For years, Consumer Reports – which recommends everything from what type of coffee you should drink to the safest cars – had made a conscious decision not to rate mattresses. The non-profit firm said its just impossible to compare mattresses because retailers each have their own brand names so the ones at Sleepy’s can’t be compared to the ones sold at Bedding Barn. However, Consumer Reports did the next best thing, asking its readers to rate their mattresses. And loyal readers came to the rescue, with 17,000 responding in October’s issue. Based on the responses Consumer Reports rated 10 mattress and 14 stores. The $2,400 Tempur-pedic came on top with a reader score of 83 while Spring Air, selling for $1,100 came in 10th place with a 66 rating. Original Mattress, selling for $890, came in second with a 52 rating. The Original Mattress Factory came in as the best retailer with a score of 88, (my favorite company, Costco came in 2nd) and at the end of the line was Sleepy’s, the nation’s largest mattress retailer.
Of course you won’t find this in The Courant because Sleepy’s is one of the largest advertisers at the oldest newspaper of continuous circulation in the nation, and we know how the new Courant management likes to protect its prime advertisers from unfavorable publicity.Serta, Sleep Number top Consumer Reports mattress ratings , February 11, 2014 YONKERS, N.Y. — Mattresses by Serta and Sleep Number top the latest list of mattress ratings issued by Consumer Reports. Meanwhile, the top-rated mattress retailer is once again Cleveland-based Original Mattress Factory, a factory-direct operator. Consumer Reports, the influential consumer products evaluation company, published its latest lists of mattress and retail ratings in its March issue. A Serta Perfect Day iSeries mattress tops the innerspring list, while a Sleep Number pillowtop mattress tops the memory foam list.Other recommended innerspring mattresses include models by Beautyrest, Charles P. Rogers, Sealy, and two by Stearns & Foster.
Other recommended memory foam mattresses include a Novaform model at Costco, a Bob's Discount Furniture Bob-O-Pedic model, and the Tempur-Pedic Simplicity.The company also has ratings for 15 mattress retailers, rating Sleepy's, one of the industry's largest retailers, last on the list.The retail ratings, based on 6,105 shopping experiences at walk-in mattress stores between 2011 and June 2013, "reflect subscribers' experience but not necessarily those of the general population," the publication said. It rated the retailers on reader scores, which reflect overall satisfaction with a retailer, according to Consumer Reports.Costco was No. 2 on the retail ratings list, followed by No. 3 Ikea, No. 4 Denver Mattress Co., No. 5 Tempur-Pedic Store, No. 6 Select Comfort Store, No. 7 Sleep Train, No. 8 Macy's, No. 9 Mattress Firm and No. 10 Ashley Furniture.Rounding out the retail list were No. 11 Sears, No. 12 Mattress Warehouse, No. 13 Sam's Club, No. 14 Mattress Discounter, and No. 15 Sleepy's.
The latest retail ratings are similar to those published by Consumer Reports in its August 2012 issue, which rated Original Mattress Factory No. 1, Costco No. 2 and Denver Mattress No. 3. The 2012 list also had Sleepy's in the No. 15 spot, last on the list.The mattress ratings are based on tests conducted by Consumer Reports in which dozens of electronic sensors are used "to precisely and repeatedly measure how well each mattress supports the spine by maintaining its natural curve when you're on your back and keeping it horizontal when you're on your side," the publication said.It said the overall scores for mattresses mainly reflect side and back support, durability and stability.The six recommended innerspring mattresses are the No. 1 Serta Perfect Day iSeries Applause, the No. 2 Beautyrest Recharge Palisades Court Luxury Firm Pillowtop, the No. 3 Charles P. Rogers St. Regis Pillowtop, the No. 4 Sealy West Glens Falls Cushion Firm Euro Pillowtop, the No. 5 Stearns & Foster Lois Luxury Firm (Sears), and the No. 6 Stearns & Foster Lux Estate Delana Ultra Firm.The Consumer Reports Best Buy recommendation in innerspring mattresses
, reflecting a blend of performance and value, is the Serta iSeries model, with a retail listed at $1,075, the publication said.The four recommended memory foam mattresses are the No. 1 Sleep Number Innovation Series i8 bed Pillowtop, the No. 2 Novaform Memory Foam Collection Serafina 14-inch (Costco), the No. 3 Bob's Discount Furniture Bob-O-Pedic 11-inch Firm, and the No. 4 Tempur-Pedic Tempur Simplicity.The Novaform memory foam mattress is a CR Best Buy recommendation. Its retail price was listed at $800. Consumer Reports evaluates sofas Top 25 furniture manufacturers Tempur Sealy CEO offers plans in wake of Mattre... Tempur Sealy will sell Mattress Firm franchisees Uptick in bedding advertising on way? View All Conversation VideosLooking for the best mattress for your money? To cut through the clutter of advertising you'll see out there, Consumer Reports has a look at the best mattresses and mattress retailers. The magazine broke out their findings by category: Traditional innerspring, memory foam and adjustable air.
In each category, Consumer Reports recommends a best buy, as well as other mattresses they recommend based on ratings. Innerspring: The Denver Mattress Doctor's Choice for $500. The Sealy Posturepedic Hybrid Trust Cushion for $1,275 is also a best buy in this category, with a higher rating, but it's obviously a bit more expensive. Memory foam: Tuft & Needle Ten for $600. (Message from Tuft & Needle: "We don't actually use any memory foam in our mattress. We use our own time of polyfoam, T&N Adaptive™ foam. We created it with a foam scientist to have the pressure relief and comfort of memory foam and the breathability and support of latex foam.") The Novaform 14" Serafina Pearl Gel (Costco) is also a "best buy" pick for this category, but it's more expensive at $800. Adjustable air: Sleep Number c2 Bed for $800. It's important to remember that price does not necessarily equate to satisfaction with mattresses. A more expensive mattress may not make for a better product.
For more tips on finding the right mattress for you, check out Consumer Reports' buying guide here. Read more: What you need to know about sleeping pills On the question of retailers, Consumer Reports ranked the Original Mattress Factory stores as the top choice for customer satisfaction. Costco Wholesale was a close second. The high placement for Costco may reflect their return policy on mattresses: A full money back refund without penalty and no time limit. That really makes Costco stand apart! I particularly like the warehouse clubs for mattress shopping, and I've long advised people to test the mattress right there in the store for an extended period. Bring a book or tablet to Costco or Sam's Club and get those mattresses off the displays or yank them off the walls. Then lay there for 15 minutes and see how you like the feel before you buy. There's one more option I want to mention to you. Casper is a new mattress company that's beloved by millennials. Their mattress comes via package delivery in this tiny box and you open it and watch it unfold before your eyes.