becoming an academic would distribute these ‘white goods’ in a completely different distribution center because they had such different handling and delivery requirements.”
Shockley adds that increasing labor costs have also contributed plenty to the cost of making your dishwasher. Somebody has to pay the delivery driver to get it to your home, for instance.
And inflation affects plenty of components with an appliance that most of us would never even remotely consider.
“The price of tin, typically used as a soldering agent, has skyrocketed in the last year,” Barraco says.
Supply and Demand
This is always a factor in how much an appliance, or anything, costs.
The COVID-19 lockdowns during that period and the continuing supply chain issues have meant that “factories have only just started to catch up,” Barraco says. “There are backlogs already that run over six months in some industries.”
It affects smaller appliances, too. Barraco says that he needs a new home alarm system panel and was told he would have to wait a few months.
“All this demand leads to higher costs that are passed onto consumers. Manufacturers don’t have the margins of the past to absorb rising costs and consumers will pay,” Barraco says.
The Best Times to Buy Appliances
If history is any guide, you will probably find the most savings by shopping at the following times:
— September to December: That’s because the newer models are coming out around this time. Since retailers need to make room for them, you’ll generally be able to buy older models at lower prices.
— Holiday weekends: President’s Day, Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, Labor Day and Thanksgiving weekend (which generally begins with Black Friday and ends with Cyber Monday) tend to be when you’ll see sales on refrigerators and dishwashers and so on. Retailers know that customers expect sales then, and they try to deliver.
— Spring and fall: This isn’t necessarily a great time to buy all appliances, but you can often find deals on air-conditioners and heaters during these seasons, since these tend to be slower periods for these industries.
— End of the year or end of the month: Retailers often price appliances lower around the end of the year to get rid of inventory and to encourage people to make a month’s sales revenue a little higher.
[READ: Tax Write-Offs You Shouldn’t Overlook.]
Why You Should Buy Large Appliances Now
If you know you are going to need a major appliance in the near future and if you’re choosy about the brands you buy, you may want to start window shopping now and having discussions with customer service representatives. You may find that the brand you want is on back order and won’t be available for a few months or longer.
“I think a good piece of advice to give to homeowners looking to buy a large appliance is to set realistic expectations,” Bumpus says. “Be aware that if you want something high-end and custom, it is going to take a long time to arrive and whatever lead time you get might change because one manufacturer can’t control the supply chain issues of another manufacturer in the supply chain. You can get large appliances quickly, but you will have to sacrifice on brand and quality in exchange for a quick lead time.”
[see: 20 Things You Should Never Buy Used]
Tips for Buying Large Appliances in 2023
While buying a large appliance in 2023 hasn’t really changed from buying one in 2022 or years prior, there are a few factors you will want to consider this year.
Timing
If you’re not very picky on the brand, you can probably wait until the last minute to buy a large appliance — and get it, presumably, without waiting too long. But if you are very picky and know exactly what you want, you’ll want to likely start looking now.
In that case, “Buy now so you can receive your order in a few months instead of waiting for the sales,” Barraco says.
Switch From a Gas Stove to Electric
The Inflation Reduction Act, passed last year by Congress, offers rebates to low and middle income families for purchases of electric stoves or ovens.
If your household income is 80% or less of the median family income in your area, you’re eligible for 100% of an $840 rebate from the federal government if you buy an electric stove, cooktop range, oven or heat pump clothes dryer. If your income is 80% to 150% of the median family income in the area, you’ll be eligible for 50% of the rebate.
Through the Inflation Reduction Act, there will also be a $1,750 rebate for a heat pump water heater and $8,000 for a heat pump for space heating or cooling.
You also may be able to get rebates for energy-efficiency appliances, such as ENERGY STAR certified products.
[Read: 10 Tax Credits You May Qualify for This Year]
Don’t Let Inflation Spook You Too Much This Year
Yes, inflation may continue for a while and appliance prices may keep going up. But there are reasons to think that large appliances won’t be insanely expensive as the year continues.
For instance, Barraco says that some of the supply issues that kept appliance prices high have been easing, and the fact that the housing market isn’t as robust as it had been in years past may help keep the cost of that new refrigerator down.
“If I were to predict, large home appliances will be priced more reasonably because inventory availability will be higher, partly due to interest rates being too high to buy new homes and fill them with new appliances,” Barraco says.
However, you probably won’t find that new washer and dryer for next to nothing. Inflation and labor costs will still be a factor in the price, according to Barraco.
The Final Word on Buying Large Appliances in 2023
If getting the right large appliance is a must, it’s best for you to shop around much earlier than usual and buy what you want if you find it. If you don’t know the difference between a Kenmore and a KitchenAid, or an LG and a GE, you’re probably fine with waiting for the next big sale.
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The Best Times of Year to Buy Large Appliances originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 02/16/23: This story was published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
