Guided Ergonomic Chair/ Keyboard Choice

Picking Ergonomic Equipment Easily

Ergonomic office chairs, ergonomic desks, ergonomic keyboard and mice - is there a way to pick them easily and without having to do much research?

In May, we published an exhaustive series reviewing ergonomic online stores. The winners were outstanding stores for ergonomic furniture and ergonomic accessories, with a great amount of choice in their inventory, and a very large amount of product and information data, allowing the customer to make an informed choice. There were, however, some stores who focused on offering a very easy picking process to customers, rather than giving them an abundance of research information. Where do you go then, when you want to solve an ergonomic problem quickly without doing extensive research? We found three stores which provide you with a quick and guided process to pick ergonomic equipment.

#3 Ergo4me (chairs only). Ergo4me is the direct marketing arm of the manufacturing company for Bodybilt, ErgoGenesis, already reviewed here. By selecting a "Build my chair" button in many places on the front page or on many other pages, you are led to two builders, a basic builder, which takes about one minute and proposes a chair, or an advanced builder which takes about 5 minutes and builds a custom chair. With the description of that custom chair, you can call ErgoGenesis, and ask for a quote along with options. Bodybilt makes good ergonomic chairs, and the average price of these custom chairs, according to Ergo4me, is approximately $850 - although the ones we built were higher. Perfect Back Chair is another site operated by ErgoGenesis in the same manner - there are several such sites.

#2 The Human Solution. The Human Solution, reviewed here, was already #2 in our ergonomic furniture store review, and #1 in our ergonomic accessories store review. It scores high again in this category, by providing two thorough self assessment evaluations, one for chairs, and one for keyboard trays. Both of them are PDF documents, that are to be downloaded, filled (it takes approximately 10 minutes), then sent back to the store. They are then evaluated by the store's ergonomic advisers (i..e ergonomics trained sales people), who come back to you with a proposal and discuss your choices. It is possible to get instant advice through chat (or phone) as well, rather than waiting for the result of these assessments. Because these sales people are agnostic with respect to brand, and because the store carries a very broad choice of brands, we like this process a lot, and feel that you get, at once, the benefit of professional advice with the brad range of products from a solid retailer. The sales people you talk to can also dispense advice on other issues such as footrest, keyboard, pointing devices etc., although the self assessments are focused on chairs and keyboard trays.

#1 Ergonomics Simplified. Ergonomics Simplified, already reviewed here, opens up as a clean site with a simple interface. It provides you with three primary guided self-evaluation. The most significant is the interactive evaluation, available from the upper right hand corner of the screen, which takes you through a 10 minute questionnaire and ergonomic guide, which also dispenses good advice on the way, and ends with a diagnostic of all your ergonomic problems, along with equipment proposals to alleviate them, goling from chairs to keyboard trays, keyboard, tracking devices, and footrest - very broad. You also have access to simple chair and keyboard choosers, which, based on a much simpler set of facts about you, validate which chairs or keyboards might be best for you. We really like the site and the evaluation, because the diagnosis and proposals are automated on line, and therefore instantaneous, and because the advice provided goes beyond chairs and keyboard trays, across all accessories that the assessment is programmed to cover, which is a broad range. We also like the fact that the store will put you in touch with local ergonomic consultants to evaluate your set-up in situ as needed - a nice touch, beyond what other stores provide. We have two significant concerns, however. The chair choices, and the range of options for some accessories, are limited, though - are they really broad enough to encompass all your needs? And - Ergonomics Simplified is the only store where you cannot reach the store on the phone, which we find inadequate - it would be better to raise prices and allow for a more complete range of interactions. Yet, despite these significant weaknesses, we find the broad range of automated diagnostics a compelling choice with great usability and immediate satisfaction online.

Best Ergonomic Online Stores for Children

Children' s ergonomic furniture, kids' mouse, headphones, headset, keyboard, desk, chair, footrest, workstation - where can you find them? Children are affected by ergonomic issues in the same manner as adults - but finding ergonomic equipment for them is much harder. In fact, simply finding decently fitting computer equipment for them is hard enough.

In our research on ergonomic stores, we found two store with a decent inventory of children' s ergonomic or computer equipment.

Ask Ergo Works, an excellent, although pricey, ergonomic store, has a very good children' s section. They have ergonomic children' s chairs and footrests, children' s keyboards and tracking devices, kids' backpacks, and kids' writing instruments such as ergonomic pens, and pen or pencil holders.

Ergo Guys is an unusual ergonomic store. Behind the 90's online store front (which carries a caricature of the two founders), you can find a broad inventory of hard-to-find ergonomic tools. Ergo Guys has several children' s sections, with kids' furniture, kids'  gear, and other miscellaneous children' s items. There you can find children' s workstations, adjustable tables and desks, children' s standing desks, safe step-ups, art horses, and properly sized keyboards, tracking devices, and headphones.

Do you know good children size ergonomic resources? Let us know!

The Best Online Ergonomic Resources and Links

Best Ergonomic Online Stores Part 8


Where do you go when you need ergonomic-related information on the web? What about repetitive Stress Injuries (RSI), a moniker that is broader than the more restrictive Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?  Ergonomic resources are spread very wide horizontally, but few of them can be said to be go-to, authoritative sources.








Ergonomic How-tos

• OSHA computer workstations etool has a good set of materials on properly setting up computer workstations 
• University of Western Ontario Computer Workstation Set-up Guide:  maybe the best sequential guide for setting up your workstation that we have found on the web, simple and fully guided
• Smith College Ergonomics site offers a compact, but well designed set of pages, discussing good work ergonomics practices.
• U Nebraska RSI page: synthetic information about RSI with tips and links to further resoruces. A good place to go to to start - clear, fast to read.
• UC Riverside library ergonomics tips page - brief and useful list of tips and how-tos.

• Dr Charles Daniels ergonomic tips: old but simple and synthetic, generic tips about office computer ergonomics
• About.com ergonomics: not as out-of-date as other about.com sites, some useful information
• Safe computing tips: broad tips site on most common office ergonomic issues, inlcuding RSIs - of fair to good quality
• 50 best ergonomic practices by OEDb, a good set of computer user tips
• Typing Injury FAQs - another broad tips site, old fashioned presentation but complete set of discussions on computer-related ergonomics and injuries.
•  CUErgo -an outstanding site by Cornell University Ergonomic Lab, mixing an excellent set of ergonomic how-tos and resources with research information and results. 
• Ergonomics Made Easy, a commercial store that we already reviewed, has a learning center with a large number of useful ergonomics- and RSI-related articles
•  Top 10 ergonomic upgrades by lifehacker, along with  lifehacker changing positions guide: focused and very useful, by computer users for computer users

Other Ergonomic Links 

 

• RSI-Relief - a site for RSI sufferers, including on-site information and links
• Ergoweb forums: really for professionals, not for people with RSI
• New Ergonomic Chair offers comparative reviews of high-end ergonomic chairs on a blog
• Office Chair Advice is an excellent site by industry veteran Duncan MacIntyre, which provides reviews and insight on ergonomic office chairs. It also comes with a provocative blog.
• Ankrum Associates has a series of good articles on ergonomics, despite the slightly broken article category page.
• ErgoStoreOnline has a good set of ergonomic links.
  
