Yes you can buy a cheaper chair mat but they are not as thick and flexible as this model. I'm using the mat over low-pile commercial carpeting--it has some give but my chair moves nicely over the mat's surface. I had the mat shipped to my home via UPS and it arrived in excellent shape!
We were disappointed to to see that it is so thin - much thinner than the four others we have in the house. We fear that the office chair will leave large indents or even tear it.
This mat was supposed to help make a rolling chair easier to roll. It had the opposite effect making it more difficult to move the wheels out of indentations. It isn't worth my time to return it but I would never recommend it to anyone!