On Monday, I mentioned that Kris and I are ready to replace our 15-year-old mattress. I don’t sleep well on it, though I sleep fine on other mattresses. I only mentioned this to illustrate a point, but I was surprised at how many readers commented on my situation.
Jason’s comment was typical:
I’ve found that sleep is the absolute root of everything. With decent sleep, I’m a better man, father, athlete, spouse, employee and all around person. With poor sleep, I’m just getting by at best, an irritable mess at worst.
I’d replace that mattress yesterday, as others have already said. Think of the other things you “just do” when they wear out and become unsafe or function poorly — car tires, toothbrushes, sponges, knives, ladders, etc. The mattress very easily fits into the same category.
Unfortunately, “an irritable mess” pretty much describes me lately, and I’m sure that a lot of this stems from poor sleep. I don’t need more convincing. I’m ready to purchase a new mattress. But how do I go about it without getting ripped off? For some reason, I think of mattress shopping in the same way I think about shopping for a used car.
In the same discussion, EBYT wrote that she sold mattresses while attending university. She offered the following tips for mattress shopping:
- Mattresses are hugely marked up (at least here in Canada). I bought one for staff price (brand new, not a display model) that cost 50% less than what we were selling it for. They still made money off of me. Either wait till they go on sale, or make sure you ask for a good deal. Good mattress/box sets start around $1,500 “regular” price.
- Make sure you buy a mattress pad so you get full warranty. The salespeople will try to sell you on the manufacturer’s 10-year warranty, but they don’t always tell you the warranty is void if you stain it.
- To go along with the warranty thing, always buy the matching mattress/boxspring set. Mismatching usually voids the warranty. The boxspring is usually only about 10-15% of the mattress set’s price so don’t try to cut costs there, or by using your old “perfectly good” boxspring.
- Don’t be afraid to test the beds on the showroom floor — that’s what they’re there for.
Another reader suggested buying a mattress from a warehouse club. Kris and I made a trip to Costco the other day to look at their mattresses. As always, the prices are great but the selection is poor. Plus, there’s no way to “sleep-test” the mattresses (which are just in a big stack in the middle of the store). Would it be bad form to sleep test at a mattress store and then buy from Costco? Could I even find the same models?
Finally, here are some articles about mattress shopping from other sites:
- Birds and Bills: Braving mattress sales, which says: “After a few glances at the mattress sales tags, which featured minimal text and explanation, I ended up giving up entirely on trying to “shop” by feature — latex? foam? coils? I had no idea which I wanted — and just road-tested a few. And … they mostly felt alike.”
- MSNBC: Don’t lose sleep buying the perfect mattress, which says: “Offer the retailer a couple of hundred dollars less than the one on the price tag. Be prepared to negotiate from there. If the mattress feels good to you, then that is the right mattress for you.”
- Slate: Going to the mattresses, which says: “If you can’t tell the difference between a $200 and a $900 mattress (I couldn’t, but maybe you can), get the cheaper one. They’re nearly the same, anyway. Anything over $1,500 and you’re just paying for prestige.”
- USA Today: How not to lose sleep over buying a mattress, which says: “The ‘best’ mattress comes down to personal preference — consumers are urged to test mattresses before buying. It also pays to know what’s inside each type — and why.”
In any event, it seems that Kris and I will soon be sleeping on a new mattress. I have my fingers crossed that this will give me better rest and, in turn, make me a less irritable mess!
Photo by The Truth About.
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J.D.,
The Sleep Number bed by Select Comfort is definitely the way to go – do not buy a mattress until you at least try out the Sleep Number one (go through the whole demonstration at the store).
We have three mattresses in our home – my daughter’s bed (formerly ours) is a very good ‘conventional’ queen-size mattress – no-flip pillow-top style (it was not cheap to purchase). If I were to lie down on it right now, it feels wonderful – HOWEVER, if I were to sleep on it night after night, it would quickly “sag” or “hammock” – not good. This type of ‘wear-in’ is inevitable in my mind with any ‘conventional’ mattress. (Perhaps buy two beds and alternate sleeping on each one?
)
My son’s bed (ours before the other one) is a mid-range “conventional” queen-size mattress purchased at a warehouse club and since upgraded with a fairly nice memory-foam type topper. Everyone in our family agrees that this is the worst of the three. Although I have not tried a “real” Tempurpedic, my experience with the relatively thick foam topper on my son’s bed leads me to think the Tempurpedic would be more of the same, and I dread the ‘frozen in place’ feeling from the deeper foam (as well as ‘heat’ issues). Also the foam inevitably breaks down in the key support areas where weight is concentrated.
My wife and I sleep on a king-size Sleep Number bed by Select Comfort. This bed is one of the best purchases we have ever made – if anything would qualify as ‘life-changing’ this bed would come close.
The adjustability is great: a) side to side, his vs. hers; b) over time you can compensate for any ‘wear-in’ of the pillow top; c) special situations – rough day and you want it extra-soft, home sick and reading in bed sitting up and want it firmer, ‘extra-curricular’ activities, or just want to try a different setting for sleep.
Be sure to get the demo and also read every word of the instruction manual – when i tried out the bed without guidance, I completely missed the concept.
If you understand it and use it correctly, this bed opens up amazing possibilities for restful sleep (hint: explore softer settings over time than you are initially comfortable with). There really is less tossing and turning all night, and I go to sleep EXTREMELY quickly when I hit this bed.
I spent more than I wanted to on this bed, but gritted my teeth and bit the bullet and would not go back now.
We saved a little bit of money by not buying Select Comfort’s platform for the bed – instead we kept our old king-size box springs and I cut pieces of 1/2″ medium-density fiberboard to cover them – this gives you the totally flat and firm surface required for the system to work correctly. (We tossed the king-size mattress we had used for only a couple of years which was a disappointing warehouse-club purchase.)