• Eye2Eye is a commercial site focused don computer vision strain issues, with some interesting information.
• Ergonomics.org is not, as its name would lead us to believe, a general purpose non-profit site about ergonomics, but is focused on the Alexander Technique, a pre-computers method about posture and muscle relaxation linked to benefits in RSI prevention and alleviation.
• SpineUniverse and Spine-Health are interesting sites focused primarily on back pain and back pain resources. However, there are numerous peer-reviewed articles on ergonomic topics, such as this keyboard article or this ergonomic chairs article.
• Usernomics expertise center: a very good site for a preeminent ergonomic consulting firm, with a large collection of links, unfortunately quite dated and frequently incorrect.
• Usability News: an excellent site and feed of latest news on usability.
• Workrite ergonomic links, a good list of links by ergonomics manufacturer Workrite, fairly current, but does not include links to how-tos.
•  Cornell UNiversity Ergo lab ergonomic information for children. 
• Geekhack: amazingly there are no good forums that we could find for ergonomics users and RSIs, but geekhacks is the forum where we find the most references to these topics.

Non-Commercial Ergonomic Blogs 

• Ergonomic Evolution
• Human Centered Design
• Ergoblog
• Office Chair Advice blog.

Commercial Blogs 

• The Human Solution blog
• Ergonomics Made Easy blog
• Ergonomic Edge blog
• Ergonomically Yours blog
• Sit Better blog 
• Smart Furniture blog
• Smart Furniture Employee blog
• Ask Ergo Works blog
• The Ergonomic Store blog

And, last but not least...

The Most Fun Links

• Exercise ball workouts
• Bad designs is a fun site, by Michael Darnell, which displays and illustrates badly designed everyday objects and tools. Recommended in conjunction with the seminal usability book The Design of Everyday Things.
• The cheesiest and funniest commercial advertising  video ever by Kinesis - this hilarious video makes it worth buying a Kinesis keyboard (they are very good, btw) on its own:-)

Do you know of other ergonomic resources that you find useful or authoritative? Share them with us!

<< Previous Page

The 8 Best Ergonomic Accessories Online Stores

Best Ergonomic Online Stores Part 7

Ergonomic keyboard tray, ergonomic keyboard, ergonomic mouse, trackball - most of us have considered purchasing them in the past few years - many of us will need to in the next few years... Where is the best online store to buy ergonomic accessories? We already determined what makes a good ergonomic store, reviewed accessories, furniture, and full range ergonomic stores, then screened these stores against our criteria, and selected the best ergonomic furniture stores on the web. The best ergonomic accessories online stores are, in reverse order:

#8 Ergo Geek. Ergo Geek is for the knowledgeable computer user only: it is not an ergonomic store, its site is a pure e-commerce site of old fashioned design (= awful:-), which focuses on a broad selection and a low price  - but it has the largest inventory of budget and value keyboards and tracking devices that we know of.   There are some useful product reviews on the site. Ergo Geek competes on selection, price and customer support, and does very well on all counts. It carries excellent resellerratings reviews. 

#7 Ergo Guys. Ergo Guys  is another one of those stores for the knowledgeable computer user only: site design straight for the 90's, short product descriptions, cookie-cutter back end - but a very broad selection of some of the hardest to find ergonomic devices on the web. Their inventory is wide and unusual. If you can't find it anywhere, try Ergo Guys... And - these two guys, whose caricature is on the web site, actually look pretty friendly. They carry, among other things, a good set of ergonomic products for children, from keyboards to tracking devices to headphones to... I'd better stop here or I'll have to go on for another page:-) All of this to say - an unusual but valuable quaint store on the web: check them out.

#6 Ergonomic Made Easy. Ergonomics Made Easy has three really good things going for it: a very good selection of keyboards and pointing devices, excellent ergonomic information, and a live, interesting blog. Its site is clean and easy to use. It sees ergonomics as important enough to have a full second menu bar, below the primary product bar, exclusively focused on educating the customer on office ergonomics - this is a nice move, which carries excellent usability on the site - we like that. Outside of keyboards and pointing devices, the inventory is quite limited, and the store does not carry many top brands. There is some product information on the product pages, although not as much as we would like, but the site does not have product reviews, product-specific ergonomic information on the product pages, or chat. There are no chair or keyboard tray builders - that's too bad. There are no store reviews or testimonials, and no resellerratings reviews. We would feel better seeing a good number of resellerratings reviews.

#5 888 Ergo Direct. 888 Ergo Direct is a modern site with a lot of custom text added throughout the site to ease customer selection within categories. Inventory of ergonomic accessories is broad, with a large number of diverse categories, and a wide set of choices in many. The company carries many interesting ergonomic devices. with a decent site design, a large number of categories, and  a mid-size inventory, broad in keyboard and accessories. The amount of product information varies with the category. There are no product reviews or chat, which is too bad. Some builders are available for chairs and keyboard trays, and there are additional explanations and commentaries that advise on putting together the right tray and arm system. A small amount of generic ergonomic information is available - none in the product pages. There are no store reviews or testimonials, and no resellerratings reviews are available. Despite the interesting site and inventory, there are very few mentions of or feedback on 888ErgoDirect anywhere, which does make us a bit nervous. We would like to see a good number of resellerratings review show up soon.

#4 MC Ergo. MC Ergo also did well in our Best Ergonomic Furniture Online Stores Review, where it also placed #4 - a very good performance! The site is very good looking and easy to navigate, with just the right amount of blank space, images and text. The inventory is broad - although not quite as broad as 888ErgoDirect,-, and the store carries top end brands, including Humanscale, Workrite, ErgoGenesis, Evoluent, and others. There is good product information on the product pages, although more could be added. There are no product reviews - a significant lack for such a good site. The site offers chat. Product builders are available for keyboard trays. There is a limited amount of generic ergonomic information as ergo links, although no product specific ergonomic information is provided on the product pages. MC Ergo allows Paypal and Google Checkout. There are no testimonials or store reviews, and no resellerratings reviews are available. The company has a long list of corporate clients, and has a strong focus on corporate transactions, which implies good trust, but possibly could leave individual customers a bit stranded. We would like to see product reviews, more ergonomic information, and resellerratings reviews.

