Hopefully you have read the other consumer tips on this website that advise the best time to buy jewelry, travel to the Caribbean, or purchase a new truck. In this edition I wanted to explain why September and October are the shrewd time to purchase:

storage sheds children's playsets picnic tables

pool houses lawn furniture gazebos

dog houses or anything else that is manufactured for your backyard.

Let me explain why. I came across an interesting fact that many of the storage shed (and everything else from my list above) that are sold in the mid-Atlantic region are produced in Pennsylvania. These Pennsylvanian manufacturers have a definite season where they make their product, and when they sell their product. any veteran who has been building a quality product for more than a few years will tell you that consumers are in no mood to hear about storage from December through February. Most of these companies begin marketing their products in the spring -typically around April or May, then relax a little bit in the summer and then absolutely panic come October and November.

Since the purpose of this article is to educate and arm you consumers- I'll skip the long and boring calculations and ask that you just trust me when I say: it is much more profitable for the shed company to sell their products in October/November at a painfully big discount, than being forced to carry this inventory over the winter. Costs like finance charges on inventory, transporting the units to a more secure facility, cash being tied up in products that are just sitting there…are all gloomy prospects for the Pennsylvanians. In so instead, they give you their best offer sometime in the fall. The further north you are, the earlier these "purge" prices show up. These shed manufacturers are -- to borrow a term from the real estate market -- "highly motivated" to dump their products for some sort of cash. One of the author Consumer Advocate authors told you about this practice in car sales but Detroit does not have to fight the winter mindset of its consumers like shed makers do. The margins (or the amount of profit that they get off of each unit) are pretty slim. So when they discount of 10. And if you are staying with me on this- you can imagine what a truly big deal it is for storage shed sellers to offer 15 and 20% discounts on models come fall. Remember, they simply want to get some cash before they hibernate for the winter months.

Why Spring sales are not as good as fall sales.

It's my belief that assumption that shed resellers will have a Spring sale to get their season started -- a jumpstart if you will. And yes, it's a good time to purchase your structure but you will not make a killing on your purchase like you will in the fall. So if you are considering a gazebo, storage shed a playset or any kind of structure for your backyard this summer you may want to hold out until October of November and beat them at their own game!