I have been using the same Staples special office task chair for the last 8 years, yes 8 years. It has served me very well but the cloth was starting to wear out heavily on the seat and it was time to get something new.
I considered many options as my analytical mind does and contemplated long and hard. The decision was influenced from many factors including:
- Cost – I am, let’s say..frugal and I didn’t want to spend too much. I learned from looking at the chairs that cost was so subjective and it was not easy to make good comparisons. There really were three general categories of chairs.
- $50-$200 – These were mainly sold at Staples and this is the category I picked last time. They seem mostly very consumer-oriented and sold simply based on cost. I had one of these at one of my jobs and it did not last.
- $200-$400 – This category was the hardest to really determine the value of the chair, most were names I had not heard of and was hard to distinguish between the low-end and these. The only real difference I could see was the price.
- $400-$1200 – This is the chair for someone really trying to find a long-lasting and good chair. This is where Herman-Miller, Steelcase, Humanscale and others fall into.
- Comfort – I tried out a lot of chairs and the low-end today felt very low-end. The others had so many adjustments it was hard not to find a comfort zone.
- Durability – I really wanted a chair which will last a long time and not be falling apart 6 months from now.
- Brand – Brand is often an important factor, beyond recognition, brand is a great way to pick a chair on reputation alone.
- Psychological Benefits – If I buy a great chair I will write better code and more interesting articles, right?
- Adjustability – This goes in line with comfort but is important to have adjustable everything, arms, back, height, etc.
I spent about 4 weeks on and off trying to determine the best path to go down. In the end, it came down to getting what you pay for, so I had to bump my budget up a bit.
I am not an office chair expert and frankly, I don’t want to be. My new chair is the Herman Miller Aeron purchased from Sit4less.com, they had great customer service and great prices, free shipping and a month to use the chair and decide if it’s right for me.
I also made the plunge and bought an Aeron chair after years with a cheap desk chair (I can’t even remember where I bought it). I found my chair at http://www.OfficeDesigns.com though, they also provided excellent customer service. They didn’t charge me for shipping and called after I received the chair to make sure everything was fine (I ended up adding the PostureFit option for even more support). I’m happy to say that thanks to http://www.OfficeDesigns.com I am sitting more comfortably than ever.
I also made the plunge and bought an Aeron chair after years with a cheap desk chair (I can’t even remember where I bought it). I found my chair at http://www.OfficeDesigns.com though, they also provided excellent customer service. They didn’t charge me for shipping and called after I received the chair to make sure everything was fine (I ended up adding the PostureFit option for even more support). I’m happy to say that thanks to http://www.OfficeDesigns.com I am sitting more comfortably than ever.
@Derek – Great to hear. I am very happy with this chair, to most comfortable I have ever had. I think I can finlly get some work done 🙂
@Derek – Great to hear. I am very happy with this chair, to most comfortable I have ever had. I think I can finlly get some work done 🙂
It took me a while to shell out the cash for one but now I wish I’d done it sooner. I found mine from http://www.aerondeals.com
It took me a while to shell out the cash for one but now I wish I’d done it sooner. I found mine from http://www.aerondeals.com
@Andrew – It took me way too long to shell out the cash too, I am glad I did. I really love this chair. Thank you for the resource on the Aerons, maybe it will help others. It looks like a nice way to get a chair at a reasonable price.
@Andrew – It took me way too long to shell out the cash too, I am glad I did. I really love this chair. Thank you for the resource on the Aerons, maybe it will help others. It looks like a nice way to get a chair at a reasonable price.
@Rob I almost paid $600 for one locally but I found an eBay dealer through Aeron Deals with a great feedback rating so I took a chance and ended up only paying $450 shipped and it’s in perfect condition!
@Rob I almost paid $600 for one locally but I found an eBay dealer through Aeron Deals with a great feedback rating so I took a chance and ended up only paying $450 shipped and it’s in perfect condition!
@Andrew Great deal. Mine came from Sit4less.com and was offered as a damaged chair which had a scratch on the base but I can’t find it. I am happy with their service.
@Andrew Great deal. Mine came from Sit4less.com and was offered as a damaged chair which had a scratch on the base but I can’t find it. I am happy with their service.