Pay attention to the pillow you use as well; I paid relatively good money for a real down pillow that I can ‘adjust’ (I’m not a fan of the foam pillows that they sell at the Select Comfort store).
Believe me when I tell you that I am as/more frugal as the next guy, but a bed is an excellent place to splurge (and also a place where you can throw away a lot of money if you’re not careful). Go with the Sleep Number!!!!
David
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Sorry that I couldn’t read all the posts just now to make certain that I’m not duplicating information that you’ve already been given. If I have,you may just ignore me
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. Only time will tell if it will hold up over the years, but the price was right.
I recently learned that Walmart.com sells memory foam mattresses. After researching I found them to be a better price than overstock or costco. It’s a little odd to purchase a mattress without having tried it, but there were many goods reports from buyers on the website and the mattress can be returned if it is not what you expected. Further, the mattress is squished into a little box and can be picked up in the back of a van or truck (really!) from the store that you have requested if be delivered to. This eliminates the cost of shipping and the need to be home when delivery personnel arrive. After having our mattress for a few months, I think we are happier with it then we have been with any other mattress in over 20 years of marriage. Walmart – really
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@56:
“I remember seeing signs at IKEA that they seem to have a decent exchange policy if you don’t like what you get too.”
Yes, you can test a mattress for 90 days and bring it back for a full refund if you don’t like it. It was a main reason why I bought there, but I am very happy with my Latex mattress from there, so I didn’t had to use this offer anyway.
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Here is Sweden there was a storm in a teacup about matresses- it turned out that the top-of-the line brand matresses were only just slightly better than the IKEA matress, which cost literally 1/10th the price. Usually Ikea is also generous about exchanges and returns.
Wow- so many people interested in how you sleep, J:D
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A mattress is one of those places I don’t worry about paying a good amount. When we first got married we bought a really nice Sealy Posturpedic Presidential edicion mattress and it was the best $1000 we have ever spent (that was 11 years ago). Our mattress is still as comfortable and firm as it was 11 years ago and I know we’ll get at least another 5-8 years out of it.
My next mattress is going to be a organic wool one with no VOC’s so I it’s going to cost a pretty penny, but that’s why I’m already saving for it.
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Dear JD,
I live in the tropics(India). We each use a cotton mattress around 2 Inches thick, weighs less than 10 Kgs, costs around US$10 (500 Rupees). The pillows, usually a single one, is also a slim one. Feels quite comfortable.
Have you tried sleeping on the floor with just a blanket below you? This also is OK with me.
Regards,
Satej Datar.
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I bought a foam mattress from Costco for an amazing price and I have absolutely no regrets. It’s extremely comfortable and, after 3 years, still feels like new.
I think all foam mattresses are basically the same so try one out at a mattress store. Just make sure to tell the salepeople you’re just browsing so as not to lead them on.
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Try consignment stores. I was in one looking for a futon a few months ago when I moved into a summer apartment and I was surprised to find many ‘new’ high-quality, name-brand mattresses there. Apparently the deal is that mattress stores cannot sell a mattress as ‘new’ once it has been taken out of the plastic, so if someone returns a mattress for any reason, they can’t sell it again. Ergo, they take it to the consignment store where it is sold for a discount. How much? I don’t know- they all seemed really expensive to me, a college student that ended up on a $15.38 Goodwill twin.
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I am offended by the remarks made in this article. Who does this person think they are suggesting that mattresses are hugely marked up and that the sales associate should be “ground down” to a “good deal”. Most mattresses are marked up 50% just like any other retail item that is purchased at wholesale and re-sold at retail. Where is it written that a customer can negotiate the selling price of a mattress?? Do they go into Best Buy and negotiate the selling price of a refrigerator. Do they negotiate the price of a “Big Mac” at the drive-thru? No they don’t…the mattress sales associate who has had the proper training to help a customer make an educated selection deserves to be paid for the time spent with the customer and educating them.
Yes, it is poor taste to test the feel of a mattress in a mattress store and then buy it from Costco. The customer doing this is causing the sales person that helps them to miss a potential sale while he/she is helping the shopper and for what? To educate them while he/she has absolutely no chance to paid for the time spent with the customer? This type of behavior is disrespectful of the sales associate. AND what about the customer that saw the mattress at Costco for $600 and asks the mattress store to match the price when the store’s wholesale cost was $550. The sales associate that helps that customer is going to make absolutely not one dime and will have to go to the bottom of the list and work through the rotation of all the other sales associates before getting another opportunity to try to earn a living. If customer likes the price at Costco, they should buy the darn thing there. If they are going to the mattress store because the service is better, they get free delivery and the sales staff is more knowledgeable, the customer should have to pay extra for those amenities.
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J.D., did you ever post the email from the mattress salesman??
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I have to caution those with interest to exercise an option (to #36 Heather & #85 Andy) buy from a mattress factory. I’m not disagreeing…an urgent note of caution:
The worst experience I’ve ever had, was an interaction I’ve had with “VERLO”. “Custom made” was so seductive. Julie, wanted my money and she sold and sold…until I was dry, and the options were exhausted. The salesperson, franchiseee, AND the people at the corporate headquarters had clear priorities. Not me. The Mattress came to me defective, and uncomfortable yet NOT DEFECTIVE ENOUGH. The debt lasted longer than my comfort. They showed no interest in my satisfaction, and they were right. I was not satisfied. No repair, replacement, or refund was possible. They were neither rude nor interested.
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When shopping for a bed, spend at least 15 minutes laying on it before deciding. If it stays comfortable for that long it should fit your needs. Falling asleep, as Mark did, would cinch the sale for me.
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