#3 Ergo Ware.  Ergo Ware provides a sophisticated, very well designed site, which, better than another in the category, provides both product and ergonomic information in an integrated manner. The site's information architecture is second to none. It is agreeable to the eye, easy to work with, and full of information without appearing too dense. Inventory is good although not quite as broad or well selected as higher ranked sites. Product pages are very informative. There are product builders available for both chairs and keyboard trays, although these builders are not quite as easy to figure out (in terms of what is best for you) as those in higher ranked sites. There is excellent generic ergonomic information available in a separate tab, and deep product specific ergonomic information referenced in the product pages. There is an extensive list of corporate customers, but no store reviews or testimonials, and no resellerratings reviews.The company clearly excels in the corporate arena, and the site reflects it. There is no user-generated content in the site - a feature you would expect in more individual customer-focused sites.

#2 Ergo Direct. Ergo Direct is a good looking site with a modern look, and significant similarities with MC Ergo - both site designers must be looking at each other a lot:-) The navigation is easy, the pictures are well chosen, and the site, in general, is welcoming. The store carries a  large inventory, many categories, and some big brands, including Humanscale, Goldtouch, Kinesis, Evoluent, WorkRite and 3M, among others. There is good product information across all categories. There are no products reviews and no chat. Extensive builders are provided for chairs and keyboard trays, and product information on complex products, while less exhaustive than for ErgoWare, is presented in an easier manner, with more visuals. There is very limited generic ergonomic information, and no product specific ergonomic information. ErgoDirect has a YouTube channel. It accepts Paypal and Google Checkout. There are no store reviews or testimonials, and no resellerratings reviews available. While ErgoDirect is an online retailer of large volume, we are still a bit worried about the lack of feedback on its customer support, and would feel better after seeing 10 or 15 good resellerratings reviews.

#1 The Human Solution. The Human Solution already placed second in our Best Ergonomic Furniture Online Store Review. What an amazing site! It combines a very clean design with high usability and a truly agreeable appearance, that is efficient and easy to navigate. The front page clearly emphasizes the ergonomic competence of its staff from the get-go.  The store carries a large inventory across its categories, and distributes most top line brands, including Workrite, Humanscale, Steelcase, Evoluent, Kinesis and many others. The product information is good to excellent. There are many product reviews available. The site provide multiple clean chair and keyboard tray builders, as well as multiple shopping guides (such as for instance, a keyboard selection tool), and self assessment tools to help the customer pick her choices. The company encourages customers to call for guidance, and provides self assessment questionnaires to be e-mailed to the staff for feedback and need discussions. Phone staff are all ergonomics trained. There is a large amount of generic ergonomic information, as well as some product-specific ergonomic information on some of the product pages. The company also provides useful feedback and recommendations on some of the products it distributes, and writes a interesting blog. The store accepts Paypal. There are some anonymous testimonials, and  resellerratings reviews are good but not exceptional. This site really stands alone as the best in the category by combining excellent site design and information architecture with powerful self-guided tools and an amazing amount of both store- and user-contributed information. Kudos to The Human Solution!

Next we review ergonomic resources and links on the web... so come back soon!

<< Previous Page          Next: The best ergonomic resources and links                  Next Page >>

The 5 Best Ergonomic Furniture Online Stores

Best Ergonomic Online Stores Part 6

Ergonomic office chairs, ergonomic desks, ergonomic office furniture - where are the best ergonomic online stores to purchase them from? We already determined what makes a good ergonomic store, reviewed accessories, furniture, and full range ergonomic stores, then screened these stores against our criteria. Which ones now come on top? Here are our prize winners, in reverse order:

#5  Sit Better. Sit Better carries a very broad inventory of ergonomic chairs and seating products. It has a good number of user and staff reviews which add significant value. The store carries a few top line brands along many mid range and value lines. The site is a typical e-commerce site, slightly old fashioned, and emphasizing prices. There are multiple pictures of each product under different angles. Product information on the product pages is not always as complete as we would ideally like it to be, although the site rates each chair for ergonomics. There is no generic or product-specific ergonomic information on the site, nor are there shopping guides or self assessment tools. The company maintains a blog. It displays a short list of institutional customers, and its single resellerratings review is good - we would feel better if there were many more, just to be sure:-) More product and ergonomic  information would be welcome.

#4  MC Ergo. MC Ergo  is a very good looking site with a large inventory, which carries some top line brands, including Humanscale, Steelcase and Bodybilt, but not all. Product pages are snazzy and provide a good amount of product information, although not as much as we would like, and not as much as some competitors. Most complex chairs have a clear drop-down based product builder. There are no product reviews, although the site has chat. Some generic ergonomic links are available from the bottom nav bar. There is  no product-specific ergonomic information on the product pages. MC Ergo allows Paypal and Google Checkout. There are no testimonials or store reviews, and no resellerratings reviews are available. The company carries a long list of corporate customers. We would feel better seeing more product information, a lot more user information on the site, as well as some good resellerratings reviews.

#3 Ergonomic Chair Pro. Ergonomic Chair Pro is a true ergonomic store. Its look and feel is not as outstanding as MC ERgo, but it is appropriate to its function, and efficient. The store carries a large inventory of many ergonomic chairs across most high end brands, including Humanscale, Knoll, Ergohuman, Steelcase, Neutral Posture, and Bodybilt, missing Herman Miller. It provides a significant amount of product information on the product pages (although not always as much as you would like), and has specialized chair builders for those chairs that require a complex set of options. The site has chat, product reviews (although few are in existence), some staff recommendations, and limited generic ergonomic information. Its phone and chat staff are all ergonomics trained, and it proposes access to certified ergonomists through the phone to select the right chair - a very good factor. There are no testimonials or resellerratings reviews. We like this site and what it tries to project. We would like to see more product information, more ergonomic information across the site, and some good resellerratings reviews. A blog would be great too!

