The other day someone asked this and everyone recommended a $1,400 chair. I can’t afford that, I can’t even dream of affording that. I’m looking for something with good lumbar support for ideally under $400 tops. Does anyone have any ideas?
And Inb4 someone says “buy one used / second hand” I looked and they’re still pretty pricey. My current chair is falling apart so I need to do something soon.
I got a HON Ignition 2.0 a few years back for about $300. Don’t let the name fool you, it’s not a gaming chair. It’s one of the best cheap ergonomic chairs I’ve ever used. You can get them lightly used from Amazon for about $360 nowadays, or $425 new. Between working from home and sitting in front of my computer gaming, I spend probably 8+ hours a day sitting in that chair, and have for the last 3 years. It’s still in great shape and shows almost no wear and tear.
I would steer clear of any chairs that
- function as a billboard for themselves (high back with a logo that’s clearly visible on a twitch stream)
- are built like a bucket seat from a race car
- or are otherwise marketed toward “gamers”
I would try looking for a second hand expensive one. I found a guy on CL who restores Herman Millers; sold me a lightly used Aeron for like $300.
The one I used before that was the Ikea Markus (also purchased on CL for $100, barely used).
I got a Serta Lautner executive chair as a gift, normally runs about $300 off sale. It has adjustable air-bladder lumbar support and is so soft I’ve taken naps in it.
I recently accidentally sheared a bolt holding one of the arms on because I failed to check it every 6 months, I called the support group and the lady on the other end was kind enough to waive the cost of the replacement kit and shipping. Cannot recommend enough.
I’ve been thinking about the same thing. I know that the chairs I’d like to get are like $700-1000, but I can’t justify that cost while not consistently making money (full-time school for now).
I do spend a lot of time sitting at my desk, so I guess if you break down the price by hours in use, it’s not ridiculous to pay so much for a chair that lasts a decade.
Hopefully I can find a solid refurbish for around $400 eventually… but probably not.
I have a Secretlab chair that I like. Which model is right for you depends on your size. I paid about $500 for mine. They often have $100 off coupons.
I often see some pretty comfortable chairs at Costco for < $300, if you live near one. The savings on the chair alone would more than cover the cost of a 1 year membership.
Seconding the Secretlab chair. For someone who works from home and would play PC games at the exact same desk when work ended, it made sense to invest in a chair beyond my $30 IKEA one and has held up pretty well over the last several years.
I got mine a few months into the pandemic for the same reason.
I might look into this!
Autonomous makes some nice chairs that are in your price range
Thank you!!!
Autonomous has really good marketing and sells a really cheap chair that they probably buy for $80 at an insane markup. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not too terrible. I’ve sat in one before, and it’s certainly better than those stupid “gamer” chairs, but please understand what you are buying.
If you are considering them, tbh I would just go directly to a seller on Alibaba like:
Personally if I were you, I would look at buying a used Steelcase Leap. I bought one in leather in 2015 for $430 including shipping off eBay. Bought another one from a local dealer that had a ton from an office closeout and paid like $300. I’m looking on eBay right now and seeing pretty similar prices for used and refurbs.
I personally have had the ErgoChair Plus with the naked black TPE (No cushion) for the past 5(?) years and it’s been holding up great.
You must not have seen my reply in that thread:
My husband and I both have been using Tempur-Pedic office chairs for about 15 years. Starting in 2004, we both worked desk jobs from home (he still does, I only recently shifted careers) and both play video games so we have used the shit out of our chairs, and they are still good. I like that the seat is wide enough so I can fold my legs up under me if I want to.
I am right now sitting on a Steelcase Series 1, and while it doesn’t have great lumbar support, it is far better than any shitty $150 “gaming” chair, and is right in your price range brand new.
If you haven’t looked into used office furniture stores near you, I would highly suggest it. Depending on where you live you could get anywhere from 40 to 80% off, and big name $1k retail chairs are built to last 10+ years and are often lightly refurbished at these stores (and they usually can order parts and do repairs in shop)
See if an office equipment seller is doing office clearances and you can get some office chairs for less than $100 most likely (I got one for £50)
This. I got a like new $1400 chair for $350.
I’ve worked from home for 10 years, logged serious hours in that chair, never felt uncomfortable. It’s a nightingale if that helps.
Steer clear of anything that markets itself as being gaming focused. Plenty of middle-of-the-road office chairs provide decent back support and I’d even wager most are better for your long term health than a “gaming” chair. If there’s a local office furniture store nearby then I’d check that out. Still might be a bit pricey but I’m sure they have some cheaper options. My current one was like $200 from one of those stores and it’s served me very well. Super comfy, much better than my sibling’s gaming chair.
Seems like you have a lot of good suggestions already, but more couldn’t hurt.
I bought the following chairs (also from Staples coincidently) in 2022, and both have been great, but it looks like they’ve gone up in price.
TempurPedic 6400 Fabric Computer and Desk Chair Black TP6400BLK - $279.99 at time of purchase
TempurPedic Mesh Back Fabric Computer and Desk Chair Black TP6450BLKMB - 299.99 at time of purchase
Regardless of what chair you end up deciding on, the put it in your cart and wait a few days a trick is always helpful, and I would definitely recommend googling coupons for wherever you purchase it from.
Good luck!
I can’t figure out why office chairs run so much more than easy chairs and are so much less-durable.
I got an easy chair quite some years back. I don’t think it even ran $300. At some point, I finally managed to muck up the recliner mechanism, but I’ve probably gone through five office chairs since I got that, some of which cost considerably more than that. The back wouldn’t stay up, or the the pneumatic cylinder would fail, or the mesh would weaken and the front of the chair would press up into legs. The office chairs generally didn’t have a headrest.
Honestly, given that I don’t actually work with paper at my desk, I’d kind of rather have an easy chair with some sort of mounting pole for the monitor and a keyboard/mouse tray.
Look into an office supply / overstock / reseller store around you. When businesses close up shop, they usually sell their desks, chairs, etc. to some kind of overstock store. You can usually go there and get very nice chairs for less then 1/4 of the normal cost
Got a refurbished steelcase for ~300 with no regrets.
