The biggest pain about buying a new mattress is … well, just about everything. You spend an hour in the store, awkwardly flopping on and off beds trying to find the one that meets the Goldilocks standard of “just right.” Then you have to lug the winning mattress across the parking lot, onto your car roof, up stairs, and into your home. I recently transplanted from New York City to San Francisco, and the first major purchase I made — hesitantly — was a new mattress. But I did things a little differently this time. Casper, called “the Warby Parker of mattresses,” sells mattresses on its website and delivers them to your door in a box not much bigger than a nightstand. The Manhattan-based sleep startup raised $13 million in Series A funding last August, and famously generated $1 million in its first 28 days after launch. My shopping experience began online, and was over and done with in fewer than 10 minutes. Casper sells just one type of mattress, dubbed “The Casper Mattress,” because the company prefers to “put all our energy into building the ideal bed … rather than confuse you with tens (or hundreds) of models that all start to feel the same after a while.”
It combines latex foam for cooling and bounce, and memory foam for support. A hand-sewn, custom-designed cover seals the layers. I ordered a full-sized mattress for $750, comforted by the knowledge that I could return my Casper mattress for any reason within 100 days. Plus, it was free to ship! Less than one week later, it arrived! My roommates wheeled the box on a cart into my room. We turned it upright and cut open the box. Inside, a cloth bag held instructions and … … the most adorable little letter opener. I held the box at a 45-degree angle as my boyfriend wiggled the mattress out. It weighed about 60 pounds. We cut the mattress free from its felt binding using the letter opener. Then came time for the “unfurling.” The 10-inch-thick mattress expanded and flattened as it filled with air. My boyfriend cut through the plastic and the mattress sprung to life. In seconds, it was ready for sleeping. Here it is, all done up. I’ve slept in the bed for a few nights now, and here are my takeaways.
The Casper Mattress is surprisingly springy, even for an experienced Tempur-Pedic-sleeper like myself. Its latex-and-memory-foam combination absorbs and contours to my body like a sponge. That said, the sinkage is minimal. Thanks to the surface layer’s high foam density, I don’t feel like I’m climbing out of a manhole everytime I get out of bed. Does it meet the Goldilocks standard of “just right”? How could it, when ever sleeper’s needs are different? I would have preferred a slightly firmer mattress, and I hope a variation is available in the future. Still, the convenience and low costs associated with Casper trump all other mattress-buying experiences. It was infinitely easier to maneuver this cardboard box around my apartment building than it would have been to burden it on our backs and strap it to the car’s roof on the way home from the store. Plus, by ordering online, I avoided paying for delivery, shipping, and tip. In the on-demand era, laziness is king.
NOW WATCH: Ikea Says Its New Furniture Takes Only 5 Minutes To Assemble — Here’s The TruthQuestion from a desperate reader: Is a new mattress considered a used mattress if it gets returned? I'm wondering because I have been sleeping on my new Simmons Beautyrest Allegheny Extra Firm mattress for two months. I sleep ok but it is super hard and I think I would feel more comfortable if it were a bit softer. I paid $1,400 which was more than I expected to pay but I thought I would be helping my health. I only have a few days left to return it but they want a 15% restocking fee plus $60 pick-up fees and I do not want to spend more money but I hate this mattress. Sorry to ask you all this but I am desperate to make aKay G., March 7, 2015 Your dilemma is one that is common and frustrating to countless numbers of mattress buyers. You've purchased a mattress that just isn't right for you and now you are stuck facing more fees to get the darn
out a new, best-priced luxury mattress in your home for 75 days and never worrySee the link below that says discover these amazing mattresses. It's unbelievable to me that mattress sellers would take back a mattress, repackage it, restock it, and then sell this used mattressThe big problem I have with this is when some of these hucksters try to pass these mattresses off as new. It really fries me because…It's one of those "dirty little secrets" of the mattress industry. I for one would not want to buy a used mattress that I thought was new. Sure, I’ve slept on my share of used mattresses—short-term house rentals, hotels, and visiting family or friends.But nowadays, with the threat of bed bugs or other little critters that can crawl inside a hole in a mattress, we have to be careful bringing a used mattress into our homes. I realize mattresses can beI realize mattresses get dumped in landfills. I realize some people can't afford a nice, new mattress.
