This one’s for anybody who loves West Elm’s modern offerings, but doesn’t want to spend half of their month’s rent on some West Elm rugs. Fortunately, there’s no reason to pay full price for anything you see on the West Elm website. Here’s why:
We’ve figured out how to get West Elm free shipping, game their sales schedule, and use their rewards program to save hundreds of dollars on bedding, furniture, decor, rugs, or anything else from West Elm.
As always, do yourself a favor and download KCL’s free app, which you can use to ensure you’re getting the best deal as well as alerts for the best sales as soon as they drop.
1. Get 10% cash back with West Elm’s credit card during your first 30 days.
West Elm’s Key Rewards Card — the Visa card that earns rewards for all Williams Sonoma brands — offers promotions for new card members that make it one of the more exciting store credit card options out there.
First, here’s a look at their basic rewards:
- 5% cash back (sent via email as a promo code)
- $25 birthday reward
- 4% cash back on purchases outside of Williams Sonoma brands
But new cardmembers also get to choose from:
- Double rewards (read: 10% cash back) during their first 30 days after receiving the West Elm credit card, or. . .
- No interest on orders over $750 for 12 months
Not interested in a credit card? You can sign up for the West Elm Silver Rewards loyalty program, which offers 2% cash back (sent via email as a promo code).
PRO TIP: Call West Elm’s customer service line when you’re ready to place your order, and ask them if they can offer any incentives for signing up over the phone. They’ve been known to give folks a code for 15 – 20% off their first purchase.
2. Then stack your rewards with 10% savings by creating a West Elm gift registry.
You don’t actually have to get married or have a baby in order to enjoy your own gift registry. West Elm allows anyone — celebrating anything. . . or nothing? — to make their own gift registry through the website and get a 10% discount.
Getting the discount is easy. First, register your “event” online and set a date 30 – 60 days in the future. Once your “party” wraps up, you’ll receive your 10% discount to purchase any remaining items in your registry. The registry discount is stackable with your rewards, so right away you’re looking at a minimum 12% savings.
Your registry isn’t just limited to West Elm items, either. You can also add items from Pottery Barn and Williams-Sonoma.
3. Get West Elm free shipping when you order inside your local West Elm store.
While the vast majority of retailers offer Ship-to-Store as a free service, that’s not the case at West Elm.
Not only do they charge you to send their product to their stores, but their $19.99 minimum flat rate is actually more expensive than standard shipping if you’re spending less than $200.
- A $15 order would cost $4.95 standard delivery, $19.99 Ship-to-Store flat rate
- A $100 order would cost $17.00 standard delivery, $19.99 Ship-to-Store flat rate
Once you spend more than $200, Ship-to-Store is the way to go:
- A $200 order would cost $21.00 standard delivery, $19.99 Ship-to-Store flat rate
- A $500 order would cost $50.00 standard delivery, $39.99 Ship-to-Store flat rate
- A $1,000 order would cost $100.00 standard delivery, $79.99 Ship-to-Store flat rate
Learn more about the various shipping tiers and price structure on the West Elm shipping page.
4. Look to save at least 15% on furniture, 20% on bedding and bath, and 30% on everything else.
Everything eventually goes on sale here. Let’s break it down:
- White Sales (20% off bedding and bath): January
- Three-day weekend sales (30% off code plus free shipping): Independence Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, etc.
- After-holiday sales usually match the three-day weekend sales (30% off code plus free shipping)
- New Year Cleanout event: 20 – 60% off everything, plus free shipping on orders over $99
- Black Friday: 15% off furniture, 20% off everything else, and an additional 20% off clearance
- Rolling monthly sales: Either 20 – 30% off a certain item or department (think: rugs or curtains/shades)
5. Then use all of those tips to save 40 – 50% whenever you shop a West Elm sale.
West Elm’s Black Friday sales, three-day weekend sales, and post-holiday sales were the only ones I saw in which West Elm not only marked down items, but also provided coupons and free shipping to bring prices to their lowest point.
