If you need the tree this Christmas, buy it during the Black Friday sales. They now start in early November at some sellers and wrap up on Cyber Monday, which is November 30 in 2026. That stretch usually brings the biggest discounts before Christmas while selection is still good, and it leaves time to get the tree delivered, set up, and checked over before the holiday. If the exact tree you want is already discounted, there's no prize for waiting.
If you can wait until next Christmas, after-Christmas sales can go lower still on whatever's left. You're choosing from leftovers, though, clearance terms can be stricter, and if the box stays sealed until next November, the quick fixes for a bad tree are long gone.
When Artificial Christmas Trees Go on Sale
Tree sales follow roughly the same calendar every year.
| When | What you get | The catch |
|---|---|---|
| September and October | Full selection and the occasional early promotion | Discounts are sporadic this early |
| Early to mid-November | Early Black Friday deals at some sellers, with selection still good | Usually not the season's deepest discounts |
| Black Friday through Cyber Monday | Usually the biggest sales before Christmas | Popular sizes and light colors can sell out |
| Early to mid-December | Whatever's left | Thin selection, tight delivery, and return windows that can close before Christmas |
| After December 25 | Markdowns that can beat Black Friday, on leftover stock | It's next year's tree, and clearance can be final sale or carry a shorter warranty |
| Spring and summer | Off-season sales from some sellers, such as Christmas in July | Hit or miss, and the tree sits in storage for months before you use it |
Sellers' own buying guides don't agree on the best window. Balsam Hill's guide says its deepest discounts come during its Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. King of Christmas ranks Christmas in July first and says it doesn't recommend waiting until Black Friday to buy your main tree. Each is describing its own sale calendar, which is fair enough, but it isn't neutral advice. Pick the window that fits when you need the tree.
Buying for This Christmas
If the tree is going up this year, you want a good price on the right tree, not the lowest price on any tree. Decide what you want before the sales start: height, width, profile, and light color. Our size guide covers the measuring, and the buying guide covers which specs are worth paying for. Then, when your tree drops to a price you're happy with, you can buy it that day instead of starting your research mid-sale.
Sellers warn that popular sizes and styles sell out first. That's partly a sales pitch, but it's also how leftovers work: what's still around in mid-December is what fewer people wanted. If you're after the standard 7.5 ft height with warm white lights, you're likely shopping for the same tree as a lot of other people. Our 7.5 ft roundup is a good place to start a shortlist.
Waiting for a deeper discount only makes sense if you'd be happy with your second choice. Otherwise, buy when your tree is discounted and move on. If you buy early in November, ask whether the seller will refund the difference if the price drops later.
Don't cut it close, either. Holiday delivery cutoffs arrive fast in December, and return windows on Christmas items can end before Christmas does. Set the tree up the week it arrives, not the weekend before the holiday.
Buying for Next Christmas
After December 25, sellers mark down leftover trees to clear them out, and those sales can run into January or February. Prices can beat Black Friday on whatever's left. It's a good fit if:
- your current tree gave out this season and you know exactly what size you need,
- you're flexible on style, height, and light color, and
- you'll check the tree over as soon as it arrives.
It's a poor fit if it's your first artificial tree and you're not sure what you like yet, or if your heart is set on one model in a popular size.
The timing is the tricky part. Balsam Hill and National Tree Company both ask direct buyers to report damage or defects within 30 days, which is the quick route to a fix, and a tree first unboxed next November is ten months past that. From then on you're relying on the warranty, which is slower, and its clock has been running in the closet. National Tree Company's warranty, which covers its trees 6.5 ft and taller, counts from delivery for the tree and from purchase for the lights, so a tree bought in December has used up most of a year of coverage before it's ever decorated.
Clearance can change the terms as well. Balsam Hill gives regular and sale-priced trees a three-year warranty, but its clearance trees get 60 days, and it encourages buyers to "open and inspect clearance items upon delivery." A clearance tree that stays boxed until next season is out of coverage before it's ever plugged in. National Tree Company's own store treats clearance as final sale, though its After Christmas Sale items aren't clearance and can still be returned within 30 days of delivery. "Sale" and "clearance" can mean different things on the same site, so check which one you're buying.