#2 The Human Solution. The Human Solution is a terrific site, with an amazing amount of information available, and a great set of shopping guides and self assessment tools. The site is very clean and very good looking, with just the right amount of white space, and a very effective, well thought out presentation and navigation: the site designers are really top notch.  The front page clearly emphasizes the ergonomic competence of its staff from the get-go.  The store carries a large inventory across its categories, and distributes most, although not all top line brands, including Steelcase, Humanscale, Knoll, Ergohuman, Workrite, and Neutral Posture - Herman Miller is missing, too bad. The product information is good to excellent, and many product reviews are available - there is even a store forum! What is unusual about the site is how well the customer is guided towards a solution to her problems, whatever they are, through the many complex choices that are available: the site provide multiple clean chair and keyboard tray builders, as well as multiple shopping guides (such as for instance, a keyboard selection tool), and self assessment tools. The company encourages customers to call for guidance, and actually provides self assessment questionnaires to be e-mailed to the staff for feedback and need discussions. Phone staff are all ergonomics trained. There is a large amount of generic ergonomic information, as well as some product-specific ergonomic information on some of the product pages. The company also provides useful feedback and recommendations on some of the products it distributes. The store accepts Paypal. The company and its founder write an interesting blog. There are some anonymous testimonials, and resellerratings reviews are good but not exceptional. All together, it represents an amazingly good store and site. We would like to see more and better resellerratings reviews.

#1 Smart Furniture. It is clear that Smart Furniture is into design: the site design is unusually clean and well done, and its usability is very high. This very good looking site focuses on home and office furniture, although it does carry a few office accessories. Despite its broad furniture range, it has a strong focus on ergonomics, and all of its staff is ergonomics trained. It carries a large number of high reputation ergonomic brands, including Humanscale, Knoll, Steelcase and Herman Miller. There is a large amount of product information on the product pages, more than in any other site. The many kinds of reviews on the site are a real and unique asset: many customer reviews, staff reviews, "independent" reviews (it is not clear how these independent reviews are commissioned), and video reviews - that is great!  The company uses a "design on demand" Flash-based workflow allowing customers to configure furniture, and has extended this workflow to some of the high end chairs with multiple options. The result: the best chair builders in the industry, very visual, and  highly usable - true WYSIWYG product builders. The store encourages the user to ask for designer/ expert assistance on the phone. A simple chair shopping guide covers a few of the best selling chairs. There are no store reviews or resellerratings reviews, and testimonials are anonymous. The company has a blog and an employee blog: that's cool! We would love to see more resellerratings reviews for the store.

In the process of the review, ConsumerPla.net staff actually ordered items from the top 2 contenders, The Human Solution and Smart Furniture, without telling them that we were conducting a review. We got excellent pre-sales support on the phone, very good carry-through in the ordering phase, and top notch customer support after the sale. While our evidence is anecdotal, it confirms the quality of these two stores. Highly recommended.

Next we select the best ergonomic accessories online stores... So come back soon!

Update: Company information 

<< Previous Page     Next: The 8 best ergonomic accessories online stores             Next Page >>

Screening Ergonomic Online Stores

Best Ergonomic Online Stores Part 5

In the past sections of this review, we determined what makes a good ergonomic store, then reviewed accessories, furniture, and full range ergonomic stores. Before comparing and ranking the contenders, we need to screen out those which, while being good at some things, do not meet our requirements in some important areas.

• A lot of online stores, without a strong ergonomic workflow that would make them particularly adapted to picking equipment,  simply are too small or provide too few choices to be of generic value, unless one specifically needs an item that they distribute. In these ranks we count Ergo Pro, Office Ergonomics World, Ergonomics Resource, The Well Being Store , Avid Ergo,  Ergo Devices,  The Ergonomic Store, and Ergonomic Home. Ergo Guys should be in the list, but their unusual inventory selection gives them special value.

• There are also many stores with a standard e-commerce site, which does not lend itself to purchasing ergonomic products, where personal fit is so important - we except those with exceptionally broad inventory or unusual good prices, where such advantages might still be valuable. Their most common issues: not enough product information, no builders, no user reviews - there is not enough information to figure out what you should choose. In these stores we count Fellowes, Kare Products, Office Designs, Ergonomic Chairs Direct, Ergo Mart, Pacific Ergonomics, Beyond the Office Door, Ergo4me, and Sit Correct. Sit Better would have been in this batch, as their product information is lean, but their user and staff reviews are actually useful. Ergo Geek escapes elimination due to their very broad keyboard inventory and excellent resellerratings.

• Some other stores clearly show themselves as ergonomics focused, but do not do enough to facilitate the shopping workflow for ergonomic product customers. Ergo Store Online carries a broad inventory (except for chairs) and can be a valuable resource - but it does not make it easy for the ergonomic shopper to find what she needs, the product information is not always sufficient to provide the answers you need prior to purchase, and it does not have chair or keyboard tray builders. Ergo In Demand also carries a broad inventory, but product information is often too brief to be sufficient for a purchase decision, and the lack of builders makes complex purchases difficult. Ask Ergo Works' professional site has a children's section, and excellent corporate feedback, but is also short on product information and lacks builders.

• Several stores score poorly enough in store reviews that they might represent a customer service risk, even if there rating could be a fluke. In these we include Sit4Less and Ergo Direct USA. It is a pity, as both stores have a broad choice of products.

Next we rank the best ergonomic chair/ furniture online stores... So come back soon!

<< Previous Page      Next: The 5 best ergonomic furniture online stores                    Next Page >>

Full Range Ergonomic Online Stores

Ergonomic Online Stores Part 4

So far we have reviewed ergonomic online stores that focus on accessories, such as keyboard trays or tracking devices, and stores that focus on ergonomic furniture, such as chairs or workstations. Let's now look at full range ergonomic online stores, which cover both ends of the spectrum. As usual, we start with the smaller stores.




Ergo Devices  is a very small small store with an elegant site design, ranging, in a small number of categories, through both industrial/ medical and office ergonomics, but with very few products in each category. Few of the products can actually be purchased through the site, and many require a call for pricing. Few brands are recognizable. There is little product information on the product pages. There are no product reviews or chat. There are no chair or keyboard tray builders. There is some generic ergonomic information, and no product-specific ergonomic information on the product pages. There are no store reviews or testimonials, and no resellereratings reviews.

Ergo Mart is a small store with an old fashioned e-commerce site design, covering a good number of categories with products which are primarily unbranded or with largely unknown brands. They advertise themselves as a GSA contractor - their site might be focused on that market. There is some product information in the product pages, but less than we would like. There are no product reviews or chat. There are no chair or keyboard tray builders. There is no generic ergonomic information, but there is some limited product specific ergonomic information in category pages.  There are no store reviews or testimonials, and no resellerratings reviews.

