One additional point not mentioned in the post (written by me). If you buy a used Aeron chair, it's very likely you can sell it for the same price a couple of years later. Essentially you can lease the chair for free.
The $1 chair is very unlikely to still be a chair in a couple of years if it is sat upon for ~4160 hours. Perhaps you could still sell it for $1 as firewood, though.
If you're happy with a "doordesk" and a metal or wooden folding chair, more power to you. I bought my own personal Aeron years ago, I've used it at multiple different companies and at home when I was freelancing. In the approximately 10 years I've been sitting very comfortably on that ~$800 chair I've gone through dozens of thousands of dollars of now obsolete computer equipment (desktops and laptops). From that perspective combined with the fact that the chair is still in very much like-new condition, even paying $800 for it was well worth it, IMO.
I'm also quite fond of the Ikea Galant height adjustable desk I also bought ~6 years ago, and that one doesn't have the premium price of the Aeron. I do like a good value... IME, the Aeron actually is a good value despite the high price.
Granted. There is completely a place for good tools that make you more efficient and work better/longer/etc.
My point was more that you could replace Aeron Chair with X (where X is anything that doesn't have a steep depreciation curve -- ie - something that's not a car or PC)
If you buy a used "X", it's very likely you can sell it for the same price a couple of years later. Essentially you can lease "X" for free.
