Dropped $400 on a demo chair that I never should have bought

Back around 2019 I got it in my head that I needed a fancy hydraulic chair for my station. Thing wobbled from day one and the gas lift gave out after 3 months. Now it sits in my garage collecting dust while I still use the same basic $80 stool from Cosmo Prof. Has anyone else fallen for a pricey piece of salon furniture that just did not hold up?

2 comments

2 Comments

paul_burns5h ago

You said "wobbled from day one" and that you think $400 chairs are a ripoff. I gotta push back a little. If it wobbled out of the box, that's on you for not returning it right away. Most places have a 30 day return policy for defective stuff. I've bought a couple mid-range salon chairs over the years, like $200-300 range, and they've held up fine for years. The gas lift on my current one is still solid after 4 years. Maybe you just got a bad apple or you need to grease the lift occasionally. Furniture isn't supposed to last forever, but $400 should get you more than 3 months if you treat it right.

miller.susan3h ago

...and honestly, I think that's part of the problem. People get so caught up in the price tag that they're afraid to admit they made a mistake and send it back. I get it, $400 isn't nothing, but holding onto a wobbly chair hoping it'll straighten out is just wishful thinking. Plus, telling someone to "grease the lift" is fine for a chair that works, but if yours is shot after three months, that's not about maintenance. That's just bad quality control, and I bet a lot of folks out there have a graveyard of expensive salon gear sitting in their garages because they didn't want to deal with the hassle of returns.