But those are issues for another time. you ever buy any mattress, make certain you understand those return fees. My point is clear: If a mattress store is charging a restocking fee, that means they intend to restock it, as in, resell it. So yes to your question: If your new mattress, that you slept on for two months, gets returned, it becomes a used mattress. And if the store isn't restocking it, then why are they charging a restocking fee? See what I mean? It's a bunch of monkey business if That's why it’s vital to know the return policies of anyRead all return information carefully. Warranties too, by theGood companies will say up front what the deal is on returns. Some companies will state they don’t take back usedThey have no trial period for you to sleep on it at home. know and can decide if you want their mattress bad enough from that company. The key is, what do you want and what do you need?I’ve purchased some great stuff from companies that have
But I knew exactly what I wanted, and I knew I would never return what I bought from them. Now let’s look at what I would suggest you do. others in your situation if they’re stuck with a mattress they don’t want. keep this Simmons mattress. The benefit of keeping the mattress is you don’t have to pay $210 in restocking fees and $60 pick-up fees. You could use that money to go out and get a brand new memory foam topper to make this concrete slab of a mattress you have more comfortable. I think that option stinks. I think option 2 is better. this brick and pay the price. The benefits of doing this are, in my opinion, better than the benefits of keeping the mattress. It is unlikely you will ever be able to sleep on this mattress without the aid of an excellent memory foam topper. It’s hard enough to get a good night’s sleep. start thinking before you go to bed that you hate your mattress, this really can lead to insomnia.
You become almost afraid to go to bed at night. From a financial standpoint, if you send the mattress back, you will have $1,130 cash back in your purse ($1,400 purchase - $270 cost ofYes, you are out $270 and you’re bummed out that you lostHowever, you have cut your losses and now: By the way, in general, yes, I do think thinner people will find an extra firm mattress less comfortable than a firm or medium firm. Everyone is different however so there is no set-in-stone rule on this. warns people that buying used mattresses increases the chance of bringing bed Most states in the U.S. have strict laws for selling used mattresses or mattresses with used materials. I selected three at random to see what I could find: Texas, California, and Massachusetts. It’s clear from my reading each of these state’s literature that any company must have a license to resell used bedding. California calls mattresses that have used materials,
These mattresses will have a red tag. A yellow tag is for a used mattress that has been sanitized. California’s Department of Consumer Affairs warns people that buying used mattresses from companies that are not certified increases the chance of bringing bed bugs home. Massachusetts also makes a big deal out of mattress sanitizers being properly licensed. Of course, the chances of a name-brand mattress maker stuffing their new mattresses with used materials is non-existent. Look for a white “Under Penalty of Law” tag on the mattress. This tag will say something like “this mattress contains all-new material Then it goes on to say where and when it was manufactured and have a bunch of numbers on it. It is illegal for a mattress retailer to sell you a mattress without that white tag. The bottom line is, if you want new, buy from retailers who only sell new mattresses. And always look for that white “all-new-mattress”
If you see a colored tag—or no tag at all—run the other way! Ask the people at the mattress store if what you are buying As to your question about restocking fees, this all comes down to how a company wants to do business. Different companies have differentSome have a mattress trial period. A company has every right to charge a restocking fee if theyMaybe they feel they’ll lose a fortune if they don’t because they’re afraid of too many returns. As for your memory foam topper questions, I’ve received several similar questions recently. Check out some of the topper articles on myI’ll be posting more soon too.Okay, let’s wrap this up. The good news is, if you don’t want to worry about return fees and restocking fees, you won’t have to pay them You may be surprised to know you can get a finely crafted queen mattress for only $899. A luxury twin is only $599. These are American made mattresses. This is the future of mattress buying in America.