How to shop for a new mattress..

Surprised there was no result for mattress or mattresses in the search -- if I missed where this topic was covered, kindly let me know.

I'm looking for a new mattress and have begun to do some research. That research has basically led me to conclude:

* mattress salesmen are at least as shady as used car salesmen
* mattresses are a racket

This article is back from 2000, but was pretty eye-opening: http://www.slate.com/id/93956/

I was a bit blown away that each different *retailer* has their own name for a particular mattress, to prevent comparison shopping with other retailers.

Given that makes comparison shopping difficult at best, how do you most effectively shop for a new mattress? What experiences have you had negotiating with salesmen?

Did you search in deal discussion?

Yup, I went through the same discovery some years back. Its a joke and imo not worth the effort.

Just get your mattress at costco and be done with it. A couple times a year they have a coupon. You can monitor here for a new coupon.
http://addictedtocostco.com/costco-coupons/

Yeah, I've been reading the 53 page emattress thread with people building their own tempurpedic type beds -- wife would love a memory foam mattress, but so many posts in that thread saying after 3-4 years the foam is shot. looking at costco, seems like some decent prices there on memory foam king mattresses (< $1000) .. might go that route instead of trying to build my own, but am curious what the best build-your-own configuration is now -- one that, if the top layer of foam gets shot, can easily/cheaply be replaced with a new piece.

I spent weeks about a year ago mattress shopping- at the end I was more confused than when I started- and was looking at spending 2k on a mattress. Then I just went and bought the nicest firm matress sams sold- cost about $800 (king size, mattress and boxsprings) delivered. Been very happy with it. Blew the rest of my money on H&B.

BilldaCat said:   

Now for a frame..

Costco sells those too... I just bought a bed a few weeks ago, and bought the frame at the mattress store for $60.00. Went to Costco a few days later, and what do you know... bed frame for $34.99. The also have mattress pads too.

BilldaCat said:   Surprised there was no result for mattress or mattresses in the search -- if I missed where this topic was covered, kindly let me know.

I'm looking for a new mattress and have begun to do some research. That research has basically led me to conclude:

* mattress salesmen are at least as shady as used car salesmen
* mattresses are a racket

This article is back from 2000, but was pretty eye-opening: http://www.slate.com/id/93956/

I was a bit blown away that each different *retailer* has their own name for a particular mattress, to prevent comparison shopping with other retailers.

Given that makes comparison shopping difficult at best, how do you most effectively shop for a new mattress? What experiences have you had negotiating with salesmen?

Like you said, every retailer has a different name for the same thing. However, if you have a particular line that you like, by looking online or at the store you can get a good idea of which ones are actually the same.
The retailers as well know what they are called at different chains, so you can show them the ad or tell them you know its basically the same matress, the price at store X is and ask them if they can beat that price.
Unless you are at a place like costco or sams *never* pay the sticker price, like you said, its like dealing with a car salesman.

When I was in the market for a new matress I found one I liked that was priced at $4000, I found the same thing under a different name for $3500 elsewhere. The first store then offered to sell it to me for $3400, I asked them to write it down and I would think about it. I took that to yet a third store who offered to beat that and sell it for $3200 (plus delivery), I wasn't really fond of this store and had no experience with it, so I then took that offer back to the first store and they ended up selling it to me for $3000 with free delivery. I tried to just get them to come down at first without all the effort but they wouldn't budge until they could see I knew I could get it cheaper elsewhere.

Moral of the story, most matress places are crazy overpriced so they have a lot of room to work with.

1) Do not buy from The Original Mattress Factory ( We have this in the orthopedic and do not like it after buying & having since 2006) Bad experience with them.Mattress is lumpy and not comfortable.
2)Consider looking into a Latex Mattress, which was recommended by a friend of family that owns one and sells mattresses.
3) My cousins all like the Sleep Number.
4) Go and lay on the mattress with your MP3 player for a few hours and move as you normally do on the mattress.
5) This is a scary subject because they don't make them like they used to...

6) Comparison shop for a better price.

Here is one vote FOR the Original Mattress Factory. We have been very happy with the quality of our made to order mattress, and have had it for about three years so far.

BilldaCat said:   the good part about a $250 mattress is, if the mattress sucks after 2 years, who cares. if i buy a $4k mattress and am unhappy with it after 2-4 years, i care very much.Exactly -- another reason why I went with the cheapo Ikea mattress.

