The Mattress Industry is One Big Scam
The last time I bought a mattress for myself was about 11 years ago. I bought a fairly new full-sized one off a coworker. Four moves and a decade later, we’ve decided it’s time to replace it with an adult (and sometimes an extra toddler)-sized bed.
Shopping Blind
When we started looking, I was shocked at the prices. $3000 for a mattress? What the heck are these things made of? Knowing very little, we went shopping for a mattress and other things on a Saturday morning. The first place, we stopped, Sleepy’s, seemed nice enough. We laid on a few and honed in on the one that we both felt most comfortable in. Meanwhile, Audrey discovered the fun of letting herself fall backwards onto mattresses and did it all over the store. She was giggling and the whole store couldn’t help but look and smile at her. Unfortunately, we soon stopped smiling.
When we found something we liked, the seemingly helpful salesman started to get more aggressive. He asked how much we were looking at paying and I made up a number on the spot, something way below the listed price on the bed. The said he would “talk with his manager” and see if he could get us that price. Then he started asking us if we could commit and have it delivered tomorrow. Anne had walked outside to give Audrey a break by that point, so I said I had to go out and talk with her about it. We talked about it for a bit, then decided we didn’t like the high-pressure sales pitch, so we got ready to leave.
I had the car started up when the salesman came out and approached the car window. He then said that he had “talked to his manager” and he could give us the price we wanted AND a free “platinum package”. I said we would talk about it and let him know. We again decided this was sketchy, but to make good on my promise, I went in and gave him my phone number and left.
Later that day we went to Jordan’s Furniture, generally known to be a reputable place with reasonable places. The salespeople there were nice and NOT high-pressure. Prices were generally lower, but strangely, we couldn’t find the mattress we found at Sleepy’s. They had Sertas, but not the one we liked.
Being indecisive, we left with a couple new names of ones we liked. Later, we went to Mattress Discounters. The woman there was not pushy and told us about the BBB complaints that Sleepy’s (a 700-store chain) had gotten. We decided to think some more and head home.
At home, I did some research online and I found something strange - I couldn’t find much of anything on the mattresses we saw that we liked. I found some mattresses, many of the same brand, but not the same models.
One Big Scam
I later came to find out that this was completely intentional. The mattress industry is one big scam. There is no way to make an objective decision on a mattress using actual facts.
Here’s a few things that the mattress industry does to get you:
1. They mark up their prices 100% to 200%!! No wonder the first guy was able to get his “manager” to give me such a steep discount. They were probably still going to make hundreds of dollars of profits on it.
2. They give the same mattresses different names in different stores or they set up exclusivity agreements by mattress line in certain stores. This makes it impossible to comparison shop because…
3. They make it really had to get actual facts about the mattresses. Stuff like coil counts, materials, overall construction are shrouded in secrecy. But that doesn’t really matter because…
4. There’s no objective measure of mattress quality. Consumer Reports won’t rate them because they can’t get the data and there’s no testing that actually says higher coil counts are better or the number of wires in the coils makes a difference in any way. You’re left to deciding how much you believe the marketing. Is a pillow top made of alpaca hair any better than one made of cotton? Your guess is as good as mine.
5. There’s very little online reviews of mattresses, probably because the model names are so fractured. The ones I did find looked more like content-free sites designed to attract referral credits.
Cracking the Code
With some more research, I found out that it was somewhat possible to compare mattresses models from different places. It turns out that they really only make one hardness variation in each line. So you can assume that a Plush Firm mattress in the “Classic” line, is the same as another Plush Firm in the Classic line, even if they have different names.
US-mattress.com was very helpful in figuring this out. We were able to understand which mattresses we saw and how they related to each other. For example, the mattress we liked at Jordan’s was a product line better than the one we saw at Mattress Discounters, even though they came out to the same price! Clearly Jordan’s had the better deal, but US-Mattress had an even better deal.
So I did something I never thought I could do, buy a mattress over the internet. I’m pretty sure it’s the same one we saw in the store and the free delivery and frame were a good deal. I’m sure that even if I’m getting it at half the price I saw it listed at elsewhere, they’re still making a decent profit on it.
Anne and I agree that buying a mattress is worse than buying a car. While both have sketchy salespeople, when you buy a car, you can compare them on MPG, size, features, etc. Multiple dealers have the same models so you can compare prices and make an informed decision based on their invoice prices. There’s none of that when buying a mattress.
