Humanscale Freedom Vs Steelcase Please

Matt999 · 26 Jul 2020 at 09:42

Hey chaps, I didnt get notifications of replies hence my slow response.

I actually now have two of the Please V2 chairs from Office resale at £150 each. I was happy with the one for home so bought one to go into the office.

The first chair base kept slipping forward, i dropped them an email and they immediately said that wasnt right and they would arrange a replacement. This arrived within a couple of days and they took the old one away. They seem to use their own delivery drivers which is nice rather than a courier etc.

The two I have now are in pretty much perfect condition.

My lower back pain is gone and I spend 8+ hours a day sat on it for work.

It does have arm rests that slide back and forward and you can angle in and out rather than sliding side to side.

Very happy with the purchase so thanks for the help and for pointing me at office resale!

zom247 · 26 Jul 2020 at 12:06

After returning my Please to 2ndhd.com I went and purchased it from Office Resale as it was down to £150. I got it on Friday and already I can tell the difference between it and my Noblechairs Hero. The lumbar support is excellent and it feels so comfortable to sit in. It also has the sliding armrests and is in very good condition. It was delivered complete rather than in a box in 2 pieces like the previous chair.

The only thing I can see wrong is the wheels. When I checked them they were choked with hair, I managed to pull most of it out but there's still some round the spindles which I'll only be able to remove by removing the wheels themselves. Looking online it can be done but looks a pain to do. Has anyone changed the wheels on their chair? My floor is hard wood so I'd need something suitable for that. Seen loads of single rubber wheels online but not sure how they'd perform on the chair.

Overall impressions are good so it looks like the Noble is going up for sale

Muso · 26 Jul 2020 at 13:19

I'm now looking at getting a please V2, how are you guys getting them for £150, the office resale site is £175 excluding VAT. I was looking to buy from 2nd hand as it looks like they reupholster them which is important on a second hand chair.

zom247 · 26 Jul 2020 at 13:53

Muso said:
I'm now looking at getting a please V2, how are you guys getting them for £150, the office resale site is £175 excluding VAT. I was looking to buy from 2nd hand as it looks like they reupholster them which is important on a second hand chair.

They did a flash sale on the 16 Jul 20 selling it for £125 plus £25 VAT so I bought it. Just have to keep checking their site. £55 cheaper than 2ndhd and in much better condition than the one they sent me. I've bought from 2ndhd before though and the chair I had then was excellent, luck of the draw plus it may have been damaged in transit.

Muso · 26 Jul 2020 at 15:26

Hi Zom,

Thanks for explaining that, £150 sounds like a bargain. Do you know if office resale reupholster as it just mentions "refurbished", on the 2ndhand page it mentions "New" which they've explained means it has been reupholstered.
Probably luck of the draw how good the chair you get from either company is. I'll contact office resale tomorrow.

southernorth · 26 Jul 2020 at 15:58

zom247 said:
After returning my Please to 2ndhd.com I went and purchased it from Office Resale as it was down to £150. I got it on Friday and already I can tell the difference between it and my Noblechairs Hero. The lumbar support is excellent and it feels so comfortable to sit in. It also has the sliding armrests and is in very good condition. It was delivered complete rather than in a box in 2 pieces like the previous chair.

The only thing I can see wrong is the wheels. When I checked them they were choked with hair, I managed to pull most of it out but there's still some round the spindles which I'll only be able to remove by removing the wheels themselves. Looking online it can be done but looks a pain to do. Has anyone changed the wheels on their chair? My floor is hard wood so I'd need something suitable for that. Seen loads of single rubber wheels online but not sure how they'd perform on the chair.

Overall impressions are good so it looks like the Noble is going up for sale

For hard floors those rollerblade type wheels are really good - won't damage the floor and glide much easier than stock

zom247 · 26 Jul 2020 at 16:00

Muso said:
Hi Zom,

Thanks for explaining that, £150 sounds like a bargain. Do you know if office resale reupholster as it just mentions "refurbished", on the 2ndhand page it mentions "New" which they've explained means it has been reupholstered.
Probably luck of the draw how good the chair you get from either company is. I'll contact office resale tomorrow.

Not sure if my chair has been reupholstered but it looks the same as the chair I got from 2ndhnd. I'm sure they would have sent me a better chair out if I'd asked but I got a refund and then it was for sale on the OfficeResale site so I snapped it up.

Muso · 27 Jul 2020 at 13:25

I've decided to purchase a please v2 from Office Resale won't get it for a while as going on holiday but I will be very interested to do a comparison with the Hero which I'm very happy with but can't afford another.

Muso · 7 Aug 2020 at 15:48

Well my chair was delivered when I was on holiday even though I had spoken to office resale about this and they had confirmed it wouldn't be delivered until I was back. The chair was left outside my house and a neighbor took it in after it had been left out all night when it was raining.

This isn't the worst of it, I tested it out and 3 of the mechanisms were broken! The tilt dial was so broken you could pull it out of the socket with ease, one dial with a range of 1-4 only worked 1-3 and the other tilt dial to adjust the pressure you could turn it but it did nothing.

The company is going to give me my money back but damn what a terrible experience! Everything I was worried about buying a second hand chair came true. It's also worth mentioning that the re-upholstry is clearly done on the cheap and the foam seat felt like the cheapest foam.

Looking at the chair it looks over engineered too many dials, cheap and flimsy.

Guess I should have gone for another Hero huh?

southernorth · 7 Aug 2020 at 17:57

Muso said:
Well my chair was delivered when I was on holiday even though I had spoken to office resale about this and they had confirmed it wouldn't be delivered until I was back. The chair was left outside my house and a neighbor took it in after it had been left out all night when it was raining.