Ergo Guys  is a small Yahoo store with an old fashioned site design, a large number of categories, and few choices in each category. They carry  a number of unusual brands and items, but few of the high end ones, and provide mostly budget and value choices. They have a lot of children's items, an unusual feature, that we wish we would see more often. There is limited product information on the product pages, with no product reviews or chat offered. There are no builders or shopping guides. There is no generic or product-specific ergonomic information available. Testimonials are anonymous only, and there are no resellerratings reviews.

The Ergonomic Store is a small store with a fairly well designed site specifically designed for ergonomic purposes. Some links are occasionally broken. The store covers a fairly good number of product categories, with a small number of items in each. Items are unbranded, which  makes it often difficult to evaluate their quality, if can cannot recognize them by sight.  The site provides chat, and product reviews - but there are very few of them so far. Product information on the product pages is limited. There is no generic or product-specific ergonomic information. There are no chair or keyboard tray builders, but there are shopping guides based on the type of ergonomic problem faced by the customer.  There are no store reviews, only anonymous testimonials, and no resellerratings reviews. The company has a blog - which ranges far and wide in topics- , and can be found on Facebook and on Linked In.

Ergonomics Made Easy is a small store with a good looking site, which is easy to navigate. It has a small set of categories and a limited range of items in each. The company carries few lines and brands, with one exception - it has a large selection of interesting keyboards and pointing devices. There is some product information on the product pages, although not as much as we would like. There are no product reviews or chat. There is a good amount of generic ergonomic information on the site, in multiple locations, but little or no product-specific ergonomic information on the product pages.  There are no chair or keyboard tray builders. There are no store reviews or testimonials, and no resellerratings reviews. The company has an active and informative blog.

Ergonomic Home is a Yahoo store with an old fashioned site design and a mid-size inventory, including many product categories, but with a limited number of choices in each. Few high end brands are carried, and the site provides primarily budget and value choices. There is little product information in the product pages, in particular in the critical keyboard tray area. There are no product reviews or chat. There are no product builders. There is no generic or product-specific ergonomic information. Testimonials are anonymous, and there are no resellerratings reviews.

Ergonomics Simplified  provides a simplified site workflow with an elegant design, and multiple shopping guides, self evaluation and diagnosis tools. The goal of the site is clearly to make the choice of the tool as easy as possible for the customer, and they do a good job at it. Their inventory is limited, but suits the purpose of the site well. They do not carry many well known brands, making it difficult to evaluate the quality of the products - you have to go on trust. There is some product information on the product page, although we would have liked more. There are no product reviews, or chat.  There is extensive generic ergonomic information across the site, and some, limited, product specific ergonomic information on the product pages. The site also works with a network of local ergonomic professionals. There are no store reviews or testimonials, and no resellerratings reviews.  While it does not carry many products, Ergonomics Simplifed is an interesting site and a true ergonomic store.

Pacific Ergonomics is a modern, generic e-commerce site with many broken pages, focused on ergonomic products, but with no site design features tuned to ergonomic issues. The store has many categories, and carries significant inventory and good looking furniture in some of these categories, along with some high end brands. There is practically no product information in the products pages. There are no product reviews, or chat. There are no chair or keyboard tray builders. There is no generic or product-specific ergonomic information available. There are no store reviews or testimonials, and no reselleratings reviews. This site competes on price and choices, but not on ergonomics.

Beyond the Office Door is really a large office store with a significant inventory of ergonomic products, which is large enough that we feel the need to mention it. The store carries many mid range brands, but few top brands. In general, it aims its inventory squarely at the mid range. There is some product information on the product pages, although not as much as we would like. There are product reviews, although few of them exist in ergonomic categories. There is no generic or product-specific ergonomic information. There are no builders or guides of any kind. There are no store reviews or testimonials, and no resellerratings reviews. This site competes on price and choice in the mid range, but doe snot constitute a true ergonomic store.

Ergo Store Online focuses on corporate customers, with the mid range being its ground. Its site is slightly awkward, mixing modern and old fashioned design. It has few categories, but many choices within each category (except for chairs, where options are limited), and carries few high end brands. It offers a solid choice of ergonomic furniture. There is a good amount of product information - although not always enough,- dispersed among several tabs, on the product pages. Because the brands are not always well known, it can be difficult for an individual to gauge the quality of the offering. There are no products reviews, and no chat. There is good generic ergonomic information available on the site, although it is hard to find (check out learn about ergonomics at the bottom of the main page), but no product specific ergonomic information on the product pages. There are no builders or shopping guides. There are no store reviews or testimonials, and no resellerratings reviews.

Ergo In Demand opens up a clean site with many categories and a very broad inventory to go with it. The store focuses on budget, value and mid range items, and distributes none of the top line brands. It seems to cater mostly to small offices and professional practices. There is some product information on the product pages, but we would like to see more. There are a few product reviews sprinkled around the site. Chat is not offered. Instead of builders for complex products, the site offers long lists of configurations and modules. Generic ergonomic information is available in the learning center on the bottom nav bar at the bottom of the home page, but no product specific ergonomic information is available on the product pages. There are anonymous testimonials, as well as reviews from shopping.com and Amazon. Only one resellerrating review is available, but it is a really good one.

Ask Ergo Works  provides a well designed site that is easy to navigate. It carries a good inventory of mid range products, and distributes few top-of-the-line brands. The focus of the company appears to be mostly corporate customers, yet they have a good children's section. There is limited product information on the product pages, and no product reviews or chat. There are no keyboard tray builders, though the store carries some multi-option trays, and no chair builders. There is good information about general ergonomics under a separate tab. The staff is ergonomics trained and appears well qualified. Pricing seems comparatively a bit high, although, in this area, it is a secondary factor compared to service. There are good sourced testimonials about the company from corporate customers.   The company carries an informative blog under the Articles tab.

888 Ergo Direct is a modern site with a decent site design, a large number of categories, and  a mid-size inventory, broad in keyboard and accessories, limited to a few choices in furniture. The amount of product information varies with the category, being higher for chairs and lower for accessories. There are no product reviews or chat. Some builders are available for chairs and keyboard trays, and there are additional explanations and commentaries that advise on putting together the right tray and arm system. A small amount of generic ergonomic information is available - none in the product pages. There are no store reviews or testimonials, and no resellerratings reviews are available.

