Eames Lounge Chair copies... worth it?

[Brittany Paris]

No, selling fakes is a breach of copyright. They all belong together in many cases. If one gets closed the other one continues. Never be happy with a fake, always buy the real deal

Yeah, I wish we could all buy the real deal. But what about those of us who can't afford the real deal? Are we all just SOL? I've seen ppl say that if you can't afford the real thing, then find some other style that you can afford. And that is just a snobby way of thinking. We should all enjoy MCM style! Heck, Charles and Ray Eames had the little people in mind when designing their furniture! And I am not ashamed at all of buying a reproduction!

I personally am a penny pincher but don't want to buy something at a smaller price tag if it's not well made. So with the Eames lounge reproductions out there, they're obviously not going to be the same quality as the original. But there are good repros and bad repros. Even the Herman Miller version that you can buy online is a reproduction, so don't think you're buying the "real deal" unless you can find a vintage lounge chair off eBay or something. I will get back on here and report my findings once I receive my repro hopefully in a week or two. I don't know if you can post pics on here but I will try.

 

[gomestar]



I wish we could all buy the real deal.  But what about those of us who can't afford the real deal?  Are we all just SOL?

well ... yeah. This concept extends to all fascets of life.

 

[Brittany Paris]

well ... yeah. This concept extends to all fascets of life.

Thanks for sharing your wisdom.

 

[Find Finn]



Yeah, I wish we could all buy the real deal.  But what about those of us who can't afford the real deal?  Are we all just SOL?  I've seen ppl say that if you can't afford the real thing, then find some other style that you can afford.  And that is just a snobby way of thinking. We should all enjoy MCM style!  Heck, Charles and Ray Eames had the little people in mind when designing their furniture!  And I am not ashamed at all of buying a reproduction!  

With that logic you should be wearing a fake LV, Rolex and live in a cardboard house.


If you can't afford the real deal, BUY SOMETHING ELSE, there's so many great living furniture designers, who makes affordable design.

 

[Brittany Paris]



If you can't afford the real deal, BUY SOMETHING ELSE, there's so many great living furniture designers, who makes affordable design.

Wow. You are so close minded. The Herman Miller company isn't even selling the "real deal" so get off your high horse and realize that we all can't shell out $4,000+ for it. And don't compare a repro Eames lounge to a fake Rolex. That's just ignorant.

 

[Find Finn]



Wow. You are so close minded. The Herman Miller company isn't even selling the "real deal" so get off your high horse and realize that we all can't shell out $4,000+ for it. And don't compare a repro Eames lounge to a fake Rolex. That's just ignorant.

You should get your facts straight before you make bold claims, which you can't back up.

The HM Eames lounge chair is made in the same factory as it all has and the same factory also makes the Nelson bench, Noguchi Table, Cherner Chairs & Eames LCW among other things.

They may have updated the design as technology and the human body "evolves", but it's still the "real deal", as you can order one in the original specs and the royalties goes towards supporting the eames legacy., also a vintage, is less than a new fake, so that will always be a better purchase.

A repo anything is the same, as it's genuine and you are supporting people who are steeling other peoples work and you are not supporting the designer and their families. If everyone buys reversed engineered products, the designers can't make a living and therefor no new designs will be made, so go ahead kill the trade.


Let me repeat myself BUY SOMETHING ELSE, IF YOU CAN'T AFFORD THE REAL THING.

 

[SkinnyGoomba]



Wow. You are so close minded. The Herman Miller company isn't even selling the "real deal" so get off your high horse and realize that we all can't shell out $4,000+ for it. And don't compare a repro Eames lounge to a fake Rolex. That's just ignorant.

They have had the chair in constant production since 1956, so I'd really like to know what makes you think that they're not producing the 'real deal'.

Do you have any idea what the materials that go into a good piece of furniture cost? Just to give you an idea, I get wholesale pricing on leather and a bull hide of luxury full grain aniline dyed leather is about $400-$600/ea, add the costs of wood, padding, aluminum, parts, mechanical processes and labor to that. Rove is charging $1000~ for that chair and ottoman, so how much quality do you really think is built into it when the cost of materials for the EL&O from HM nearly exceeds the retail price of the Rove concepts one?

I think, quite honestly, that it is close minded to consider nothing other than price when buying something.

 

[Brittany Paris]



You should get your facts straight before you make bold claims, which you can't back up.

The HM Eames lounge chair is made in the same factory as it all has and the same factory also makes the Nelson bench, Noguchi Table, Cherner Chairs & Eames LCW among other things.

They may have updated the design as technology and the human body "evolves", but it's still the "real deal", as you can order one in the original specs and the royalties goes towards supporting the eames legacy., also a vintage, is less than a new fake, so that will always be a better purchase.

A repo anything is the same, as it's genuine and you are supporting people who are steeling other peoples work and you are not supporting the designer and their families. If everyone buys reversed engineered products, the designers can't make a living and therefor no new designs will be made, so go ahead kill the trade.


Let me repeat myself BUY SOMETHING ELSE, IF YOU CAN'T AFFORD THE REAL THING.

You're right, I shouldn't be making bold claims that I can't back up. That's just the word on the street, so maybe I'll do some studying on it. I've read a lot about how the new Eames lounge chairs are also a reproduction, anyone know why people are saying this? I'd love to know the truth on this.
Also, I get what you guys are saying and to each their own but I refuse to feel bad about buying a reproduction. I get that I am supporting slave labor and am taking money from the designers, blah blah blah. But the designers aren't even alive! And in this day and age it's impossible to buy things that aren't made in China. So the only reason I'll feel bad is if the chair I bought is not up to my standards.
I will add that there are some really crappy reproductions out there. I tried to find the best quality repro in my price range, and it's obviously not going to be as good as the original.

