The last time I bought a mattress for myself was about 11 years ago. I bought a fairly new full-sized one off a coworker. Four moves and a decade later, we’ve decided it’s time to replace it with an adult (and sometimes an extra toddler)-sized bed. When we started looking, I was shocked at the prices. $3000 for a mattress? What the heck are these things made of? Knowing very little, we went shopping for a mattress and other things on a Saturday morning. The first place, we stopped, Sleepy’s, seemed nice enough. We laid on a few and honed in on the one that we both felt most comfortable in. Meanwhile, Audrey discovered the fun of letting herself fall backwards onto mattresses and did it all over the store. She was giggling and the whole store couldn’t help but look and smile at her. Unfortunately, we soon stopped smiling. When we found something we liked, the seemingly helpful salesman started to get more aggressive. He asked how much we were looking at paying and I made up a number on the spot, something way below the listed price on the bed.
The said he would “talk with his manager” and see if he could get us that price. Then he started asking us if we could commit and have it delivered tomorrow. Anne had walked outside to give Audrey a break by that point, so I said I had to go out and talk with her about it. We talked about it for a bit, then decided we didn’t like the high-pressure sales pitch, so we got ready to leave. I had the car started up when the salesman came out and approached the car window. He then said that he had “talked to his manager” and he could give us the price we wanted AND a free “platinum package”. I said we would talk about it and let him know. We again decided this was sketchy, but to make good on my promise, I went in and gave him my phone number and left. Later that day we went to Jordan’s Furniture, generally known to be a reputable place with reasonable places. The salespeople there were nice and NOT high-pressure. Prices were generally lower, but strangely, we couldn’t find the mattress we found at Sleepy’s.
They had Sertas, but not the one we liked. Being indecisive, we left with a couple new names of ones we liked. Later, we went to Mattress Discounters. The woman there was not pushy and told us about the BBB complaints that Sleepy’s (a 700-store chain) had gotten. We decided to think some more and head home. At home, I did some research online and I found something strange – I couldn’t find much of anything on the mattresses we saw that we liked. I found some mattresses, many of the same brand, but not the same models. I later came to find out that this was completely intentional. The mattress industry is one big scam. There is no way to make an objective decision on a mattress using actual facts. Here’s a few things that the mattress industry does to get you: 1. They mark up their prices 100% to 200%!! No wonder the first guy was able to get his “manager” to give me such a steep discount. They were probably still going to make hundreds of dollars of profits on it.
2. They give the same mattresses different names in different stores or they set up exclusivity agreements by mattress line in certain stores. This makes it impossible to comparison shop because… 3. They make it really had to get actual facts about the mattresses. Stuff like coil counts, materials, overall construction are shrouded in secrecy. But that doesn’t really matter because… 4. There’s no objective measure of mattress quality. Consumer Reports won’t rate them because they can’t get the data and there’s no testing that actually says higher coil counts are better or the number of wires in the coils makes a difference in any way. You’re left to deciding how much you believe the marketing. Is a pillow top made of alpaca hair any better than one made of cotton? Your guess is as good as mine. 5. There’s very little online reviews of mattresses, probably because the model names are so fractured. The ones I did find looked more like content-free sites designed to attract referral credits.
With some more research, I found out that it was somewhat possible to compare mattresses models from different places. It turns out that they really only make one hardness variation in each line. So you can assume that a Plush Firm mattress in the “Classic” line, is the same as another Plush Firm in the Classic line, even if they have different names. was very helpful in figuring this out. We were able to understand which mattresses we saw and how they related to each other. For example, the mattress we liked at Jordan’s was a product line better than the one we saw at Mattress Discounters, even though they came out to the same price! Clearly Jordan’s had the better deal, but US-Mattress had an even better deal. So I did something I never thought I could do, buy a mattress over the internet. I’m pretty sure it’s the same one we saw in the store and the free delivery and frame were a good deal. I’m sure that even if I’m getting it at half the price I saw it listed at elsewhere, they’re still making a decent profit on it.
Anne and I agree that buying a mattress is worse than buying a car. While both have sketchy salespeople, when you buy a car, you can compare them on MPG, size, features, etc. Multiple dealers have the same models so you can compare prices and make an informed decision based on their invoice prices. There’s none of that when buying a mattress. Our mattress should arrive in a few weeks. Hopefully we’ll just find it comfortable enough to have to avoid going through buying a mattress again for at least another 11 years. UPDATE: The mattress arrived quickly and in good condition. We’ve been sleeping on it for several nights and while it feels comfy, I’ve had some upper back soreness which seems to be related to the new mattress. Hopefully it will go away. Otherwise, we’ll have to find another one and do a $100 exchange I guess.Common Sleep Customs Around the World How Sleep Works Buying a Mattress: Online Vs. In-Store Shopping Where is the best place to purchase a new bed?
You spend one-third of your life on a mattress—so it’s no wonder that you want to make sure that you buy the right one. But since mattresses last for years, maybe it’s been a while since you’ve purchased a new one. As a result, you might feel confused about how to go about comparison shopping and getting the best deal without sacrificing satisfaction. As with most purchases, you can sometimes get a better deal online than in a brick-and-mortar store. But there are also benefits to taking the more traditional path and doing your shopping in person.If you want to go the virtual route, rest assured that there is no difference in satisfaction between people who buy mattresses online, compared with those who get them at mattress showrooms. But you can’t just log on to a website and pick a mattress randomly—you still need to know what you like. That’s why, regardless of where you want to ultimately make your purchase, you should first go to a mattress showroom and test out different mattress styles to find out what you like.
Springs or memory foam? Shed your embarrassment and lie down on lots of different mattresses. Change positions a few times, making sure that you spend a few minutes on each side, your back, and your stomach. Even if you already have a specific type of mattress, you should still take this first vital step. Technology changes in the years between mattress purchases, and you may find that your preferences shift. Once you identify what you like, you can narrow down your options.So why not always buy the mattress in the store? One reason is price. You will typically pay 15 percent less online, compared with in-store (sometimes less than half the retail price!). And many websites offer easy returns. Website retailers know that customers will want to test out a mattress, so some include things like 90-day free trials as a way to convince customers that it’s a low-risk transaction. It is – but remember that you usually have to bear the burden of wrapping up the mattress and getting it to the post office or carrier for return.
It also comes down to preference: Some people just like shopping from the comfort of home or don’t have a store nearby that sells what they’re looking for.That said, some people feel really uncomfortable making such a big purchase online. Maybe, for instance, you are worried about having to return it or want to lie on the actual mattress you’ll be buying. If that’s the case, you can still get a great deal at a store. If you find a mattress on a website for a great price, bring an online deal into a store and ask a salesperson if the store can match the price. Unlike websites that have a set price, mattress salespeople in stores have the ability to negotiate with you and get you a price that makes you happy. You might also end up with some great add-ons by shopping in a store, like a free mattress pad or free removal of your old mattress. and the National Sleep Foundation. Want more personalized information? Please provide your zip code, gender and age range. We can't wait to help you #takebackyoursleep.