We shopped West Elm over Memorial Day weekend and saved 44% on this Zane desk regularly priced at $549, plus $8 in West Elm cash back.
Buy 1 Zane Desk, White Lacquer / Antique Brass (reg. $549), $439.20 sale price
Use 30% off clearance code
Free shipping on orders over $99
Final Price: $307.44 and $43.92 in cash back
6. Use your West Elm rewards points at any Williams-Sonoma brand store.
West Elm doesn’t send rewards to their loyalty members and credit cardholders at the same pace. Loyalty members will receive their rewards after they earn $10 cash back, while cardholders will receive theirs after earning $20 cash back.
But West Elm sends everyone their rewards the same way: via email. After building up a rewards balance of $10 or $20 (depending on your status as a loyalty member or cardholder), you’ll receive an email with your rewards promo code.
The nice thing is you can use those rewards across any Williams-Sonoma brand, and you can earn them at any Williams-Sonoma brand as well.
7. Return your West Elm purchases within 30 days if you want a full refund.
The West Elm return policy is a tad less harsh than Wayfair’s if you’re willing to make the trek in store. If you do that, all you need is proof of purchase (an e-receipt or order number will do just fine), and that way you don’t have to worry about squeezing the item back into its original packaging.
If you have to mail in your return, call customer service first. They’ll be the ones who decide whether you have to pay return shipping fees.
8. Prices ending in .99 or .97 mean “final sale,” but they also mean “no returns.”
If you see an item with a price ending in .99 or .97, that means the price you see won’t drop any lower — if you love it, there won’t be a better time to buy.
But make sure you love it; West Elm doesn’t allow returns on final sale items.
9. West Elm doesn’t really give out coupons — unless you call customer service.
Outside of cash back for rewards members and cardholders, West Elm hardly ever makes coupons or promo codes available to shoppers. You don’t get a coupon for signing up for West Elm emails, but every so often you can find a coupon on West Elm’s sale page.
That said, my favorite way to shop West Elm is to call their customer service line at 1-888-922-4119. When I find an item I like online, I call West Elm and tell them that I’m thinking of making a purchase. If you play a little hard to get, the associate will usually offer 15 – 20% off your purchase if you buy directly from them. It’s like a verbal coupon.
10. Buy discounted Williams-Sonoma gift cards at Raise.com, and use them across all Williams-Sonoma brands.
If you’re going to buy gift cards, you might as well buy them from places like Raise.com, which sells full-value gift cards at a discounted rate. Although Raise doesn’t carry West Elm gift cards, they do sell Williams-Sonoma and Pottery Barn gift cards at 2% cheaper than the value loaded onto them.
Fortunately, West Elm accepts gift cards from any Williams-Sonoma brand, so those cards are fair game. Raise runs frequent promotions for first-time users (like 15% off your first purchase). So get creative, set up an account with a new email address, and bank those savings.
11. West Elm’s open-box deals usually don’t offer the best savings.
The concept behind shopping West Elm’s open box is simple and sounds great. West Elm takes returned items, and examines and packages them up for resale at a final markdown price — usually somewhere around 50% cheaper than the original tag.
But here’s the rub: Not only are West Elm’s open box purchases not returnable, they’re often more expensive than other comparable items. Take this modern Hanna Chair, which I found through an open box discounted 53% off for $424.97.
Although 53% savings sounds great, I found similar chairs out the wazoo for $50 – $175 cheaper. Here’s one from Walmart, another from Target, and a third option from Wayfair.
West Elm also has outlet stores, but proceed with the same caution as with West Elm open box — the inventory (and pricing) is very similar.
12. Instead, shop used/like new West Elm products on Facebook or Craigslist to get more than half off.
Instead of West Elm open box deals, I’ve found that the best way to shop used West Elm products is through places like Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace, where I found a set of two 108″ linen curtains for 64% cheaper than what West Elm would have charged me.
