[mechanical_fish]

If you have tried the Aeron and it is working for you then my advice is... buy an Aeron. Why are you trying to save nickels and dimes on a problem that is interfering with your work? You will spend more time searching and auditioning an alternative chair -- which will end up costing plenty, itself -- than the money you save will be worth.

My Aeron is nearly ten years old. A new Aeron costs $850 up front from Amazon; that works out to about $7 a month. It beats pain.

Recently my chair broke (the hydraulic unit sort of exploded). Fortunately Aerons have a twelve year warranty, so in about an hour a tech is scheduled to visit my home office and fix it, for free.

If you really cannot stomach spending money for a new Aeron buy a used Aeron. (But you might want to call and make sure that the sweet, sweet warranty will transfer! ;) Then, if you decide later that another chair is better, you can sell the Aeron used and not lose much money in the bargain.

[skalpelis]

If anything, the chair is worth it because of the warranty - imagine buying a 100$ POS chair every year and compare it with the cost of an Aeron over 12 years (at least twelve, but it's likely to last more).

However, the 12-year warranty is only for structural parts. If I recall correctly, the mesh had only a 5-year warranty.

[silencio]

This chair discussion and zed shaw's recent RSI discussion led me to looking at buying a new chair since my current one is giving me problems. I've settled on the Mirra, since I prefer it to an Aeron and I've found some reasonable deals for various colors of lightly used Mirra chairs on sites like ebay, craigslist, etc.

I'm sure a lot of others here looking to buy a chair are thinking of going the same route I am. Be aware that there is one major caveat emptor to buying a secondhand chair: Herman Miller's 12 year warranty only applies to the original purchaser that obtained the product from HM or an authorized reseller. Humanscale, Steelcase, Knoll, HON, and pretty much every other major task chair manufacturer has a similar warranty, and none of them will let you transfer the warranty AFAIK. Experiences with obtaining warranty service for secondhand Aerons and other chairs seems to vary, but please factor in the possibility that you may not be able to obtain service into the long-term cost of buying a used chair. If a trivial-over-12-years cost difference will give you peace of mind, go for it. Research a reseller before you buy anything from them. And so on.

If you weren't aware of this already, well, you can use it now to negotiate a lower price ;)

(Speaking of warranties, Costco sells some Herman Miller chairs as a legitimate authorized reseller. You can get the HM warranty and Costco's legendary return policy together that way, should anything with your chair go horribly wrong.)

[mechanical_fish]

I believe that is right. Don't juggle knives while standing near your Aeron.

[mlLK]

I hate to admit this, but I think you're right. My Dad was originally going to get me a new chair for my birthday, but when he showed me what he wanted to get me, I reluctantly declined and tried describing to him I don't him or myself to waste more money on another office chair that is only going to cause me more problems. I doubt he's gonna shuck $850, let alone $425, for an office chair, so I guess I'm gonna have some shopping around to do on craigslist. :|

[mlLK]

Since you own an Aeron, what is the difference between sizes (i.e. A, B, C keep cropping up)

[mechanical_fish]

I sit in a C and it's still a smidgen too short for my lower leg length. So, all I really know is that Bs are too small, and I've spent so little time sitting in a B that I cannot even tell you how. ;)

The difference I notice is the height, and perhaps the size of the seat back, but there may be other differences as well.

I did learn the secret for figuring out an Aeron's size: Under the edge of the back of the seat, stamped into the plastic, are one or more raised dots, like Braille. The one with three dots is a C. The one with two dots is too small for me, and I've never encountered a single dot.