Used or refurbished office chairs: what you actually get

Used is not the same as refurbished

Used means sold on as it is. Refurbished should mean that someone checked the gas lift, the castors and the mechanism, replaced what was worn and put a warranty on it again. Ask which of the two you are buying.

Boring Refurbished pieces come back from offices we furnished ourselves, some of them ten years old. Where needed they get new fabric or a new gas lift and go out again with a six month warranty.

What to check on a used office chair

Check the gas lift (does it slowly sink?), the castors, the armrests and the back tension. Those wear first. Fabric is the easiest part to replace, the mechanism the hardest.

Also ask whether the chair ever met the standard. A chair that met EN 1335 when new stays properly adjustable as long as the mechanism is sound. The Comfort Chair meets EN 1335 type A and the Dutch NPR 1813.

Parts decide how long it lasts

The real cost of a cheap chair shows up when the gas lift fails in year three and the brand no longer has parts. At Boring Collection parts are available for at least five years after purchase, and parts from the Lensvelt years are still in stock, in the same grey.

Desks too

Refurbished works for desks as well. On an electric desk the lifting columns and the control box do the work; the top and frame rarely fail. The columns of the Classic Sit-Stand Desk are made in Germany and carry a five year warranty of their own when new. Because everything is the same grey, refurbished and new can be mixed without anyone noticing.