Who would not want to own an Arne Jacobsen designed Egg Chair? Or better still a set of these classic icons. However, few could ever consider this when the price is comparable to the cost of a new car. The suggested price from Fritz Hansen for a leather Egg Chair is at least 9,000 Euros, meaning a group of four would set you back over 36,000 Euros!

So, why is the price so high? The reason is simply a lack of competition and this is not only the case with the iconic Egg chair, it’s the same with most classical designer furniture. In much of Europe furniture designs are classed as works of art, which means they have copyright protection for 75 years after the artist’s death.

Furniture producers holding copyrights for these designs therefore have a monopoly and can control prices, keeping them inflated and only within reach of the wealthy few. People who love designer furniture are forced to buy from producers protected by these far-reaching copyright laws and have to pay an inflated price, the 'high street price'.

_{Designer Revolt products are not licensed and are not produced by the license holder, for example; Fritz Hansen, PP Moebler, Frederica, Louis Poulsen, Joergensen, Vitra, Herman Miller etc.}

You would think that paying these high prices would at least mean you get an 'original', as opposed to a 'copy'. But that is not so. 'Originals' made under license and copyright protection are in fact copies.

The true originals from the time of the designer can be quite different from the reproductions, whether licensed or not. It's really up to the manufacturer to pay attention to the details of the original design. Having the license or copyright is not something that automatically assures fidelity in design.

The classical designs will be free from copyright protection sooner or later and in some countries in Europe, like the UK, they already are today. Therefore you can legally buy furniture from Designers Revolt and have it delivered to your home, anywhere in EU, thanks to the EU's free movement of goods regulation. This is a good thing for people passionate about good design, since it creates a situation where consumers themselves can decide about price, quality and fidelity – no longer forced by a monopoly market.

Today’s production technologies and materials are very different from those available when the originals were being designed and manufactured. It is possible to form plastics in endless shapes at low cost, something which was unimaginable 50 years ago.

Also today robots can carve a piece of wood in perfect shape and make hundreds or even thousands of the same piece in a day, each being exact in both shape and form. The same goes for painting and a lot of other processes.

Today, many alternative materials are also available at much lower prices. Stainless steel is a cost effective alternative to chrome plated steel, something which was not the case when Jacobsen crafted the first Egg chairs.

Not even Fritz Hansen produces everything in Denmark, “It is cheaper and of better quality to buy them from specialists“, said a Fritz Hansen executive. With this in mind, it is even more surprising that prices are so high from the big furniture manufacturers.