Vintage Eames chair with replaced leather. Impact on resale?  

I like the furniture because...
I like the furniture because I read one thing, about the Eameses, attempting to forget World War II that had just happened.
I see that idea in the furniture, stripping away of the past, concentrating on the future, and I like to be reminded of it everyday.
It's difficult to tell which knock-off companies, if any, are good.

WRONG-KA-BOB
Repros DON'T look the same. (If you think they do, then you need to look harder)
Repros DON'T work the same. (That is the most WRONG thing you said above)
Repros are UN-REASONABLE facsimiles.
FAKES.
FAKES.
FAKES.
Get one, you deserve to learn the hard way.
But thank you for your spirited defense of such a horrible viewpoint.

Kababy....
Your logic makes no sense whatsoever, and apparently you have no concept of cost vs. value. Expense vs. investment. Let's break it down.
1. "Why would I blow $3500 on a chair?"
You didn't. The guy before you did. That's why you want new cushions.
2. "One can get a awesome comfortable chair for $200, so how to justify the extra $3300?"
You can't justify anything to someone with blinders on. You have no knowledge of history, or resale value of investments. what's your idea of awesome? You can get a comfortable chair at goodwill for $9.99.
3. "A chair that looks cool and distinctive. That might be worth another few hundred bucks. $1000, max."
How could a cool and distinctive chair be worth $1,000, but an awesome comfortable chair only be worth $200?
4. "A chair that holds its resale value. How does one do that?"
I don't know Matlock. How does anything hold it's value? Why is a 1967 Shelby Cobra worth $1,000,000? How exactly is a rainbow made? How does the posi track rear end work on 68 Plymouth Cuda? It just does...
5. "Sure, the chair looks neat, but I don't care much."
That's exactly why you don't get it, and will never get it. You're uninformed, uneducated, and unwilling to learn.
6. "As people on this forum have implied, Eames chairs have jumped the shark long ago"
Eames chairs? So every chair from the 60's, and 70's? Do you even know what you're saying when you group one chair into two decades of chairs. If they've jumped shark (a tv idiom) why are they selling for $3,000, and you're buying a $200 chair?
"it's only a matter of time that they Jersey Shore crowd gets into them so they can appear "classy" and cultured."
If you think that Jersey Shore could ever appear "classy and cultured" then you're so misguided I feel the need to pray for you right now. What part is cultured? The 24 hour bar brawls? Knocking Snookie out? The skin tight wife beaters? Their blatant disregard for humanity, and all life? The way they use everyone around them? All of their cheesy Pakistanian gas station jewelry, and Gadzooks mall clothing? I could go on forever. You're a fool if you think they'll ever have one ounce of class.

Kababy....
7. "Probably not that different than the people already here. Whatever."
That's a stereotype that you can't even prove, so why say it. You obviously are very green, and don't know anything, but think you know everything. You came here for advice, and tried leaving giving it to us. People like you can't learn, because your skull is thicker than a cave wall.
8. "Some of us actually work for a living, and don't see it prudent to piss $3500 on something b/c it looks "neato".
Your not pissing money away. Your investing it. You piss money away when you purchase something that has no monetary resale value. While ours continues to go up in value, yours go down. In the end, we're left with an item worth what we paid or more, and you're left with disposable shit. You seeing it here? You compare style to Jersey Shore. I don't know why I'm even trying from this point on.
9. "A repro can be made for $1000 with the exact same. HM is making money off some dead guy. They are just as much repros as repros!"
A repro is made for $100. You pay $1,000. Is every new ford created a repro since Henry is dead? If you look at Herman Miller as just some dead guy, then you shouldn't even be allowed to sit in one of his chairs, not alone own one. You're the kind of guy that would leave it like John's barn find. It's probably a good thing you don't get it. I would feel sorry for the chair.
10. "If you loved the DESIGN so much, you'd be happy with a repro. It's the same design. The reason you're not tells everything about why you actually own one."
We own one cuz we're smart, and you're not. That's why our chair will be worth $10,000 in 20 years, and yours worth $2. Turn off the Jersey Shore, and turn on some PBS. Use your brain for learning. What it was intended for.

