How to Choose Dining Chairs for Your Market: Plastic, Metal or Upholstered?
Plastic, metal or upholstered? The chair type decides your freight cost, your retail price and who can sell it. A practical guide to matching the model to the market.
Importers usually start with a price target and work backwards. That is the wrong order. The chair type decides the price, the container quantity, the retail channel and how easily the model can be reordered — so it should be the first decision, not the last.
Plastic chairs: volume, weather and price
One-piece polypropylene chairs are the default opening model for a new market. They are light, stackable, weather-resistant and cheap to ship, which makes them the easiest product to test with a small order.
- Choose them when you sell online, supply cafés and restaurants, or need the lowest possible landed cost.
- Watch out for UV stability and load rating. A cheap chair that goes brittle after one summer outdoors will cost you the account.
- Our models: the Hollow Plastic Chair (MSA056) and the Plastic Air Chair / Plastic Air Armchair (MSA111, MSA112) — reinforced polypropylene, stackable, indoor and outdoor.
Metal chairs: contract, café and industrial
Powder-coated steel is what most contract projects specify, because it takes punishment and wipes clean. The trade-off is weight, which you pay for in freight.
- Choose them when you supply hospitality, lofts and industrial-style interiors, or markets that want a durable chair at a mid price.
- Watch out for coating quality. Poor powder coating chips at the edges and rusts within a season — it is the single biggest cause of repeat-order failure in this category.
- Our models: the Tolix-style MSA012 series, including the Industrial Metal Chair with Wood Seat (MSA012-2-W) and two barstool versions (MSA012-4L, MSA012-5L).
Upholstered chairs: the highest margin, the most care needed
Velvet and fabric chairs carry the best retail margin and the most design appeal. They also carry the most risk: colour consistency, cleaning and seat height all have to be right.
- Choose them when you sell residential retail, boutique hospitality or e-commerce where photography drives sales.
- Watch out for seat height and depth against your table height, and always order a pre-production sample before a large run.
- Our models: the Hand-woven Velvet Dining Chair (MSA190-2), the Bubble Tufted Velvet Accent Chair (MSA-B-004-A) and the Cloud Quilted Velvet Armchair (MSA-B-009).
A quick comparison
| Type | Best for | Freight | Typical position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plastic (PP) | E-commerce, cafés, outdoor | Lowest | Entry price, high volume |
| Metal | Contract, hospitality, industrial interiors | Highest | Mid price, durable |
| Upholstered | Residential retail, boutique projects | Medium | Premium, design-led |
A practical way to start
Do not commit a full container to one bet. Order a mixed container: two plastic models, one metal model and one upholstered model. You will learn which type your market actually wants within one sales cycle, at a fraction of the risk. MOQ across our range is 100 pcs per model, and our engineer will prepare the loading plan before you book.
See the full range under dining chairs, or tell us your target price and channel and we will suggest the two or three models that fit.