Ergo Ware provides a sophisticated, very well designed site. It is agreeable to the eye, easy to work with, and full of information without appearing too dense. It carries a broad set of categories with a large number of choices -although its chairs options are limited,- and distributes some, but not all, top of the line brands. Its product pages are very informative. There is generic ergonomic information available in a separate tab, and product specific ergonomic information referenced in the product pages. There are product builders available for both chairs and keyboard trays. There is an extensive list of corporate customers, but no store reviews or testimonials, and no resellerratings reviews. The company has a blog that has not been active for quite a while. While the availability of top brands is not ideal, the site design and the amount of information available are quite exceptional.

MC Ergo  presents a good looking, easy to navigate site, and a large inventory in all categories. In carries many, but not all top line brands, including Humanscale, Steelcase and Bodybilt. There is some product information on the product pages, but we would like to see more. There are no product reviews, but the site has chat. Some product builders are available, but not for all buildable products. The company encourages the customer to call if they wish for different configurations. There is a limited amount of generic ergonomic information as ergo links, although no product specific ergonomic information is provided on the product pages. MC Ergo allows Paypal and Google Checkout. There are no testimonials or store reviews, and no resellerratings reviews are available.

Ergo Direct USA provides a crowded front page site, emphasizing pricing information.  It primarily focuses its broad inventory on the value and mid range segments, and distributes almost none of the top line brands. Product information on the product pages is limited, and there are no product reviews or chat. Many builders are provided, both for chairs and keyboard trays. There is no generic or product specific information. There are no store reviews or testimonials. Resellerratings reviews are poor.

The Human Solution provides a very clean site with a modern, agreeable design that is efficient and easy to navigate. The front page clearly emphasizes the ergonomic competence of its staff from the get-go.  The store carries a large inventory across its categories, and distributes most, although not all top line brands, including Steelcase, Humanscale, Knoll, Ergohuman, Workrite, and Neutral Posture. The product information is good to excellent. There are many product reviews available. The site provide multiple clean chair and keyboard tray builders, as well as multiple shopping guides (such as for instance, a keyboard selection tool),. and self assessment tools to help the customer pick her choices. The company encourages customers to call for guidance, and actually provides self assessment questionnaires to be e-mailed to the staff for feedback and need discussions. Phone staff are all ergonomics trained. There is a large amount of generic ergonomic information, as well as some product-specific ergonomic information on some of the product pages. The company also provides useful feedback and recommendations on some of the products it distributes. The store accepts Paypal. There are some anonymous testimonials, and resellerratings reviews are good but not exceptional. All in all, this site represents an unusually good combination of positive factors, associated with a very good looking site.

Ergo Direct is a good looking site with a modern look, large inventory, many categories, and some big brands, including Humanscale and Neutral Posture, but not all. It choicer is not as broad for chairs as it is in other areas. There is good product information across the site. There are no products reviews and no chat. Extensive builders are provided for chairs and keyboard trays. There is very limited generic ergonomic information, and no product specific ergonomic information. Ergo Direct accepts Paypal and Google Checkout. There are no store reviews or testimonials, and no resellerratings reviews available.

Next, we compare and rate the best ergonomic online stores... So come back soon!

<< Previous Page           Next: Screening ergonomic online stores                         Next Page >>

Ergonomic Furniture Online Stores

Ergonomic Online Stores Part 3

Our last section on ergonomic stores reviewed online stores primarily focused on ergonomic accessories, such as keyboards, tracking devices, or keyboard trays. In this section, we research and review online stores primarily focused on ergonomic furniture such as office chairs.






Ergonomic furniture online stores

Kare Products opens up as an attractive, airy, and attractive site. It focuses primarily on chairs but it also has ergonomic furniture and accessories. Its inventory is fair, and it does not distribute most top end brands, focusing instead on budget, value and mid range categories. There is little information in the product pages - not enough to make informed decisions. There are no product reviews, or chat. There are no builders for complex products, or shopping guides. There is no generic or product specific ergonomic information. There are no store reviews or testimonials, and no resellerratings reviews. While it does very well on Google search placement, the company does not seem to focus on online sales, and the site appears to be a secondary sales channel to the brick and mortar operation.

Ergo4me is a direct sales site for  ErgoGenesis, the manufacturer of made-to-order ergonomic chairs brand Bodybilt. It focuses on chairs, which it is most well known for, but also carries a small number of keyboard trays. It carries ErgoGenesis proprietary chairs, and no others. The site is nondescript with a very standard e-commerce look-and-feel. It provides a good interactive chair builder, easy to use, yet detailed. There is some good product information on the product page, although not as much as we would have wanted. The site encourages you to call in to an in-store ergonomic consultant who will help you make the right selections. There are no product reviews or chat, testimonials are anonymous, and the site carries no resellerratings reviews. Perfect Back Chair is another site operated by ErgoGenesis.

Ergonomic Chair Pro is totally positioned as an ergonomic chair site, through its name and appearance. It has a slightly awkward look-and-feel that does not feel quite natural. The store carries a large inventory of many ergonomic chairs across most high end brands, including Humanscale, Knoll, Ergohuman, Steelcase, Neutral Posture, and Bodybilt, missing Herman Miller. It provides a significant amount of product information on the product pages (although not always as much as you would like), and has specialized chair builders for those chairs that require a complex set of options. The site has chat, product reviews (although few are in existence), some staff recommendations, and limited generic ergonomic information. It proposes access to certified ergonomists through the phone to select the right chair. The company accepts Paypal and Google Checkout. There are no testimonials or resellerratings reviews. This is a true ergonomic store.

Ergonomic Chairs Direct is a traditional e-commerce site focused on ergonomic chairs, and lets you select these chairs through multiple feature selections. The shopping work flow is efficient, although without any ergonomic color to it. The store has a very broad inventory of products, but distributes almost none of the high reputation brands. It focuses mostly on budget or mid-range products. The site has product reviews, no chat, and a good amount of product information on the product pages. There are no chair builders - or no chairs that require chair builders. There is no generic or product-specific ergonomic information. There are no testimonials or resellerratings reviews. While this site's product range focuses on ergonomic chairs, it is not a true ergonomic store.

Office Designs provides a simple and friendly site, focused almost solely on office furniture with a strong emphasis on seating, but which carries a very limited amount of other ergonomic products. It distributes most of the high reputation ergonomic hair brands, including Humanscale, Steelcase, Herman Miller, Knoll, and Neutral Posture. There is, in general, a good amount of product information on the product page, although much of is in secondary links or needs to be downloaded. There is no general or product-specific ergonomic information. The site has chat, but no product reviews or testimonials, and carries a single but excellent review on resellerratings. It is commercially linked to  Home Office Solutions, a very similar site.While this site carries a large number of ergonomic chairs, it is a furniture retailer rather than an ergonomic store.