This isn't the worst of it, I tested it out and 3 of the mechanisms were broken! The tilt dial was so broken you could pull it out of the socket with ease, one dial with a range of 1-4 only worked 1-3 and the other tilt dial to adjust the pressure you could turn it but it did nothing.

The company is going to give me my money back but damn what a terrible experience! Everything I was worried about buying a second hand chair came true. It's also worth mentioning that the re-upholstry is clearly done on the cheap and the foam seat felt like the cheapest foam.

Looking at the chair it looks over engineered too many dials, cheap and flimsy.

Guess I should have gone for another Hero huh?

Does not sound good at all from them, but at least you're getting a refund. Did your chair say made in 2017 like @Matt999 ?

Norseman · 7 Aug 2020 at 18:41

I'd take "refurbished" with a pinch of salt. I've had chairs from several of the large "refurbishers" and they have all had pretty obvious faults that would have been picked up with anything but the most cursory inspection. The companies mentioned are not like the companies in the US that remanufacture the chairs so that they are as new, they just slap on a bit of cheap upholstery fabric and send them out. To be fair though, I've sent several chairs back and I've never had any issue getting a refund.

southernorth · 7 Aug 2020 at 18:44

Norseman said:
I'd take "refurbished" with a pinch of salt. I've had chairs from several of the large "refurbishers" and they have all had pretty obvious faults that would have been picked up with anything but the most cursory inspection. The companies mentioned are not like the companies in the US that remanufacture the chairs so that they are as new, they just slap on a bit of cheap upholstery fabric and send them out. To be fair though, I've sent several chairs back and I've never had any issue getting a refund.

Which refurbishers are these? I've seen in the US companies like BTOD/Crandall doing proper refurbs, shame none of that exists in UK.

Norseman · 7 Aug 2020 at 19:01

I don't think there are any companies like Crandall in the UK, the companies I've dealt with are Corporatespec and 2ndHND and I returned both chairs. I ended up getting a new "gaming" chair because it really does seem to be pot luck with these refurb companies.

Muso · 7 Aug 2020 at 20:03

Wow so the chair was made in 2006! No wonder it's knackered.

I did say to the guy on the phone, "do you not check these before you send them out".

To be honest even if it was fixed I don't think I'd want it, the seat pan is appalling. It felt like the cheapest office chair.

Going to just bite the bullet and buy another Hero.

Norseman · 7 Aug 2020 at 20:55

Might want to check your local Curry's for the Arozzi Vernazza it's an awesome chair for £250 notes.

Muso · 8 Aug 2020 at 08:20

Thanks Norseman, looks very similar to the Hero. Which one did you get? I can only see a grey fabric one at Curry's which I can't buy as it says no stores near me offer contactless collection on this item no matter how far I expand the area.

What is the seat pan like on this chair? It doesn't seem to have lumbar support either.

Cheers

Norseman · 8 Aug 2020 at 10:25

I bought the blue fabric version direct from Arozzi, I found a voucher code on google and got a 10% discount so it cost me £290, delivery was 3 days via UPS. The seat pan is fairly wide and I find it really comfortable. The cold foam is firm but not so firm that it's like sitting on a rock, it feels like the sort of cushion you'd expect to find on a nice armchair, it certainly feels a lot softer and more cushiony than my last chair (a DXracer), possibly due to the fabric cover.

It has a cushion for lumbar support which stays attached to the backrest with a hidden elastic strap which stays in place pretty well. Initially, I thought it was a bit firm but after a week I'd either got used to it or it had softened up. Lumbar support is important to me because I've had some fairly major back surgery so my sacrum and L4/L5 lumbar vertebrae are all fused together. Sitting in a chair that doesn't support my lumbar curve is pretty uncomfortable.

My only complaint about the chair would be the smell, for the first couple of days it gave off quite a strong chemical smell which has thankfully now gone. For the price I'm more than happy with my purchase.

khrall · 14 Sep 2020 at 19:51

Muso said:
Well my chair was delivered when I was on holiday even though I had spoken to office resale about this and they had confirmed it wouldn't be delivered until I was back. The chair was left outside my house and a neighbor took it in after it had been left out all night when it was raining.

This isn't the worst of it, I tested it out and 3 of the mechanisms were broken! The tilt dial was so broken you could pull it out of the socket with ease, one dial with a range of 1-4 only worked 1-3 and the other tilt dial to adjust the pressure you could turn it but it did nothing.

The company is going to give me my money back but damn what a terrible experience! Everything I was worried about buying a second hand chair came true. It's also worth mentioning that the re-upholstry is clearly done on the cheap and the foam seat felt like the cheapest foam.

Looking at the chair it looks over engineered too many dials, cheap and flimsy.

Guess I should have gone for another Hero huh?

Ordered my Steelcase Please v2 chair from these guys in July. The back stop mechanism has failed, with a small metal pawl looking like it's snapped in half after 2 months.

Currently have a chair I can only sit bolt upright in and starting to wonder if they are ghosting me.

Can't find any replacements for the part online.

Nabeshogun · 19 Sep 2020 at 10:29

It's so hard to find a decent cheap chair, reading through this thread was like a rollercoaster of 'oh that sounds decent', 'oh I guess not', 'wait what about that one' then repeat, haha ... I check the office chairs sub on reddit a bit and that leaves me just as indecisive ... I'll end up having to get something as this garden chair I'm using is really doing my back in after a couple years on it ... like the mesh ones are nice to not get crazy sweaty, but maybe aren't comfortable to be in all day while at the computer then to chill and watch TV later on... and most of the ones advised seem rather expensive... which is what caught my attention on this thread as they were way cheaper then the Herman Miller kinda ones I see recommended often.