 

[Brittany Paris]



I think, quite honestly, that it is close minded to consider nothing other than price when buying something.

I agree, but I did a lot of searching before ordering. If it was only price that I was considering, then I would have ordered a $600 POS off of Amazon. Rove has a 3 year warranty and there are a lot of other positive things about their chair so hopefully I made the right decision in terms of buying a reproduction. If I could find a vintage original off eBay for the same price, I would've bought it but obviously they're worth a lot more than $1300.

 

[SkinnyGoomba]

It's definitely not impossible to buy something that is not made in china. In fact, guess where the real eames lounges are made.....they're made in Michigan, USA.

There are many times 'foundations' that are supported by the licensed pieces that do things such as architectural preservation.

 

[Find Finn]



You're right, I shouldn't be making bold claims that I can't back up. That's just the word on the street, so maybe I'll do some studying on it. I've read a lot about how the new Eames lounge chairs are also a reproduction, anyone know why people are saying this? I'd love to know the truth on this.
Also, I get what you guys are saying and to each their own but I refuse to feel bad about buying a reproduction. I get that I am supporting slave labor and am taking money from the designers, blah blah blah. But the designers aren't even alive! And in this day and age it's impossible to buy things that aren't made in China. So the only reason I'll feel bad is if the chair I bought is not up to my standards.
I will add that there are some really crappy reproductions out there. I tried to find the best quality repro in my price range, and it's obviously not going to be as good as the original.

Start here

http://www.fastcodesign.com/1669956/watch-the-handmade-process-behind-your-eames-chair


Like SG & I said there's foundations which support their legacy and work with preserving their house for example, which isn't cheap.

I highly doubt that you are able to buy a reproduction, that is made outside of far east Asia and the wood isn't FSC certified either.

I've seen vintage 1960's chairs for as little as $1,100.

If I had to be an asshole, I would say, not being willing to support american/european jobs, should result in the karmic reward of having ones job outsourced to India.

 

[skeetybug]

I have been reading this thread since day one and I must say that everyone is entitled to their opinion. I do support local designers and I will definitely support their products if it is affordable to me. Some guys/gals that make $36,000 a year may not have the same spending ability as others who earn significantly more. I for one will NOT buy a FAKE Rolex even though the name "Rolex" is printed on the watch. That is a counterfeit. On the other hand, if SEIKO created a watch similar to a ROLEX, would it be said that I am buying a counterfeit/knock-off?? Absolutely not.

A quick history lesson about Honda and Toyota. They began with copying designs of other well made American cars. At this point in time, it can be said that their cars surpass the quality of their US competitors.

Personally, I own a couple pieces of licensed copies, but for some items, i.e. the Eames Plywood Chair and the Eames Plastic Molded Chair, I just refuse to pay $800 or $300 respectively. Recently, I bought an Eames Lounge Chair from MCMclassics because my client was not interested to spend hundreds of dollars for a chair. I bought one to test it out and it's an almost exact replica. The base price compares to Rove, but I also got a 5% designer discount. My client is happy as hell and he ended up getting two. Of course, I am happy whenever my client is happy. The point is, wherever a replica is produced, it has to be so close to the original. Reproducers certainly have come a long way to producing nearly exact replicas of MCM furniture.

Brittany, please don't feel bad about buying the chair just because it is a reproduction, I have done the same and I am sure a lot of people out there would have done the same as well. Can you please let me know if Rove's version has the rubber shock mounts under the arms such as this http://www.instructables.com/id/Eames-Lounge-Chair-rubber-shock-mount-repair/

Appreciate your help.

 

[twistoffat]



I personally am a penny pincher but don't want to buy something at a smaller price tag if it's not well made.  So with the Eames lounge reproductions out there, they're obviously not going to be the same quality as the original.  But there are good repros and bad repros.  Even the Herman Miller version that you can buy online is a reproduction, so don't think you're buying the "real deal" unless you can find a vintage lounge chair off eBay or something.  

I presume you have heard of the expression"Penny wise and Pound foolish" You may not want to spend 3-4k on a real lounge chair but if you do its at least worth something.
The 1k you´ll spend on a fake is worth very little on the used market. I cannot afford a pagani Zonda and despite the fact that I lust after one, I will never stoop so low as to buy a blender with a body kit.
At the end of the day I don´t have to live with a fake you do, and despite anything you may try and tell me, we both know that it will detract from the experience, and I don´t think thats worth it.

 

[chevron]



I presume you have heard of the expression"Penny wise and Pound foolish" You may not want to spend 3-4k on a real lounge chair but if you do its at least worth something.
The 1k you´ll spend on a fake is worth very little on the used market. I cannot afford a pagani Zonda and despite the fact that I lust after one, I will never stoop so low as to buy a blender with a body kit.
At the end of the day I don´t have to live with a fake you do, and despite anything you may try and tell me, we both know that it will detract from the experience, and I don´t think thats worth it.

If it were the case that the fake were as enjoyable as the real Eames, your logic is faulty as the real chair is going to lose 1-2k of value in 20 years while the fake will lose 500-800. And you'd have had a larger opportunity cost for the duration with the HM Eames.

I doubt it's as enjoyable, though.

 

[SkinnyGoomba]

The chair and ottoman together cost $578 in 1956. I regularly see originals selling for $2500-$3500 today.

Where does the loss of $2000 over 20 years occur?

Compare to the auction prices of plycraft knockoffs of the chair for a much more accurate comparison of past data.