Remanufactured vs. New Office Furniture: Cost, Quality, and Warranty Compared

The short answer. At Roberts, a remanufactured Steelcase workstation typically costs 30% or more less than buying the same system new. It carries our Lifetime Limited Warranty, the same warranty as the products we build new, and our own remanufactured furniture generally ships in about four weeks. Whether pre-owned furniture is "as good as new" depends on the word in front of it: remanufactured, refurbished, and used are three different products.

The rest of this guide explains where the savings come from, what "as good as new" should mean when you compare quotes, and when buying new is still the right call.

What "remanufactured" means

Remanufacturing is not cleaning. When a system comes into our plant in Liverpool, NY, just outside Syracuse, it is taken apart down to its structure and every part is inspected. Frames are checked and reinforced, worn hardware is replaced, and any part that can't be repaired is replaced with one equal to or better than the original. Metal is powder coated to your specification, and panels and seating are recovered in current fabrics in our own upholstery department. Then the system is rebuilt, checked, and warrantied.

That is the difference between remanufactured and refurbished or used furniture, covered in more detail in Remanufactured, Refurbished, or Used? What the Words Actually Mean. The five stages a workstation passes through are in Inside the Remanufacturing Process.

How much does remanufactured office furniture cost compared to new?

Most clients see savings of roughly 30% or more compared with buying the same systems new.

The savings come from the part that costs the most to make: the steel frame and core components. Remanufacturing keeps that part in service and puts the work into the surfaces you see and touch.

What moves the price on a specific quote:

• Configuration and quantity. Station sizes, panel heights, glass or fabric toppers, storage, and the number of stations.
• Finishes and fabrics. Powder-coat colors, laminates, and textile grades.
• Custom work. Millwork such as reception desks or conference tables built in our own shop.
• Delivery and installation. Site access, timing, and whether the work is phased. Delivery is on our own trucks and installation by our own crews.
• What you already own. Furniture you're replacing can come back to you as trade-in credit or a buy-back, which lowers the net cost of the new floor. See Banking & Buy Backs.

We don't publish prices, because no two floors are the same. Send a floor plan, a parts list, or even a single workstation to info@robertsofc.com and we'll come back with an itemized quote.

Is remanufactured office furniture as good as new?

Done properly, yes. Our standard is that side by side on the floor, you can't tell a remanufactured Roberts workstation from one bought new, in finish, fit, function, or feel. You're welcome to test that in our Liverpool showroom.

Three things make that possible:

1. The starting point. Commercial systems such as Steelcase Avenir, Answer, and Series 9000 are built to be taken apart, moved, and rebuilt many times. A sound frame has a long working life left in it.
2. A defined standard. Every wear surface is restored or replaced to a specification we control, not cleaned up and resold as is. Roberts is one of the few NC3R-registered office furniture remanufacturers in the United States: the National Center for Remanufacturing and Resource Recovery at Rochester Institute of Technology evaluated, documented and reported our process and products as remanufactured. That is third-party verification, not a label we gave ourselves.
3. The warranty. Our manufactured and remanufactured products carry the same Lifetime Limited Warranty. It covers defects in materials and craftsmanship for as long as the original buyer owns the product, and we repair or replace anything found defective. High-wear items have set terms: five years on fabrics, laminates, electric sit-stand bases and moving parts such as locks and suspensions, and ten years on workstation electrical components and office doors. Read the full warranty.

Where remanufactured isn't the right fit, we'll say so. If you need a product line we don't remanufacture, or a look that only exists in a current catalog, we sell new furniture too, and many projects mix both.

Remanufactured vs. new vs. refurbished vs. used

New

• What's done to it: built from new materials.
• Typical cost: full price.
• Warranty: the manufacturer's warranty.
• Finishes and fabrics: the current catalog.
• Lead time: the manufacturer's lead time.
• Matching what you own: may not match older lines.
• Environmental impact: all-new materials and manufacturing.

