Well, it depends on the company you are buying from. For probably half, it doesn’t matter as the prices stay the same year round. For the rest, there are certain times when you can save a little. Under most circumstances, you are not likely to save more than $100-$200, if any.

The worst time to buy is when everyone wants to buy a tanning bed, February through May. It isn’t about price, it is just that often the most popular models are out of stock, or you can expect delays in shipping. Typically, you can expect to add another week or so to get a tanning bed from most dealers. This isn’t that bad, really, but it is just a fact that when the companies are very busy, service is a little slower.

The slowest time for dealers is the late summer and early fall, September and October. School has just started, and people are preoccupied with other tasks, so buying a tanning bed is low on the list. If you are wanting to call and haggle, or find the best deal on a demo or scratch and dent model, this would be the best time.

Another time that may be helpful is Christmas. Most tanning bed manufacturers don’t change models very often, but if they are making changes, they may have incentives to move out the rest of the current inventory of “old” models. Figure it can save you $100, regardless of the claims of discounts. This isn’t extremely common, but it happens.

What matters most is not when you buy, but how you buy. Financing a tanning bed will ALWAYS guarantee you pay the highest price. This is because banks charge the dealers high fees that they must recover by charging you full retail. If you can’t pay for a tanning bed cash or by credit card, your best bet is to find the tanning bed you want, and either use a “home equity” line of credit, or just go to your bank and get your own loan. This way, you are paying cash to the dealer, and you have the ability to work out the best cash price.