One caution before you unbox: at some stores, assembling a tree rules out a change-of-mind return. This check is for catching defects, which have their own window, so do it the week the tree arrives:
- Assemble every section, top included, in its own stand. Our setup and storage guide walks through it.
- Plug it in and check every light section, plus each function you paid for: color modes, remote, foot pedal, timer.
- Look for crushed or missing branches and a pole that wobbles in the stand.
- Photograph anything wrong and report it right away, then pack the tree back into its original carton.
If a section stays dark, make sure it's fully seated and plugged in before you report it. Our pre-lit tree guide has the troubleshooting order.
How to Tell a Real Sale From an Inflated List Price
Comparing a sale price to a higher "was" price is one of the most common ways to advertise a bargain, and the Federal Trade Commission has guides on it. They say a former price is a legitimate basis for comparison when it's "the actual, bona fide price at which the article was offered to the public on a regular basis for a reasonably substantial period of time." They also note that "only in the rare case are all sales of an article at the manufacturer's suggested retail or list price." A list price is the number a seller wants you to compare against, and it isn't necessarily what the tree usually sells for.
To check a deal:
- Watch the exact tree for a few weeks. Same model, height, and lights, flocked or not. Note its price each week so you know what it actually cost before the sale. A price alert or the seller's emails will tell you when it drops.
- Compare the same tree across sellers. A deep discount in one place can be the everyday price somewhere else.
- Treat "up to" as the best case. An "up to" headline describes the best deal in the whole sale, not the tree you want.
- Check the variant. A sale on the 6.5 ft or unlit version says nothing about the 7.5 ft pre-lit one.
- Be wary of a tree that's always on sale. If it's discounted most of the year, the sale price is the real price, and only a drop below that is a deal.
Before You Check Out: Returns and Warranty
Read the return policy and the warranty page before you pay. Look for:
- Change-of-mind returns versus defects. These can follow different rules. National Tree Company's own store, for example, only takes a change-of-mind return on a tree that's unused and unassembled, with its tag intact, and deducts a restocking fee. Damaged or defective items can be reported within 30 days of delivery, with no fee. After that, defects go through the warranty.
- When the window closes. Holiday rules vary by seller. At that same store, Christmas items have 30 days from delivery or until December 15, whichever comes first, and Christmas items bought December 16 through 24 are final sale.
- What's final sale. There, clearance items and trees 9 ft and taller are final sale too, meaning no standard return, though a defect can still be reported within 30 days of delivery. Other sellers draw the line elsewhere.
- Whether the warranty needs registration. National Tree Company says "product registration is required to place the warranty into effect." Register the week the tree arrives and keep the receipt.
- Who the warranty covers. National Tree Company's warranty covers only purchases made in the contiguous United States from authorized National Tree Company retailers, and Balsam Hill's applies "only to the original owner of the tree." If you're buying from a marketplace seller, make sure it's an authorized one before you count on the warranty.
- How claims work in season. National Tree Company processes warranty replacements only between January 15 and September 15. If the lights fail on December 20, a warranty replacement won't come until after January 15, so the seller's return or defect policy can be the faster route while it's open. That's one more reason to buy early and set up fast.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do artificial Christmas trees go on sale after Christmas?
Yes. Sellers mark down leftover trees after December 25 to clear them out, and those sales can run into January or February. Prices can beat Black Friday, but you're choosing from what didn't sell, and clearance terms can be stricter. Check whether the tree is final sale or carries a shorter warranty, and inspect it as soon as it arrives.
Is Black Friday a good time to buy an artificial Christmas tree?
For a tree you'll use this year, yes. The Black Friday sales usually bring the biggest discounts before Christmas while selection is still good, and they leave time for delivery and setup. They now start in early November at some sellers and end on Cyber Monday, which is November 30 in 2026.
Do artificial Christmas trees get cheaper closer to Christmas?
Sellers disagree. Balsam Hill's guide says tree prices hold steady or even rise as Christmas gets close, while a commercial holiday decor supplier's guide says prices typically drop shortly before Christmas. Either way, selection thins out, delivery gets tight, and some return windows on Christmas items close before the holiday.
Is it worth buying an artificial Christmas tree in July?
It can be, if the exact tree you want is discounted and you have room to store it. Off-season sales vary by seller, so treat a summer tree like an after-Christmas one: check it over as soon as it arrives, while a quick return or replacement is still on the table, not next November.