Sit4Less  is large chair retailer with broad inventory of many of the best brands ergonomic chairs, including Herman Miller, Haworth, Humanscale and Knoll. The site has a standard e-commerce lay-out, and is easy to navigate and use. It has product reviews (although only a limited number of them actually exist), no chat, and no store reviews.There is a good amount of product information on the product pages. There are good product builders for all the advanced chairs that need multiple options selection. There is no generic ergonomic information, but there is some product-specific ergonomic information for some high end chairs. There are many negative resellerratings reviews, and the site scores badly there. The quality of the site is somewhat counterbalanced by the poor resellerratings showing.

Sit Correct  has a friendly layout that is easy to navigate and use. The store focuses on ergonomic chairs, but also carries a very limited amount of ergonomic accessories. It has a very broad inventory of products (248 computer chairs...), but does not distribute many of the high reputation brands, and seems to focus on budget, value and mid range chairs. The site provides useful durability and value ratings on all products. The product information found on the product pages is limited, and there is no chat. The site offers the ability to write product reviews, although there are very few at this time. There is no generic or product specific ergonomic information. There are no store reviews, no resellerratings reviews.  Despite its focus, this store is more an e-commerce site than an ergonomic store.

Sit Better  is a typical e-commerce site with a slightly tacky lay-out and prices outlined in red. There are a few broken pages. The store focuses largely on chairs and seating, but carries a small number of ergonomic accessories. It distributes some selected high reputation brands, including Humanscale and Ergohuman, although the bulk of the inventory focuses on brands of lesser reputation, typically with a mid-range price. It is clearly geared towards the large corporate customer. The amount of product information on the product pages is somewhat limited, but multiple pictures are generally displayed for each product.  The site provides a useful ergonomic rating for each chair. It offers the capability to write product reviews, of which there are quite a few in existence. There also are some product reviews by the store staff. There is no generic or product-specific ergonomic information available.  The company keeps a blog. There is no store review or testimonials, but the single resellerratings review is good.

Smart Furniture is a very good looking site which focuses on home and office furniture, although it does carry a few office accessories. Despite its broad furniture range, it has s a strong focus on ergonomics, and all of its staff is ergonomics trained. It carries a large number of high reputation ergonomic brands, including Humanscale, Knoll, Steelcase and Herman Miller. There is a large amount of product information on the product pages, more than in almost any other site. There are many product reviews available, as well as numerous staff reviews and "independent" reviews (it is not clear how these independent reviews are commissioned), but no chat. The company uses a "design on demand" workflow allowing customers to configure furniture, and has apparently extended this workflow to some of the high end chairs with multiple options. The resulting chair builders are highly usable. The store encourages the user to ask for designer/ expert assistance on the phone. A simple chair shopping guide covers a few of the best selling chairs. There are no store reviews or resellerratings reviews, and testimonials are anonymous.

Next we review full range ergonomic stores... So come back soon!

<< Previous Page          Next: Full range ergonomic online stores                        Next Page >>

Ergonomic Accessories Online Stores

Ergonomic Online Stores Part 2

A search to buy ergonomic products, such as ergonomic chairs or keyboard trays, online finds a plethora of choices that is quite overwhelming. What online store to pick is actually made more difficult by the abundance of options. Reviewing and comparing these stores can turn this obstacle into an opportunity.

Many stores end up specializing in either ergonomic accessories, or ergonomic furniture, such as desks or chairs. We will group these stores in three categories: stores selling mostly accessories, mostly furniture, and both. In each category, we will cover small stores first.

As we discussed in What makes for good ergonomic stores, it is critical for the store focus to be on ergonomics - we will not review large online stores with an ergonomic sub-section, as we already know that they are not going to constitute, in general, a good choice for the buyer.


Ergonomic accessories online stores

Ergo Pro  is a very small online store that stores green ergonomic accessories only, built using either recycled or sustainable components. The site design is clean, with some broken pages. The store focuses solely on ergonomic products. The inventory has little furniture, and carries very few of the high reputation brands. There is limited product information on the product pages. The site provides generic additional ergonomic and environmental information, including a good set of ergonomic body diagrams. There is no specific ergonomic information associated to the product pages. There is a very small number of product reviews. The site does not provide identified testimonials, or chat, and there are no resellerratings reviews. 

Office Ergonomics World is a very small Yahoo store, with a small number of categories and a small number of items in each category. The site design is cookie-cutter, and there are no product reviews or chat offered. Most items are value products. The site re-labels all of its products under its own name, making it impossible to evaluate the quality of these products. There is little product information provided. There is no generic and little product specific ergonomic information offered, no store reviews, and no resellerratings reviews.

Ergonomics Resource is a very small Yahoo store, with a small number of product categories and a narrow choice of products in each category, with somewhat old fashioned site design. It does not distribute most well known brands. There is limited product information available. There are no product reviews or chat, no general or product-specific ergonomic information, and anonymous testimonials only.  However, while the site is poor, the store has a hand therapist available on the phone to help customers make their product choices.

The Well Being Store is a small store with  friendly web site design, focused on ergonomic products. It has a very small inventory of mostly mid-range gear, with few high end brands, a very small furniture section. A keyboard tray designing system is based on Sunway products. There is no generic or product specific ergonomic information The site does not have product reviews or chat. It provides a page of anonymous testimonials and has no resellerratings reviews.

Avid Ergo  is a very small Yahoo store with a 90's site design, which has some accessories and furniture, but focuses particularly on keyboard tray systems. It has a commercial link to The Well Being Store previously reviewed, and also functions as the clearance center for that store. There is limited product information on the product pages. The site features an interesting interactive keyboard tray system builder, which helps the customer specify and understand what he needs, but does not totally remove complexity and difficulty in picking the right options, such as which arm to pick.  The site has mediocre design, provides no product reviews or chat, and limits store reviews to anonymous testimonials. The inventory is limited, both in terms of covered categories and in depth of choices within a category. There is no generic or product-specific ergonomic information.

Fellowes is a well known manufacturer of low to mid range office products. It has a direct sales site, which includes a small section on Workspace Ergonomic Products.  Normally we would not include it in our review, but Fellowes has included some interesting ergonomic workspace online self-evaluations, which enable a somebody with little understanding of ergonomics to get a quick read on their office setup and problem. Beyond this interesting application, Fellowes carries few ergonomic categories and products, mostly low and mid range, with little product information, no product reviews, and no chat. There are no store testimonials or resellerratings reviews.