Buy 1 West Elm European Flax Linen Curtain, Set of 2 $100
Pay $12 shipping
Final Price: $112
Compare to West Elm at $305
13. Keep hundreds of dollars in your pocket by DIYing your own West Elm-inspired pieces.
I’ve seen a lot of talented DIYers make their own West Elm-inspired furniture, rugs, and decor. As someone who has correctly put together a single piece of IKEA furniture on maybe one occasion, believe me when I tell you this couldn’t be me.
But for any of y’all who are crafty and creative, I was really impressed with the ideas I saw online — because why would you spend $299 for a tree stump side table at West Elm when you could just get one from a fallen tree and sand it down?
14. Skip West Elm furniture & rugs; shop Wayfair’s Foundstone instead and save 60 – 75%.
Wayfair launched its Foundstone collection in 2020, and ever since we’ve been finding pieces that look like they were ripped right off the West Elm site for a fraction of the price. See for yourself:
We’ve seen rugs that are nearly identical go for 68% less on Wayfair than on West Elm, as well as 75% savings on this modern coffee table.
Buy 1 Langford Cream Area Rug $269.99
Free shipping
Final Price: $269.99
Compare to West Elm for $840
Buy 1 Kaysen Premium Material Block Coffee Table (reg. $394), $279.99 sale price
Free shipping
Final Price: $279.99
Compare to West Elm for $1,149
15. Buying fabric at West Elm is NOT a savings hack — shop Michaels online instead.
Lots of people online say that the best way to shop West Elm is to buy their fabric and reupholster your existing furniture pieces. That’s simply not true.
Upholstery fabric from West Elm costs $25 – $35 per yard, which is significantly more than what you’ll find on Michaels.com; they have more than a dozen options that cost $16.99 per yard. Remember to use a 20% off coupon on regular-priced items at Michaels, which always makes this coupon available here.
If you’re upholstering a couch, which requires about 10 yards of fabric for reupholstering, you’ll pay $250 – $300 just on the fabric at West Elm. Michaels, on the other hand, will charge as little as $169.99 for the same amount of fabric.
16. The West Elm app is only good for comparing online & in-store prices.
The West Elm app doesn’t offer any special services or easy ways to track rewards — it’s basically just a recycled version of the West Elm website.
The only reason you should get the app is so you can scan products in the store — and compare the in-store prices with the online prices.
Although West Elm doesn’t adjust in-store prices to match a cheaper online price, at least you’ll know which store has the best price.
17. Take advantage of West Elm’s free design consultation services.
If you want design advice, West Elm has you covered.
They have a design chatbot that’ll connect you with human designers, which I’ve found useful on quick design questions in the past. For more complicated questions, like finding the best layout for a given room, you ought to make an appointment with one of their designers either in store, in your home, or virtually. Those appointments are free, too.
18. No more student/teacher discounts at West Elm, but design & trade pros get 20% off.
West Elm will give trade pros 20% off if they join Williams-Sonoma’s B2B community.
If you’re a designer or trade professional, then Williams-Sonoma offers you a reliable way to get 20% off coupons that you can use across all Williams-Sonoma brands, including West Elm. Members also enjoy tax-exempt purchasing in stores and online.
You’ll need to fill out an application to join the Business to Business community, giving your name, address, any social media handles you use for your business, as well as documents proving your business is legit.
Once you fill out the application, you should hear back within 48 hours regarding your approval status.
As far as discounts for professionals go at West Elm, this is it. They used to do 15% off for teachers and students, but I haven’t seen that discount in years — and I’m not holding my breath for West Elm to bring it back.
19. Work at West Elm to get at least 20% off.
If there are any West Elm employees out there who can shine some light on this, hit us up in the comments.
From what we could find online, West Elm staff get at least 20% off. We’ve seen some employees claim that their discount is 20 – 40% off, and others claim that it’s as high as 50 – 75% off.
What’s your hack for taking home West Elm items on the cheap? Let us know in the comments below if we missed any. Thanks for reading!
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