Hire vs Buy
Hire vs Buy
There is no universal right answer. It depends on how often you run events, whether you have storage, and what your budget looks like. The points below should help you work it out.
These figures are illustrative. Hire costs vary by location; purchase prices reflect current Expo Direct pricing.
| Scenario | Buy (100 chairs) | Hire (per event, 100 chairs) |
|---|---|---|
| EventPro® Eames Style Chair | £2,995 ex-VAT (one-off) | £8.00 per chair — £800 per event |
| Chiavari Banqueting Chair | £3,200 ex-VAT (one-off) | £3.85 per chair — £385 per event |
Break-even point: At a hire cost of £800 per event for 100 Eames chairs, the purchase price (£2,995) is recovered after around 4 events. For venues running monthly events, that break-even is roughly 4 months out. After that, every event with owned stock costs nothing in chair hire.
Why are Eames chairs more expensive to hire? Unlike Chiavari chairs, Eames chairs do not stack. That means more van space per chair, more handling time and higher storage cost for the hire company — all of which feeds into the hire rate.
100 stacked folding chairs take up roughly 4m² of floor space. 10 rounds of 5ft banqueting tables stack to about 1.2m high per stack of 10. Many venues absorb this in a back store room with no issue. If you do not have that space, hiring removes the problem entirely.
Hired furniture is subject to availability. During peak season (spring and summer), popular items can book out weeks in advance. Owned stock is available whenever you need it. If your event falls on a busy weekend, booking early is essential.
Owned stock needs occasional replacement as pieces break or wear — typically 5–10% of stock per year in heavy commercial use. With hired equipment, that responsibility stays with us.
Buying requires upfront capital. Hiring spreads the cost across individual events with no capital commitment. If you are running a one-off event, hiring is almost always the more practical option financially.
You are in the right place. Browse our full range, get a quote online, or call us to talk through what you need. We cover England and Wales from multiple depots.
Get a quoteOur sister company Expo Direct sells the same equipment. Same warehouse, same stock, same team — on a purchase basis with volume discounts and trade accounts.
Visit Expo DirectIf you are comparing suppliers, see our event hire alternatives page.
