- DO lie down on the bed you're thinking about and curl up for a few minutes in the position you like to sleep in. Get yourself comfortable with a few pillows. Hey, you'd better like it; returning a mattress is nearly impossible.
- DON'T buy a mattress on Craig's List. When you buy a new mattress, you put your old one out on the street to have it picked up, right? Well, it may not be picked up by the trash man but by folks who take those old mattresses, slap on some new fabric, wrap 'em in plastic and sell them to you on Craig's List or at close outs.
- DO consider the fabric the mattress is covered in. While you'll likely cover it with a mattress protector of some kind, it's possible you'll feel the texture through your sheets. Danny's new line is covered in a plush super soft fabric; you almost don't need a sheet!
- DON'T waste your time trying to find the same mattress at another store, thinking you can beat the price or get a price match (as some places advertise). You'll never find that same mattress at another store. Turns out that every store orders unique names for their mattresses.
- DO bargain with your salesman. You may be able to get a few dollars off.
- DON'T buy the floor model. C'mon, think of how many people have laid down on it. With their shoes on.
- DO consider buying your mattress at a store like Dream at HD Buttercup in Culver City. The sales people don't work on commission. They're genuinely interested in selling you a great bed.
- DON'T believe that firmer is always better. What you want is a mattress that cradles your body.
- DO put a piece of plywood under your mattress if you'd like it firmer. This is a good compromise for couples who often have different idea on how firm they want their mattress to be. Put a piece of plywood just under one half of the bed.
- DON'T be talked into believing that you need to buy a mattress and the matching box spring. A box spring is not always necessary, especially with modern platform bed.
- DO consider a new mattress if you have allergies. At least consider a mattress protector.
- DON'T assume all latex mattresses are created alike. Danny's new Natural Care line from Simmons is made from a thick core of natural rubber tree-based latex and soy-enhanced base foam. The holes make it breathable so it doesn't get hot, a complaint with many other latex mattresses.
To learn more about Danny's Natural Care mattress line from Simmons (and we can definitely attest to it high comfort factor!) as well as more mattress buying tips, click here.
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We just bought a new mattress about an hour ago and did all of these things except shop at HD Buttercup. I can't wait to sleep on it.
I was prepared to be grossed out. Bummer!
Here in LA, we're lucky to have a local manufacturer, which I doubt Danny even knows of. Custom Comfort, down in OC,
is a great resource, not a chain, and is family owned.
http://www.customcomfortmattress.com/
I hate mattress shopping. I recently dropped 2K on a Sealy Latex mattress, have had back aches ever since, and its developed large body impressions in just a few months. Purchasing a mattress is a total crapshoot.
The Craigslist thing sounds like fear mongering to me. Is there proof it's happened once?
Just another post to second the awesomeness that is Custom Comfort Mattress in the OC. We got a wonderful natural latex bed there and the people are really great to work with.
I don't agree with the comment that you can't look for better deals between stores - while it is true that each store orders a different 'model' name, in many cases they are the same mattress (same features, coil count, etc..) simply with a different name. You can most certainly compare and negotiate.
I've purchased 2 mattresses in the past 6 years, and have an excellent system that I've helped others to use as well. First - recognize that the list price, especially at a big box or department store, is about 3x the cost of the mattress. NEVER PAY FULL PRICE. In fact, never settle for discounts less than 30%. Many stores also have price-matching/beating promotions (in Canada, see Sleep Country). So what's my system? 1. Figure out what kind of mattress you're looking for (firmness, coils vs. not, pillow-top vs. not) beforehand (seriously, spend an afternoon in a store if you don't know) and narrow it down (spend at least 5 minutes on a mattress of interest, and jump between 2 as you narrow it down to eliminate). 2. Go to a local shop, find the mattress you want, then negotiate as far down as you can (make sure all shipping/removal of old mattress, etc is included). 3. If you want repeat step 2 at another shop, with the lowest bargained price minus $50 as your starting point and get that shop to match/beat. 4. Go to a shop whose policy is to match/beat, and that has large buying power (sorry local mom & pops - this system doesn't let you play) - then find the mattress you want and repeat #3. 5. Ask for extras to be thrown in (pillows, cover), or an upgrade if you have to wait for your mattress delivery.
The last time I bought a $1600 mattress (that was not advertized to be on sale), I paid $700 which included 3 negotiations then an upgrade to high-end mattress because I coudln't afford to wait a week for my mattress, it was the end of the month and the salesperson wanted the sale.