Remanufactured (Roberts)

• What's done to it: taken down to the frame, inspected, repaired or replaced, powder coated, and recovered.
• Typical cost: typically 30% or more below new.
• Warranty: the Lifetime Limited Warranty, the same one Roberts gives its new products.
• Finishes and fabrics: finished to your specification.
• Lead time: about four weeks for Roberts' own remanufactured furniture.
• Matching what you own: built to match and extend the Steelcase systems you already run.
• Environmental impact: keeps the frame, the most energy-intensive part, in service.

Refurbished

• What's done to it: cleaned and touched up; some parts or fabric replaced.
• Typical cost: varies by seller.
• Warranty: varies by seller, often limited.
• Finishes and fabrics: usually what's in stock.
• Lead time: depends on stock.
• Matching what you own: depends on stock.
• Environmental impact: reuses most of the piece.

Used, as is

• What's done to it: sold as found.
• Typical cost: lowest up front.
• Warranty: usually none.
• Finishes and fabrics: what's in stock.
• Lead time: now, if it's in stock.
• Matching what you own: depends on stock.
• Environmental impact: reuses the whole piece.

Roberts also offers some furniture in used, as-is condition, recovered from decommissions. Ask what's on the floor right now.

Lead times

Lead time depends on the time of year, but we generally deliver our own remanufactured furniture within about four weeks. New furniture from outside manufacturers follows each manufacturer's own lead times. Because remanufacturing, millwork, powder coating, upholstery, and installation all happen under one roof, nothing sits in a subcontractor's queue. Tell us your target move-in date when you ask for a quote.

The environmental case

Most of a workstation's embodied energy sits in its frame, so keeping the frame in service avoids most of the impact of making a new one. NC3R's study of our process found that over 98% of each office panel is reused by weight, that one year of our remanufacturing kept 815,000 lbs of CO₂ out of the atmosphere and conserved 1.02 million lbs of raw materials, and that the energy saved remanufacturing one workstation could power 19 average American homes for a day. We provide the documentation for LEED Materials & Resources and Indoor Environmental Quality credits. More on our Sustainability page.

Questions buyers ask

How much cheaper is remanufactured office furniture than new?

Typically 30% or more less than the same systems bought new. The exact figure depends on configuration, finishes, custom work, and installation, and trade-in credit for the furniture you're replacing can lower it further.

Is remanufactured office furniture as good as new?

When it is truly remanufactured, yes. The system is taken down to its frame, rebuilt to a defined standard, refinished, and warrantied like new. Refurbished and used furniture are different products, so ask any seller exactly what was done and what the warranty covers.

Does remanufactured office furniture come with a warranty?

From Roberts, yes: the same Lifetime Limited Warranty as our new products, for as long as the original buyer owns the furniture, with five-year terms on fabrics, laminates, sit-stand bases and moving parts and ten years on workstation electrical. If something needs attention, you reach the team in Liverpool that built it.

Can remanufactured workstations match the Steelcase system we already have?

Usually. Steelcase systems are engineered to work together across generations, so we can match an existing footprint, extend it with more stations, or reconfigure it entirely, and finish new and existing pieces to match. We also reconfigure furniture you already own; see Delivery & Installations.

Where can I buy remanufactured office furniture near Syracuse, NY?

Roberts Office Furniture Concepts remanufactures at 7327 Henry Clay Blvd in Liverpool, NY, just outside Syracuse. The showroom is open by appointment, Monday to Friday, 8 AM to 4 PM. We deliver and install across Syracuse and Central New York and nationwide. Call (315) 451-9185 or email info@robertsofc.com.

See the difference in person. Walk our Liverpool showroom and the shop floor behind it, then compare a remanufactured station with new. Request a quote or call (315) 451-9185.

Steelcase, Herman Miller, Avenir, Answer, Kick, Ethospace, and Action Office are trademarks of their respective owners. Roberts Office Furniture Concepts is an independent remanufacturer and is not affiliated with, authorized by, or endorsed by those manufacturers.