My quest for an affordable standing desk.

My first standing desk was a cardboard box. It was an empty box I had taped up and set on my desk. I wish I had a photo of it. It was absurd but also mostly functional.

Of course, it wasn’t the most stable thing in the world. Unlike a full desk that changed height, this was a low-tech desk riser. At least it was lightweight though. When I wanted to sit, I could just set it aside.

I was dogsitting one year around Christmas time and got to use this sweet office for a couple weeks. They had a Varidesk and I was immediately hooked!

When I saw how much it cost though, I definitely had sticker shock. I had contemplated purchasing a $400 desk that would go up or down at the push of a button. An unpowered desk riser seemed like it shouldn’t cost that much.

I researched building my own out of wood. However, I liked being about to switch from standing to sitting throughout the day. The idea of having to move my monitor and laptop off the wood riser each time I wanted to sit, did not seem appealing.

When researching the Varidesk on Amazon, I found many knock-offs with similar designs. They all had questionable generic brand names. The reviews on many were brutal. Many were wobbly or had thin metal or screws missing. The prices seemed rather random as well. Amazon is tricky unless you know the brand you are looking for. Also, the Amazon reviews can be for other products or the negative ones can get removed or hidden.

Saving money on Amazon can be difficult. Especially because many brand-name items are more expensive than other places.

Eventually, I settled on one brand and got lucky. The brand was called “FEZIBO” but the reviews were pretty decent. One review noted that there were these air piston things on it, that made it really easy to lift, even when your desk was actually heavy.

I have had my “FEZIBO” for four years now, and it is just as solid as the day I bought it!

This one item has changed my life for the better and it cost 25% of the namebrand version. Honestly, this copycat is actually better because the Varidesk I used did not have the air piston!

Here it is:

The one I have is actually 30″ and barely fits my laptop and monitor. Maybe that is why the minimum width is now 34″.

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