My kingdom for a chair...

March 30, 2009 7:47 PM

I need help finding a decent inexpensive office chair.

So I find myself needing an office chair. If I had the money, I'd buy an Aeron or Humanscale, but I don't. The most I can feasibly spend at the moment is $200.

I'd like it sooner rather than later, so something I can buy from Office Depot, Staples, or Sam's Club would be nice. (Or from some office supply place here in Tulsa, I'm not picky)

What's the best I can hope for with my very limited budget?

posted by wierdo to Shopping (13 answers total)

I have this chair from Staples and I love it. It keeps my bottom very comfortable.
posted by disaster77 at 8:14 PM on March 30, 2009

My butt is currently sitting in the best chair I could find for under $200. It took me a few weekends of visiting all local office stores (which I regard to be a collection of the most miserable places ever). I settled for this one, which was on sale and saved me $40. It's the "Executive EZ" chair, which probably isn't too helpful, as it's the most generic name ever. It was really easy to put together, just jam the leg spokes and some wheels on. The back and seat are already assembled.

I also saw lots of aeron style, mesh chairs, also in this price range. Really, I didn't find many I liked for under $200, probably will be luck of the draw.
posted by fontophilic at 8:18 PM on March 30, 2009

On Craigslist, $400 will get you a perfect, mint condition Aeron. So $200 might not be completely out of the question...
posted by ryanrs at 8:44 PM on March 30, 2009

Fake Aerons are usually of poor quality, with minimal back support. The mesh gives. Having test driven this one

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S49842504

at ikea, I can say it's very supportive and affordable.

I ended up going w/ the Patrick, for $199 (the above chair was sold out).

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80068166
posted by harnharn at 9:11 PM on March 30, 2009

This might seem weird, but the Ikea Jules chair is amazing (and only $39!)

At work we have Hermann Miller Aeron-equivalents, and I don't find them noticeably more comfortable than the Jules. The cheap Aeron knockoffs are, IMO, supremely uncomfortable.
posted by charmcityblues at 9:16 PM on March 30, 2009

Response by poster: Just to clarify, I'm not wedded to an Aeron per se, although I do like mesh. I had pretty much resigned myself to some leather or cloth cheapie, so I guess what I'm really looking for is the best in that category.
posted by wierdo at 9:41 PM on March 30, 2009

If you are buying a chair from an office supply company, you can try them out before you buy. Ask to see a few models for a few days and sit in them for long periods of time. No chair is a perfect match for everyone. Another good way to get a chair is to look for surplus from large organizations like state or federal government or universities. You would be amazed at the deals you can pick up.
posted by Foam Pants at 11:49 PM on March 30, 2009

I have the Acadia chair from Staples at home. I like it better than my Steelcase Leap at work. And it's well under $200.
posted by bricoleur at 4:07 AM on March 31, 2009

Seconding Ikea. I have a Karsten chair in my office and a couple of Jules chairs around the house. Karsten is better for long-term sitting (8 hours or so a day) but they're both good and cheap.

Both seem pretty much indestructible.

I returned several $200+ chairs to Office Depot before settling on the Karsten, and I'd take the $39 Jules over everything I've found at office stores except for some of the $300+ leather ones.
posted by mmoncur at 4:55 AM on March 31, 2009

Thirding Ikea. The Markus is $199 with a high mesh back and good lumbar support. I picked one up a couple of months ago for my home office and have been very satisfied with it so far.
posted by syzygy at 5:55 AM on March 31, 2009

I bought a solid wood banker's chair from Walmart. Cherry finish w/padded seat $150. I ordered it online and picked it up at the store. It looks classy and is comfortable, although I did have to buy a $10 dining room chair cushion for the seat. Staples also has them but more expensive. I thought it was sturdier than the under 200$ chairs I looked at at office stores.
posted by cda at 10:43 AM on March 31, 2009

At work I have a great chair we got at Sam's for $79. The arms, back tilt, seat tilt and height are adjustable which makes it very customizable.
posted by radioamy at 10:55 AM on March 31, 2009

Seconding ryanrs here. I got a used Aeron chair in great condition from a eBay a few years ago for around that price. My secret tip is that you should search for variations of the correct spelling (e.g. "Airon" and "Areon") to find the auctions that nobody else knows about.

In any event, office furniture seems to suffer significant depreciation even though it actually sees little damage in a typical office setting. Whatever model you buy, it will probably cost half if you buy it used.
posted by tomwheeler at 10:18 PM on March 31, 2009