One day left
And the auction has a bid!!
What in the world will HouseKebab do??

onegroovydude
Point of clarification:
I believe Kebab is saying that sooner or later the Jersey Shore type crowd (i.e. clueless "d-bags" with no taste or sense of style) will be buying Eames lounge chairs (or more than likely knock-offs, IMO) so that they can *appear* to be classy and cultured.
I don't disagree with that. But Kebab's other arguments are so convoluted and contradictory that it's easy to get lost in trying to figure out what exactly he is saying. Honestly, I don't think he even knows.

Not bid...
It's $1,000 to $1,800 too high for him. More like $1,800.

Woody
You may be right. Easy to get lost in that sea of confusion. So that's basically what he's labeling us as, is clueless douchebags. He really needs to look in a mirror. How would they be smart enough to know what one of these chairs even look like, not alone want to buy one, when everything they own, or have is brand new. "If it's not 2013 it's shit" is more like their motto. Until next year. They would never brag about something used, unless it's their rubber. That's probably why kababy wants brand new too. He's lost in that E network lifestyle.

I will watch the market for...
Let me try to explain another way:
A $200 chair can be resold for $50.
$150 loss.
A $1500 repro Eames probably has no resale market.
$1500 loss.
A used $3500 Eames can be resold for $3500.
$0 loss
A new $4500 Eames can be resold for $3500.
$1000 loss.
So, the best bet is to buy a vintage Eames. I will watch the market for a few weeks to get a sense of market prices. I will most likely wait for a mint condition used Eames in the $3500 range. Or, I will spring $4500 for a brand new one if I get impatient, b/c I do need a reading chair ASAP. Maybe I'll buy 2. All depends on the deal.

Dude.
Didn't you say you already have a job? Why do you also want to be in the used-furniture business?
Since you're a bookkeeper -- or "numbers guy" or whatever -- why didn't this occur to you:
1. Collect the $3500 (or $4500, or $8800) that you're planning to spend on inventory for your furniture store.
2. Spend $200 of it on that "awesome comfortable" chair you've had your eye on.
3. Invest the rest in something that can make $150 without even trying: an index fund, or municipal bonds or TSLA puts or something.
4. Profit.

you and most others...
You and most others missed the entire point of why I stated a $200 chair is comfortable.
I'm not looking to make money, in fact I am in the process of divesting my assets. But, old habits are hard to break. So, I will spend $10,000 on a chair, provided it has a liquid market value of $10,000 or greater.

"
"I will spend $10,000 on a chair, provided it has a liquid market value of $10,000 or greater." From who's view? What if you buy it, and get a second opinion stating a much lower resale? What would you do then?
I think you missed our whole point. You brag about being a numbers guy, yet you have no knowledge of the market around you from day to day, so why does it even matter? What I don't understand is if you have so much money, then why didn't you just go with the best in the beginning? Why are you trying to save as much as possible? Why are you trying to buy reproductions? You said you might even buy two.
Why are you buying more items, if you're divesting your assets? Either you don't know what you're buying and have no common sense about it, or you were wanting to score it cheap for $2,000 and sell it for $5,000 trying to dull down your intent. Either way, we all know the item now, and we'll bid it way up so you really have to pay a lot more than it's worth.

Why would you do that? Just...
I am buying a chair to sit on it and read.
How I manage my money is none of your business.
Why would you bid it up? Just to be a ____? Good work.

Apparently
You haven't been on eBay much.

Ahhh....
This sure is fun...
"I am buying a chair to sit on it and read."
I'd try Staples then. I think they have a furniture section.
"Why would you bid it up? Just to be a ____?"
Because I'm loaded too, and have nothing better to do with my time and money, than make someone else spend there's. I know you won't care since your pockets run so deep. Maybe we can go against each other on the second one your gonna be adding, for when you want to read on the other side of the living room.