AS big-ticket purchases go, few are as baffling as buying a mattress.Major manufacturers like Serta and Sealy sell models under different names at different chains, usually in slightly different iterations. , well, forget it. Sleepy’s doesn’t sell the Backsaver Burlywood Plush.The Sealy Backsaver Tervington? Come and get it. .Worse, even models that rival manufacturers say are similar often are not. As one industry veteran explained to Consumer Reports, there’s only one way to be certain about what coils and padding are inside that bland white exterior.“It’s difficult to compare mattresses unless you cut them open,” Eugene Schayer, who worked for two major manufacturers, told the magazine. “The retailers demand exclusivity of the cover and label. They don’t want their product shopped.” The more the Haggler looked at the mattress market, the more he came to conclude — reluctantly, because the Haggler is not naturally inclined to cynicism — that the players in this business are trying to make it confusing.
An outlandish thought, right? An industry would have to be pretty darn craven to spend so much energy thwarting comparison-shopping, would it not?But even the pros at Consumer Reports, not an easily daunted group, took a look at this game of three-mattress monte, scratched their heads and walked away. The magazine doesn’t offer buying advice about specific models because, it says, it can’t figure out a way to provide apples-to-apples comparisons. Instead, it reviews brands and stores.“Shopping for a mattress,” the magazine concluded, “can be a nightmare.”If you’re lucky, the nightmare ends when your mattress is delivered. But not everyone is lucky. Q. Two years ago, we bought a Stearns & Foster king-size mattress that cost $2,500 and came with a 10-year warranty. When it arrived, we immediately noticed that there was a lump, about the width of your hand, running down the middle of the mattress, from top to bottom. We thought it would settle as we used it, but after a few months it was so uncomfortable we could not sleep on it.
We complained to Sealy, which owns the brand, and the company sent a service guy to take a look. For reasons that I can’t explain, Sealy has decided that in order for a customer to have a legitimate warranty claim, the “distortion,” as its known in the business — either a lump or a depression — needs to be at least one and a half inches. Well, our lump is an inch and a quarter.As far as Sealy is concerned, we’re out of luck. We wrote letters and threatened to sue, but that didn’t work. We have swapped our new mattress for the old one we’d had in our guest room.Even if I don’t get any satisfaction, I would love to warn others that is a company that won’t stand behind its product. —Roger Grosswald, Charlotte, N.C.A. The Haggler read this letter and his first thought was: an inch and a half? Who came up with that number? Because it seems rather stinting. If you have a mattress with a lump even half that size you might want a new mattress, or maybe a fix to the recently purchased mattress, if a fix is possible.
These seemed like issues to discuss with Sealy, which, by way of background, is based in Trinity, N.C. One of its major shareholders is the leveraged-buyout firm Kohlberg, Kravis & Roberts, which helped take the company public in 2006. Getting a response took some nudging, but an e-mail arrived from Jodi Allen, Sealy’s chief marketing officer:“We initially determined that Mr. Grosswald’s bed fell outside the limits of our warranty based on the established criteria. However, since Mr. Grosswald is such a valued and loyal Stearns & Foster customer, Sealy is working with him to replace his mattress.”The next day Sealy contacted Mr. Grosswald and offered him a new mattress.This news delighted Mr. Grosswald and gave him an acute case of what psychologists call “hagglerphoria,” a complicated mental state characterized by a mix of joy and anger-tinged sadness — the first stemming from the results, the second from the realization that it took the Haggler’s interventions to get those results.
Ms. Allen wrote in a follow up e-mail that the inch-and-a-half rule was created in the mid-90s, when thicker mattresses were introduced to the market. The theory is that any distortion that is less than an inch and a half is the result of normal wear, or “body impression break-in,” as Ms. Allen put it.By all means, some standard is needed. But an inch and a half? When the Haggler asked for tales of mattress woe two weeks ago, he received many like Mr. Grosswald’s, about a variety of manufacturers. We’re talking about mattresses with sags, depression and lumps that sound thoroughly exasperating but don’t quite rise (or fall) by an inch and a half.So is Mr. Grosswald’s victory the dawn of a new, consumer-friendly standard? The Haggler asked Sealy if customers with similar circumstances should get in touch. “The manufacturer establishes the warranty and the retailer is responsible for evaluating warrantees and taking the appropriate action,” wrote Christiana Basso, a Sealy publicist.