BilldaCat said:    Searching around overstock and such, but some simple googling should suffice -- a lot easier to comparison shop these than mattresses.Regarding a platform frame -- my experience for the frame was actually just as difficult as the mattress. I've had two platform frames in the past 6-7 years, and both were trashed.
They both seemed like they were made out of sawdust. Just a minor push from my shin to the front of the frame would make it bend.

This was my first test in any frame. If the frame bends easily I went to the next one. You can reinforce the frame so it doesn't bend by adding some wood, but it was too late when I noticed the issue. The slats are another thing to look at. If they are thin, they will be prone to bending and the bed may begin to dip in certain spots. One thing you can do to negate this would be to pick up some plywood at Home Depot and put it on top of the slats as a stronger foundation.

Overstock and Amazon both have some good deals, but there are literally thousands of these things floating around, and without being able to see it in person, you won't know about the quality. I've been to some small furniture shops in my area and they all sell the same stuff from Los Angeles. The hard part about comparison shopping is finding a model number as they don't stamp it anywhere on the product.

I've been reading up on mattresses lately too... going to be replacing mine sooner, rather than later

Here's what I've learned:

1 - You might try searching for more info at: http://www.whatsthebest-mattress.com/forum/
I am not affiliated (and haven't posted there), but there's a TON of good info, especially if you search back for topics that interest you (including reviews of various mattresses).

2 - If you buy a mattress that is too hard, you can soften it to a degree with a good, soft topper. If you buy one that's too soft, it's really hard to fix.

3 - People often report that the mattress feels HARDER when they get it home (versus testing in the store). The store mattresses seem to soften up a bit with everyone trying them out.

4 - You mentioned memory foam. You might try a memory foam topper on your current mattress (if it's not too soft/indented) to see if you like it. I have a 2 inch memory foam topper on my current (old) mattress - I LOVE the feel, BUT - it HOLDS HEAT. It's great in the winter, but I'm in Georgia - and in the summer - it is uncomfortably warm (I get sweaty - ewwww!)

5 - If you're looking for longevity, stay away from pillowtops or anything with a nice fluffy layer on top. You probably know this, but the pillowtop gets compressed and wears out much faster than the rest of the mattress, and (as far as I've seen anyway) isn't replaceable.

6 - I'm looking at latex. If you haven't had a chance yet, try to find a latex mattress to lay down on. They're super comfy, bed-bug "resistant" (I keep seeing this, not 100% clear on what it means), and LAST much longer than traditional spring mattresses. Plus latex doesn't sleep hot like memory foam, and doesn't seem to degrade as much as regular mattresses. And, it doesn't require flipping, though some latex mattresses will give you a softer side and firmer side (so you can choose which side to sleep on.)

Also - some places will custom make latex mattresses for you, where you pick the firmness of different layers. They'll usually let you try out layers and swap them to get a "perfect" fit (sometimes at a cost, or with a limit on the number of swaps). The cool thing is, they can build the bed with different firmnesses on the right/left side, if you and your wife have different sleeping preferences. (Obviously, these are a bit more expensive then the costcol beds you're talking about - I think it's possible to do this yourself to an extent by ordering custom firmnesses of latex from foam sellers online, then wrapping them up in an empty mattress cover, which you can also buy online!)

7 - Polyurethane foam ("pu foam"/"poly") is comfy (often used in sofa cushions), but degrades faster than other mattress materials. Watch out for it in the mattress labels - sometimes people sell latex mattresses, for example, that are actually a high % PU... and they wear out faster.

[edit to add #8]
8 - And you probably know this one too, but... if you are getting an innerspring, go ahead and get a 2-sided, and flip it like you're supposed to. The one-sided ones are a bit of a rip-off (half a mattress!) and they wear out faster, since you can't flip them. Plus, with a 2-sided, if it gets uncomfortable, you can usually get some relief by flipping it, at least temporarily... but you've got no options with a 1-sided!

Good luck, and let us know how it goes!

Sleepys and mattress.com are the same thing. Find a mattress that you like in Sleepys. Go online to mattress.com and most likely find the same one for much less. I just bought 2 weeks ago a Sealy twin mattress from mattress.com for $193 including shipping. In Sleepys it costs $299.
The truck that delivered this mattress had a Sleepys logo on the side..

