Company is coming for the holidays and you need a new pull-out couch, or a dining table to serve dinner. It's time to get shopping because furniture can take weeks to be delivered.

Cori Estrow owns a furniture store and knows that buying quality furniture can be expensive. But she tries to help her customers stay on budget.

"Watch for seasonal sales or maybe a warehouse clearance sale, where you can find fantastic items that are ready for delivery at a fraction of the regular retail price," said Estrow.

There are other ways to save on furniture. Going online makes it easy to comparison shop for brand-name furniture, using the manufacturer and model names, plus the model number.

The Money Adviser even had luck comparing some private-brand furniture. But it took some doing.

"First, we looked for a private-label love seat using the manufacturers name, but we had no luck. But then we typed in love seat and the model number and we found it for $400 less," said Amanda Walker of Consumer Reports.

In stores, don't assume the price marked is final.

"One mattress store we visited dropped the price by $600 the moment we were the slightest bit hesitant," explained Walker.

Other ways to save

If you can't get a lower price, ask for free delivery, or other extras like throw pillows.

Another big way to save that people often over-look is the return policy.

"Policies vary from store to store or depending on the reason you're returning something. One store charged up to $400 to return a mattress set! So you really want to scope out the return policy before you buy," said Walker.

It's the dreaded restocking fee which can be high, particularly on custom orders.

If you search for it, you may be lucky enough to find a store that lets you try out furniture.

That way, you know if it will look as good at home as it does in the showroom.

And keep in mind, hard economic times are taking a toll on furniture companies. Defehr Furniture in Winnipeg recently filed for bankruptcy and closed its doors. To protect yourself, always pay with a credit card, especially if the order will take weeks to fill.

Shipping is another big expense. When it comes to new furniture, get the cost up front if shipping is involved, and use that to determine if you'd save more money buying locally.

Extended warranties are rarely worth the cost and skip fabric protection.

With a report by CTV British Columbia's Chris Olsen