Aeron chairs are grossly overrated. They have been clever in both making a durable kind of chair and marketing like Apple. They aren't that comfortable and are designed to keep you "upright" but not much else. Originally there wasn't much like the Aeron, but now you have many, many choices for a much better price and comfort. It's personal taste, but I prefer a chair with a headrest. Also, your desk is equally as important for long sessions. Size, leg room, height etc. I built my own custom workstation to suit my needs. I ended up using a cheap Corsair gaming chair and my neck and mouse shoulder has never been happier.
The breathable mesh material of the Aeron alone makes it head and shoulders above most other chairs, for anyone who ever gets sweaty while sitting. It's interesting to me how basically no one seems to notice this but me...
Also, buying a $200 chair every 2 years costs more than buying a $1300 chair for life.
Who would buy a $200 chair every two years(!?). There are so many other breathable mesh chairs out there that have more articulation/adjustment. and aren't $850-1300. Aeron's just aren't comfortable after 3-4 hours let alone a marathon work day. They are designed to keep you upright and facing a monitor, not for comfort. I think they get away with it because they have become a corporate status symbol. Especially new production offices/agencies/startups love to populate their workspaces with aerons or mira (another terrible chair). Like the eames lounge chair: Gorgeous and futurist to look at, but nigh impractical and uncomfortable.
This is either a very uninformed statement or a random opinion stated as fact. People buy these chairs because they like them. I spend 50 hours a week in one and I disagree with you heartily.
As far as who would buy a chair every couple of years, people who buy cheap chairs. I used to be one of them and know people who also were. Even a particularly cheap person I know ended up buying a used Aeron, got a great deal, and loves it. It's not that hard to find them used because they are heavy to move cross country and offices upgrade all the time so they are out there.
But sure, your opinion is gospel, they're objectively shit and all their popularity is unearned. /s
The Aeron and similar chairs are comfortable if you read the manual and take the time to set them up properly for your body. And way less expensive than what you'll end up spending on chiropractors or orthopedists if you don't have an adequate chair and use it properly.
They are sitting machines, and need to be treated as such for them to work as intended.
The Eames Lounge Chair, while a wonderful piece of art and a nice chair to, well, lounge in while enjoying a nice book or record, is a completely different kind of beast, and definitely not intended for prolonged use or for work (same for stuff like the Aluminium or Plastic chairs). (Also, it's almost fifty years old, so not exactly futuristic...)