Oh and it is true about the Craiglist scams - at least in Vancouver, Canada - I am aware of scammers who resell old mattresses, some even with bedbugs issues. Never buy a mattress from the classifieds.
vagary, it is true. There are businesses that recycle old mattresses and sell them as new (yeah, even picking them up off the street). 60 Minutes did a piece on this several years ago, and I know someone who bought one. Ick.
I would add this to the above list: "If the price seems too good to be true, it probably is."
No need to buy a box spring mattress f you have a platform bed often a box spring mattress is unnecessary.
Not sure I agree re box springs: We have the exact same mattress in both of our homes -- but since we upgraded the frame in our weekend place and stopped using the box spring (wouldn't fit) we have had back aches after sleeping there. Meanwhile the one in the city, which gets 5 nights a week of use, is doing just fine. If a mattress is designed to be used with a box spring, my advice is to avoid platform beds, or geta mattress designed for use with platforms.
Mid-C Frank I have to disagree if you have a good quality mattress there is no need for a box spring. Platform beds were designed for mattress only not both box spring and mattress.
"When you buy a new mattress, you put your old one out on the street to have it picked up, right?"
I have never just thrown a perfectly good mattress away, I've always resold. I'm not even a member of the Green Police around here, and that sounds pretty wasteful to me.
ammaring (or anyone else)- In your experience have stores been equally flexible (in price) for latex/memory foam mattresses? (We're looking at a Tempurpedic) I would venture to say the markup is the same, but I can imagine them saying the cost of materials is more. Any advice? (I want to be prepared)
buying a used mattress sounds like the grossest thing ever!
also, if you're into bargaining, ask them to throw in a pair of high-end pillows. they usually have them in the back for just that reason, and it'll sometimes save you close to $200!
http://mylittleapartment.blogspot.com/
I have to disagree about returning a mattress - Macy's has a 90 day return policy, they do have a re-stock fee, but it is better than nothing. Also, make sure you use proper support, as required by your warranty.
Also, my $1600 3 year old Sealy mattress has failed to hold up. Partially because I use proper support, I am getting a full warranty replacement (actually, at my request, I will be buying a new mattress using a credit for the original purchase price of the old one). If you don't follow their support guidelines, no matter how much the mattress has deteriorated, you won't get warranty coverage.
Macy's has done right by me in the mattress department.
Sorry, Canadian in Swedish Clothing, I don't know if the system I have used would work for a memory-foam mattress b/c the market is a lot smaller and there may be large differences between memory foam products. You may only be able to shop within the chosen brand (i.e. Tempurpedic), find the best deal you can, then bring that deal back to a price-beating store for additional savings (plus, these stores never actually check what the reported 'other guys' are pricing it at, so as long as you're reasonably above the cost they may not even blink).
If you are shopping within Canada, you will definitely have your best negotiating chances at a Sleep Country. When I've tried even speaking with sales people and even their managers at stores like The Brick and and similar department stores, I've encountered a lot of people who don't know the products they are selling, and did not treat negotiating with a young single woman seriously. So learn all you need to about mattresses from a store that is serious about their products, go away to find some bargains, and maybe come back to that store for the final deal.
who the hell is Danny Seo?
I was looking for mattress buying advice a few weeks ago and found this article online. I kept it as it was so helpful.
http://www.epinions.com/hmgd-review-5A40-272FFE9B-3A21B6F6-prod5
I completely disagree with the "never buy the floor model" tip.
This is not a sophisticated piece of electronics - it's a mattress. How long do customers test mattresses out at the store for, two minutes on average at most? It's not like these floor models are going though years of use and abuse by people testing them out two minutes at a time...
Most mattress stores I have frequented either have you take off your shoes before laying on the mattress, or have a layer at the bottom of the mattress for shoe protection. Last I checked, people lay on pillows with their clothes on. With this in mind, you can really score a great deal on the mattress of your dreams.
Case in point: I just bought the floor model for a $2k Kingsdown mattress for $700...
great job.
I guess I was always of the mindset that since you deal with your bed so much and its so close to you for that many hours a night to treat it almost like you would underwear. Don't share and don't buy used. Who the heck is buying used or even floor model mattresses?!!
And come on, for gross out warnings, I'm expecting stats about how much sweat the average mattress soaks up in a lifetime (fyi- googled it and read in a 7 year lifespan, a mattress will double in weight from sweat, shed skin cells and oils. mmm sleep!)
a note on buying the floor model. many times retailers will not offer a warranty on floor models, hence the steep discounts. it may seem like a good deal until something goes wrong and they won't honor the manufacturers warranty. be careful.