At Consumer Reports, we usually advise you to lie on any mattress you’re considering for at least 15 minutes. But because warehouse clubs display mattresses standing up and websites offer only pictures and descriptions, you need to rely on those companies’ return policies. And from our research, buying from them is fairly low-risk. Here are three top-pick memory foam mattresses from our mattress tests that you can buy online or at Costco. This warehouse club received the second-highest satisfaction score from readers in our survey of subscribers’ experiences with mattress stores. Costco doesn’t say outright what its return policies are for mattresses, but from what we can tell, the company aims to satisfy and won’t charge for shipping and handling if you contact them within a reasonable period of time, such as a few months after purchase. That goes for the website and the stores. You don’t need to save the box. Recommended mattress from Costco: Spring Air Back Supporter Natalie, $1,200.
If you really need to try the company’s mattress, you’ll have to go to either New York City or Los Angeles for one of Casper's only physical showrooms. Casper offers just one model in six sizes. Otherwise, you get 100 nights to decide whether to keep it. If not, Casper will let you exchange or return it for your money back with no restocking or other fees. Shipping is free, too. Recommended mattress from Casper: The Casper, $850. You can try both mattress models that Tuft & Needle offers at its showroom in Phoenix, and it has a 30-night trial period. No mattresses actually go back to the company; instead, you’re asked to donate it to a charity and show the seller the receipt for a full refund—or full credit toward an exchange. (If no charity is nearby, the company will arrange to have the mattress picked up.) No need to save the packing materials. Recommended mattress from Tuft & Needle: Tuft & Needle Ten, $500. Prefer to try it in a store? For more choices, including top-rated innerspring, memory foam, and adjustable air mattresses see our full mattress Ratings and recommendations.
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Sign in to use My Wishlist The hottest deals voted on by our community. Selected and verified by our team of deal editors.Last Updated Nov 19, 2010 10:24 AM EST You head to Costco to stock up on staples -- say, paper towels and cleaning supplies -- but you walk out with three salmon filets, a tub of cream puffs, and a ream of printer paper. Most of us are notoriously poor at assessing a true bargain, says C.W. Park, professor of marketing at the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California, and editor of The Journal of Consumer Psychology. Seduced by the prospect of saving money, we give in to impulse buys. Eventually, we regret the purchase or throw much of a past-its-prime product away. It's called the Costco Effect, and it's actually part of the store's incredibly successful retail strategy. But the effect on your wallet is that you spent more than you would have if you'd never seen that "bargain."5 things to buy at Costco6 Clever Tricks for Holiday ShoppersNot So Fast: 7 Things to Buy After ChristmasHere are four product categories where you're better off going somewhere other than Costco.You might score the occasional pair of Lucky jeans or a Speedo swimsuit, but designer duds aren't exactly Job 1 at Costco.
Even if you do see an item from a top-tier name brand, you can't assume it's the same quality as the similar-looking product at a department store. "Just because it's a national brand name, an item of clothing doesn't have to meet the standards you'll see in other stores," says Marshal Cohen, chief retail analyst at the NPD Group, a market research firm.Kathryn Finney, founder of The Budget Fashionista, says it's no secret that most name designers make cheaper lines just for warehouse clubs or outlet stores. The tip-off, says Finney, will be in the packaging and/or label on the garment. Labels on the sub-brands are just glued on, and are usually stiff and crunchy, while labels on high-end goods are softer or silky, and stitched all around. Most shrimp sold in the U.S. is imported from countries in Latin America and Southeast Asia, where environmental regulations are often lax or not enforced, according to the Environmental Defense Fund, (EDF), an education and advocacy non-profit. The EDF classifies shrimp imported from these regions as "eco-worst" for the environmentally destructive ways in which they are often farmed.
Greenpeace took aim at Costco's seafood sustainability practices last June with an aggressive campaign called Oh No Costco. While Costco seafood buyer Bill Mardon says his company has entered into a partnership with the World Wildlife Fund to set global standards for shrimp farming, the specific objectives are still being discussed."Costco gets credit for starting down the road," says Tim Fitzgerald, senior policy analyst for oceans at of the EDF, "but they are still very early on." In the meantime, you're better off buying shrimp at Trader Joe's, which is much further along on the same path. After Greenpeace launched its Traitor Joe campaign in early 2009, Trader Joe's pledged to remove all non-sustainable seafood from its stores by the end of 2012, and it's already taken concrete steps in that direction. "Target and Wal-Mart have this market cornered and they do a great job," says Budget Fashionista's Finney. Costco, by contrast, rarely stocks more than a handful of top-selling colors in sheets and towels.