What is a good office chair worth? I don’t quite understand the prices sometimes. It’s a bit like with mattresses. Some cost 1000 USD for no apparent reason. What’s your take on it? Are there "fair chairs"? |
What is a good office chair worth? I don’t quite understand the prices sometimes. It’s a bit like with mattresses. Some cost 1000 USD for no apparent reason. What’s your take on it? Are there "fair chairs"? |
Of course, just because a chair has some good qualities doesn't mean it's right for you. Lots of people love chairs I hate, etc.
If you don't want to pay for a fancy chair, your options are really look out for used office equipment dealers, or try a bunch of lower priced chairs in a retail office store and see if one happens to be a good fit; they won't adjust in the right ways if not, but if it fits, you sits.
I got mine used or overstock (been so long I don't remember) and it would be totally worth whatever it costs new.
[1] https://www.hermanmiller.com/en_lac/products/seating/office-...
Found out they cost >$1000. Still don't like them.
The chair held up great, although I did break an arm off last year (sheered bolt) and had a heck of a time replacing the bolt to keep the chair going, but it worked.
The bonded leather finally started wearing off in the last year, so this year I decided to swing by Office Depot and drop another $97 ...
Of course that was not an option :)
So I checked out all the chair in the store and still very much preferred that Serta High-Back Big & Tall chair.
I was surprised to see the chair's regular price is $499 - Man did I get lucky in 2017.
It was on sail that day for $299, but I set on sub-$100 so I didn't buy it that day.
I went home and searched online in the $300 range, and by the time I realized that I wasn't going to be any happier than that chair for $300, the sale had ended :)
Then it was time to scour the internet for anyone still offering the sale price on that chair.
Finally found it at OfficeSupply.com with a few days left at the $299 sale price.
So now I'm back in the same chair and loving it.
So, I guess $300 is my price point :)
With a good chair you are looking for something that can accommodate to you. Remember that your body is the real expensive stuff in your office!
I bought a Steelcase Think after deciding I really liked them in the office I worked at. I've had it for over five years now, and it's still just as rock solid as the day I got it. I've even abused it by dragging it through a very rough parking lot (almost gravel, really) several times into a gaming event.
My only regret with my purchase was that I didn't buy the headrest they offered at the time, though I found a third party headrest for some other chair that happened to be compatible.
So I got myself an HM Sayl lately (used bargain) because I didn’t want a huge throne to dominate the small room. Best choice ever. Can’t recommend strongly enough. Prefer it to aeron.
As with cars, not worth buying new, but worth buying higher quality used. The noteworthy brands retain value for longer but the wear and tear drives their price down.
Most people buy a new office chair every 5-10 years - hence the initial expensive price, among other things, I guess.
I have an office chair from a Swedish company, RBM-765. It's quite adjustable and worth all the money that I paid for it.
The quality is lot better than the usual Ikea chair.
Watch https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cslQsqSalqc to see the different adjustments.
I got it recommended by mech engineers who worked on chairs for disabled people.
Sound insane? I dunno. It comes with a 12 year warranty, so $10 a month or so. I am comfortable and pain-free even on the occasions that I sit in it for 14 hours straight (yes, I know I shouldn't do that).
I like it a bit better than the Aeron, but note that it is not as adjustable as the latter -- notably, the lumbar support either fits you or it doesn't.
What you're paying for is durability.
Sure, you can get a $100 chair from your local office supply store that looks and feels like a $1,000 Herman Miller, but you'll find that the mesh seating starts to sag after a year. Or one of the chair legs will break. Or the air cylinder will fail.
I've abused my Steelcase Think (Was ~$850 when I bought it in 2017) and it still feels rock solid.
A "good" chair is worth $1000s in saved medical costs for fixing bad backs, necks, etc
Ergonomics is quite a valuable this to invest in
But why not try them?