In other words: dream on.If, that is, you can get to sleep.Reviews of this mattress line give consumers the scoop on what shoppers really think about this mattress line. For those of you who may be considering purchasing any type of mattress, it is always wise to do your homework to see how well the bed you are interested is fairing in the market. Reviews offer an insight that you are only able to get from a source that has actually experienced the product.These reviews are important for people who like to research a potential purchase before buying. Anybody who is considering buying a product should always see how it fairs against competition and how it rates with consumers and the same is true for mattresses. After all, a bed is a purchase that can be expensive and the quality of your mattress is something you plan to live with for several years. This is what shoppers have to say about iComfort mattresses in particular. (To see a comparison of multiple mattress brands, see our article on What Brands Have the Best Mattress Reviews?).
Serta’s iComfort line is a mid-level memory foam bed collection. This automatically places this brand in the position of competing with leading memory foam brands in the market. How is it fairing? According to reviews, it seems this line is about average overall but it does excel in a few areas. Most reviews indicate that the mattresses do well at pain relief and pressure point relief. There are positive remarks that indicate that the bed has good motion isolation like other quality memory foams, which has been proven to reduce disrupted sleep for buyers.While the brand is giving other memory foam beds a run for their money, there is one thing that puts this mattress above many others. Most memory foam mattresses are created with a complex chemical makeup that produces an odor that may take several weeks to fade away. Serta claims to use more eco-friendly materials in this line to reduce that. Consumers have indicated that the line does not have as strong a chemical odor as standard memory foam and many reviews indicate that there is no off-gassing at all, though about 6% appear to still notice some.
While Serta iComfort beds are newer to the market than some other brands, they seem to be fairing okay in terms of lifespan and durability. About one in 10 owners experiences early impressions or reduced support, which is about average for memory foam, but better than typical spring beds. , The warranty on this bed is 10 years with a trial period of 120 days. This is about the average warranty offer from other memory foam brands. Queen size mattress set prices range from $1,299-2,999 increasing with thickness, putting this line in the medium-to-high range.There are a number of terrific things reported about these mattresses as indicated above; however, there are a few things that consumers are not happy about in the reviews that they’ve written. One major issue is with the firmness of the bed. Ten percent have pointed out that the mattress they tested and the actual mattress they received were very different in terms of firmness. Most reports indicate that the bed consumers received was much stiffer than they expected and remained such.
Unlike innerspring mattresses, memory foam mattresses tend to have more unpredictability in firmness levels, even among mattresses of the same make and model. Every memory foam mattress has its own unique firmness to some degree. Uniformity in firmness makes it easier for a consumer to know what they are buying. Make sure the mattress you purchase has the firmness you desire. It could literally cost you many sleepless nights.Other reports indicate impressions in the mattress forming in the first few months, which could indicate durability issues with some models (possibly due to the introduction of the gel, or lower density foams). Consumers who made these observations often experienced trouble sleeping and back pain, likely caused by the sagging mattress. Of the remarks posted on this Consumer Affairs Serta Mattress Review page, many iComfort customers made this complaint. Several were unable to get refunds when they sought them.This problem is essentially one of longevity. A mattress can potentially cause adverse effects when support is lacking due to impressions or sagging.
lists below-average longevity as a possible negative attribute for this line of mattresses. Consumers looking for a long-lasting, durable mattress may want to take note.Heat retention is a significant complaint for most memory foam mattresses, and these mattresses don’t escape this problem. There have been reports that this mattress retains heat and makes for an uncomfortable sleeping environment. This is common among memory foam mattresses, and iComfort reviews seem to come just slightly below average, even though Serta makes claims that it actually is supposed to be cooler than traditional memory foam. Recent studies from Cargill and Tempurpedic indicate that gel-infused memory is not cooler than standard or plant-based memory foams, however.A significant number of buyers have said the dimensions of the bed seemed much smaller (as much as 5 inches from stated specifications) than they thought prior to purchasing. Also, this bed has been reported as being above average for heaviness.
This has posed a problem for some people being able to situate the bed or move it later. Serta doesn’t consistently disclose the specifications of the iComfort mattress, which makes comparison shopping and informed buying difficult. Many consumers have found this to be a problem.This line is reported as being an overall good option, receiving higher ratings than innersprings but variable compared to other similar quality memory foam beds. There are a number of positive things that stand out when it comes to this bed such as: comfort, less chemical odor, and of course the warranty and trial period. However, there are a few problems that have been reported that center mostly on heat retention, durability, size, and firmness.In short, Serta iComfort reviews indicate that this is a prominent memory foam mattress that is able to compete amongst the best brands in the market, but it is still important to research and compare models to find the best mattress for budget and particular needs.