When your church needs seating, it can be a complicated process to find the right vendor. The first thing you might be wondering is where to start. Where can you even find church chairs for sale? Generally speaking, you have two options: resellers and manufacturers. We’ll discuss the pros and cons of each option and how to start shopping for worship seating.
Resellers
Resellers are third parties who buy church chairs directly from the manufacturer and then sell them to churches. While resellers often have a huge selection of chairs from different manufacturers, the quality may vary.
There is a fundamental flaw in the reseller business model: the seller is not directly responsible for the chair quality. What you often end up getting is a church chair that is built as cheaply as possible to maximize profits for the vendor.
You may immediately notice low prices on a reseller website. Be wary of prices that seem too good to be true or lower than all the competition. In most cases, the low price reflects lower quality materials.
Manufacturers
The other type of church chair vendor is manufacturers. These are companies who design and produce their own chairs, including those whose chairs are contract manufactured to specific standards by qualified factories specifically for their brand. They may not have as large of a selection as resellers, but they will be much more knowledgeable about their chairs. Buying directly from a manufacturer often means you’ll get a higher quality chair. At the very least, you’ll be fully aware of the chair’s quality because you have the opportunity to ask questions about its construction.
Related: See our list of questions to ask about chair quality.
Pricing varies with manufacturers. Generally, you get what you pay for in the sense that the higher quality chairs will cost more. However, when it comes to something you will use for years to come, you want to get the best quality possible.
Where to Buy Chairs
There are generally four places to buy church chairs: general vendors, specialized vendors, church chair sellers, and wholesale sellers.
General Chair Vendors
These are companies that sell chairs for virtually every industry. They could have a line of church chairs but also carry banquet and event seating, funeral chairs, school products, and other types of chairs.
Specialized Vendors
You may also come across vendors who specialize in a particular industry – like event planning or office furniture – and happen to carry church chairs.
Church Chair Sellers
These are companies that specialize in making church chairs. Their primary audience consists of religious organizations. Although they might occasionally sell to other organizations, they focus on serving churches.
Wholesale Sellers
Lastly, you may encounter various wholesale vendors who advertise “cheap church chairs.” Be wary of these types of sellers. Their entire business model is built on purchasing chairs at the lowest possible prices and selling them at a steep discount compared to other vendors. You will not end up getting a quality chair for these prices. Instead, you’ll be plagued with issues like failing components and uncomfortable seating.
Read more about issues with cheap church chairs.
Buying Chairs Online vs. in a Store
One last thing to note is the difference between buying online vs. buying in-person. In the church chairs industry, you will find very few brick-and-mortar stores where you can physically go to look at the chairs. Most vendors simply sell online or over the phone.
You may be understandably nervous to make such a large purchase without actually seeing the chairs before you buy. Because of this, some vendors offer free sample chairs to allow you to evaluate their product. Others may ask you to simply pay shipping costs for the sample chair.
If the vendor doesn’t offer any kind of sample, another option could be to purchase one of the chairs you’re considering and allow your church committee to test it out. However, this is an undesirable option as costs quickly add up when you’re comparing multiple vendors.
Another thing to consider is fabric samples. If you are trying to decide between different colors, or simply want to get a feel for the quality of a vendor’s fabric, request a few fabric swatches to compare.
Finding the Right Chairs for Your Church
Identifying potential vendors is only the first step in the process. You will want to compare many different factors such as chair specs, pricing, and special features and accessories. If you still need information about the process, check out ChurchPlaza’s comprehensive guide to buying church chairs.
On the other hand, if you already have an idea of what you want, we invite you to browse our selection of church chairs for sale. We manufacture our chairs from our own proprietary designs and use only the best materials like 16-gauge steel and real plywood foundations.