Ha. I looked and found a great mattress at Macy's, but didn't want to drop the big bucks. I preceeded to find the same mattress on eBay through "planetmattress" and made the purchase. I have never been so disappointed - the mattress is a piece. My lesson learned, buy from a reputable retailer who will stand behind their product and make sure if you don't like it after a few nights, you can return it.

Glad you posted. I'm actually in the market myself.

I am surprised nobody has mentioned the W-hotel deals......they frequently have 40% off coupons......I got a queen size mattress with box for $800 and love it...

RobInBoston said:   poordealguy said:   I am surprised nobody has mentioned the W-hotel deals......they frequently have 40% off coupons......I got a queen size mattress with box for $800 and love it...

Sometimes those "great deals" are not as great as advertised. I recommend checking small, mom and pop shops as well as the big guys. My wife and purchased a queen sized mattress/box from a small local shop that specializes in home furnishings and had a few beds, and we purchased for ~ $650. It's been 4 years and I have no complaints.

Actually the W-Hotel deals are as great as advertised at 40% off. I went and extensively researched prices for a comparable mattress at several different stores, before I realized that the prices that the W-Hotel deal was offering could not be beat. I bought a queen size Simmons beauty rest for $700 through the W-hotel deal..a comparable one from the stores were priced around $1500-$2000. Also.. the mattresses bought through W-Hotels aren't even sold at B&M stores as many of these reputable mattress companies such as Simmons create exclusive models for W-Hotels.

If you buy from a traditional mattress store pay no more than 50% off. Even at that they are making bank. Usually all holidays the mattress retailers will do 50% off. I spent $1300 for a king out the door with box and frame about 5 years ago. I went with a spring style mattress that had a latex 3" top. I was in the store for over 2 hours trying out mattresses. One easy test for me was to sit on the edge of the bed. I am a big guy 6'4" 320 and if the mattress couldn't support me while sitting on the edge it was out of the running. The store I was in had mattresses in order least to most expensive with the most expensive being setup with bedroom sets. I started at the cheapest king and sat on the edges until I found the price range that was supportive. Then I laid down on the first then the next and the next until I found a few that felt right to me. I forced myself to lay on the two beds I was considering for 10 to 15 minutes. I even set my alarm clock on my phone in case I did fall asleep. Don't feel embarrassed to test drive the mattress. When I tell people what I did they say they couldn't do it. Some even recommend to bring your favorite pillow to give it a real test drive. You spend a third of your life in your bed, make a good choice.

smb1087 said:   There are some really good foam mattresses for less than $400. They tend to last much longer than the traditional box spring. Sleep Innovations at Amazon has some really good reviews for a low price.

I'd recommend this too. You should consider something without a box-spring and see if you like it. Honestly, I've never understood them. My wife is from Germany, and I spent a good amount of my life there, so we don't have a preoccupation with box-springs. To us it's like sleeping on rocks.

Unlike nearly all of their other throw-away furniture, Ikea's mattresses are not that bad, though some are expensive iirc (though that might just have been my perception as a poor student). I haven't bought one in quite a while now. Select Comfort's Sleep Number series is OK too. I've slept on them but never owned one.

I guess I kinda feel like a fool.

About 2 years ago, my wife & I went to Sleep Train and bought a queen size Vera Wang mattress bed w/ frame for about $2400 on a 1 year no interest plan.

We really love the bed, but it is a lot of money to spend on a bed even if you do spend almost 1/3 of your life on it.

I don't know where you are located, but many larger furniture stores have a "dent-and-ding" department. My store, Mathis Brothers, located in TX, OK, and CA have such a department where I seem to find most everything I need. Grabbed a king sized pillow top set for about $500. Upstairs the starting price was @$2000. Tiny scuff on the otherwise perfect plastic covered mattress. Have a friend who is a senior manager at the company who buys all his furniture in this department even though his discount does not apply there. Easier than haggling.

I just bought a new mattress for the first time about six months ago, a Beautyrest "Imogene"

I'd got my last mattress 10 years ago and it was a hand-me-down then.

When I bought my new one, I talked them down a couple of hundred dollars, but I probably still paid too much. That said, the thing is a dream, and to me, worth every penny I paid for it. Every time I lie down, I'm grateful to have it.

The weird part is that it is one-sided - you don't flip it over, you rotate it if you want. The salesman said they were all that way now. I didn't really believe him about that, but I bought it anyway. Later, I talked to my sister and the new mattress she bought was one-sided as well.

I'm a satisfied customer and I wish I'd bought it years ago.