Ergo Geek focuses on keyboards and tracking devices, with a fairly large inventory of generally inexpensive, value products across this range, and a slightly oldish e-commerce site design. While there are some ergonomic devices in the store's inventory, the site, despite its name, does not focus on ergonomic products. The site is a typical e-commerce site, slightly tacky, focused on commerce rather than information. There are some product reviews on the site, which carries excellent resellerratings reviews. There is no generic or product specific ergonomic information. This is not a true ergonomic store: the site competes on price and customer support, and does well on both.

Next we review online stores that focus mostly on ergonomic furniture... So come back soon!

<< Previous Page           Next: Ergonomic furniture online stores                         Next Page >>

The Best Ergonomic Online Stores: a Review

Best Ergonomic Online Stores Part 1

Where should you buy an ergonomic chair, keyboard or keyboard tray? What are the best online stores for purchasing ergonomic products in general? This is a tricky question to answer, because, unlike many other products, ergonomic product selection is an extremely personal choice, which must be very carefully fitted to one's own physiology and needs. In this series, we look at what makes a good ergonomic online store, research and compare online ergonomic stores, and select the best stores as a result.

Ergonomics apply to many, if not all, fields and disciplines. In this review, we focus on products for general office ergonomics, for office workers working at a desk.


What you need to know about ergonomic online stores and ergonomic products shopping

• The most important products: chair and keyboard tray. Posture is the critical issue that drives ergonomic woes at the office. Experts consider that the most important items (although not the only ones) that drive good (or bad)  posture are the chair and the keyboard tray. When evaluating stores, we will particularly at these two items, but we will also consider other available accessories in the store inventory.

• Furniture and accessory stores. It is not often the case that a store can carry a deep inventory both in ergonomic chairs, desks, or workstations on the one hand, and in desk or computer accessories such as keyboards and keyboard trays, mice, or other tracking devices, on the other hand. It is more common to have a store specialize in one or the other. This series will look at both categories, and evaluate stores in each.

• A uniquely personal shopping process. Shopping for ergonomic products is an unusual process, because, by definition, the fit must be intensely personal. The best way to shop for an ergonomic product would be to go to a brick and mortar store - if it was possible, so that you could try all the possible tools or configurations for fit. Even then, you would need a ergonomic specialist to help you select the right products. The closest comparison is someone with slightly unusual feet shopping for shoes. For most people, of course, there is no good ergonomic brick-and-mortar store around, and the web is the only possible venue.

What makes for a good ergonomic online store

• Focus on Ergonomics. Because the personal fit is so important, because the customer cannot see or try the product, and because most customers don't really know what is critical to know and look for about ergonomic products, it is important that the store specialize in ergonomics and be highly competent in it. A general purpose store with a small ergonomics department does not cut it - would you like an average Walmart salesman with a high-school degree and two months on the job to advise you about critical health matters?

• Online ergonomics information. The right store needs to educate its customers, in general, about the ergonomic issues they face, and, in particular, about the ergonomic issues in the specific products they are shopping for. This translates into general ergonomic information sections on the site, and very specific ergonomic information linked into the product pages as needed for given product types and specific products.

• Ergonomic consultants as part of the sales process. Most people need a well trained ergonomic consultant to be able to advise them on the products they need to buy. This is practically a medical product purchase. Only stores with sales personnel that is highly trained in ergonomics and available to the online shopper, either on chat on by phone, should be considered as best-in-kind stores. This availability is more critical than low prices - in fact, it compels higher prices.

• A clean, well-built web site. Shopping for ergonomic products is a complex process. The right type of a web site is one that will help guide the customer through a simple but clear process of choice,  rather than overwhelm her with choices or attempt to sell her with promises of big discounts and prices in red ending in $.99.

• Product information. we would really like to touch, feel, and try the product. However, the only thing we have is the product description and pictures given by the site. So, we would like the product information to be very extensive: detailed description, exact dimensions, all options, description of adjustments and adjustment process, texture, feel, diagrams, multiple pictures from different angles user's manual, installation manual, everything. There is never too much. There can only be too little...

• Good chat and/or phone access. A consequence of the previous point is that the store needs to provide good chat and/or phone access to its well trained sales people - and that they actually be available to talk to or chat with you.

• Inventory of known brands.  In order to purchase ergonomic products with confidence, we need to have access to fit and quality feedback from other users. This is only possible if the store carries known brands with enough notoriety to have accumulated enough user reviews across the net.

• Large inventory across multiple categories. Beyond distributing well known brands, the best online stores need to cover many categories of  ergonomic products, and carry a broad set of products in each category. Why? Because it is not enough to carry the "best product", it needs to carry the best product for YOU specifically.

• Store reviews. Because the quality of the store itself, both before and after the sale, is so critical to the buyer, having good store reviews is important. Resellerratings.com, already reviewed here, is an excellent way to evaluate the customer experience when such reviews are available for the store in question. Testimonials by named customers in named organizations are also a positive aspect. Testimonials by anonymous customers, or by named customers where the corporate organization they belong to is not named, are useless as they can be totally made it (and often are).

• Product reviews. Being able to access direct user reviews for the products you are purchasing is particularly important for ergonomic products, where fit is so critical. It is all the more important when the store uses little known brands or proprietary products. 

• Product-specific ordering options. Buying ergonomic products such as keyboard trays or chairs is a complex process, because the products themselves have so many options - all of which may be important. A normal shopping cart cannot capture that complexity. In many cases, a custom-programmed product "builder" must be offered in order for the customer to be able to pick and choose all of the options required for these complex products.

• Self-directed diagnostic and shopping guides. Few people know enough about ergonomics to be able to diagnose themselves exactly what it is that they need, down the the very product that will take care of their issues. For the most complex products in particular, chairs and keyboard trays, the best stores often step-by-step selection guides, sometimes combined with ergonomic consultant advice, to allow the buyer to make the right choices. 

• Pricing. In the case of ergonomic products shopping, unless you already know exactly what you are going to buy, pricing, while not totally negligible is not a significant component when compared to expert advice and after sales support. It should a secondary factor compared to other, more critical criteria. We have found, in general, little price differences  in retail pricing for high end ergonomic chairs and keyboard tray systems (typically less than 10% or chairs, 15% for keyboard trays).

• Blog. A nice to have: how much of an ergonomic store is it? Does it regularly post on ergonomic issues. Does it have passion? Does it discuss customer support with fervor? We would like to know what drives the store - a blog is a great way to find out.

Next week, we research ergonomic accessories online stores and compare them... So come back soon!

                            Next: Ergonomic accessories online stores                               Next Page >>