steviegene,
Hey! We took a trip to NC several years ago. We went to see family and ended up looking at furniture. I would say that you can save thousands there. I was so impressed. The sales tax as it was explained to us was "free" unless the delivery truck got stopped and inspected. Then you would have to pay the taxes. Illegal, so you will have to decide on that one! I can't tell you exactly where the best places are. We were just having fun.
We are ready now to go and purchase so I will be following this post to find out the hot spots too! Hopefully someone with some useful information will chime in here.

I've bought furniture in Hickory twice in the past 3 years. Pluses: You can't beat the selection and I guess I saved 25% after paying shipping. The savings at the true outlets were 25 to 50% or more but the selection is hit & miss. One stop shopping. You CAN get a lot done in a short time. I was prepared & I did.
Minuses: time & expenses of travel; shipping delays and damaged furniture. You may have to pay state sales taxes. Unscrupulous retailers. Stick with the well known names.
Overall it was the large selection and one stop shopping more than the savings that enticed me to go back and buy furniture in NC again. Plus I really liked the decorator I worked with at the Hickory Furniture Mart.

We saved thousands on our sofa vs the price at Baker's in Manhattan. Boyles runs a weekly truck up to NYC, so the shipping was quite reasonable.

Sales tax is now being collected in NC on behalf of many states. You'd need to check with the store where you are buying to see if your state is listed. Actually, I would check multiple stores to see if you get the same answer, or just ask at Boyles.

Very little is open on Sunday, so factor that into your game plan. The best use of time is Hickory Furniture Mart. Better savings can be found at the outlets in High Point. Many will have a sign at entry stating whether or not they can help you arrange shipping or if you are on your own.

As stated above stick with the known names. Also do some research in this forum for problem dealers and who to avoid.

I saved a large amount of money on a recent trip, shopped in Hickory and High Point. If I had to choose one place it would be Hickory. We purchased from many spots, The Hickory Furniture Mart and Catawaba Furniture Mall were the 2 largest. If you go to the chamber of commerce you can get a map that shows all the places and "30 miles of furniture" You should have a plan of where you will go and exactly what you are going to buy - I did a lot of research before going and had the whole trip mapped out - we stayed 5 days. You can buy a good book - "The Furniture factory outlet guide" (I'm not affilated) The book tells you where to shop and which stores to stay away from, this was my 2nd trip to NC for furniture and my 2nd time buying the book. You may want to call some places ahead and get prices over the phone to compare your local prices - just to verify it is worth the trip to "you". I think it is worth going just to see all the different furniture - and not have to pick something out of a catalog and order sight unseen! I have also heard some people think they didn't save that much - mostly (imo) because they were looking at lower end (not bad..just not the really high end stuff) furniture.