Our mattress should arrive in a few weeks. Hopefully we’ll just find it comfortable enough to have to avoid going through buying a mattress again for at least another 11 years.
UPDATE: The mattress arrived quickly and in good condition. We’ve been sleeping on it for several nights and while it feels comfy, I’ve had some upper back soreness which seems to be related to the new mattress. I’m going to keep trying it for a few more weeks and see if my body adjusts as the US-mattress.com website suggests. Hopefully it will go away. Otherwise, we’ll have to find another one and do a $100 exchange I guess.
August 20th, 2008 at 5:57 pm
Yeah, 60 minutes had an episode on the great mattress scam a few years back. Product names are basically invented for each retailer, so the “find this model cheaper somewhere else” can’t be done.
August 21st, 2008 at 11:29 am
It is also a big part of Douglas Coupland’s book “Eleanor Rigby”. Quite funny how he explains it there.
August 21st, 2008 at 5:14 pm
Thanks for this article. This echoes the frustrations I had a few months back. We decided to look for a futon frame at a mattress store, and wandered toward adjustable tempurpedic beds. The guy was way to pushy/slimy.
We decided later we didn’t need the fancy bed… I’d definitely like it, but I really wish there was a better place to get beds.
August 23rd, 2008 at 11:57 pm
When I went mattress shopping last year I ran into this same issue. I should note I’m in Australia.
One bed shop openly admitted that I would not find the same mattress at other shops because although they both carry the same brands, each retail shop opts to carry a different range of mattresses at each price point to make it hard to compare.
I ended up deciding my budget then buying the first comfortable mattress at that price, given that the shops were all offering roughly similar discounts.
August 24th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
yeah…. I did a bunch of similar research a few years back and came to similar conclusions.
The furniture industry is similar but I’ve only researched the top of the iceberg.
I ended up buying the frame from the store and a used mattress off craigslist.
I think I ended up spending $700 total but 90% of this was spent on the frame which was solid wood.
Kevin
August 26th, 2008 at 10:04 am
I discovered the same problem when I called up our local “mattress warehouse” to ask about coil counts. I basically told them that if they can’t provide coil counts I’ll take my business to someone who will because I’m not spending that much money and that much time sleeping on a mattress without knowing what I’m buying.
Incidentally, I made a spreadsheet including all the information from every vendor I can find. Then I can sort by Coil Count, firmness, etc, and at least I can compare items with similar features.
I think the Mattress industry is a sham. I can’t believe it’s legal! Oh, and the kicker…the local mattress warehouse place claims to beat competitor’s prices! An easy claim to make when you have no way of finding any comparable products in the first place!
Michelle
August 31st, 2008 at 8:02 am
Jeff I hope you read this I need some info. did you receive your mattress and did you like it. I am in the process of purchasing one right now fr Mattress.com Help? SHould I?
September 2nd, 2008 at 3:13 pm
Hi Jeff!
I ran across your blog post while I was surfing the web and I wanted to stop in and make sure everything went okay with your purchase. I know buying a mattress online can be a little intimidating. I’m glad to hear that our information was able to help you find the mattress you were looking for. I’m even happier to know we were the best price for you!
If you need anything or have any more questions, please don’t hesitate to call our customer service people (1-800-455-1052) or drop us an email (help@us-mattress.net).
Hope you’re getting a good night’s sleep now!
September 13th, 2008 at 1:28 am
Hey Jeff, hope you and the family are doing great back east. As for mattresses, we discovered this “scam” a few years ago when we were looking to purchase our first bed. We figured out which mattresses were similar (prices were similar), then went with the nicest salesman (at JCPenney of all places).
Just remember to flip and rotate your mattress just like your car tires. We do this about every other time we change our sheets.
September 23rd, 2008 at 11:32 am
I reached the same conclusion that you did that it is a crooked business. We bought a Serta soon after we married 10 yrs. ago and it was like the slab at the morgue. We listened to all that coil count etc. and still hated it. We donated it to a home for battered women. We then thought “Tempur-pedic!” Boy, they are just so expensive. We bought ours on the internet (a no-name brand) and it is fine. It was half the price and has it flaws, but it didn’t make our backs hurt and didn’t break the bank.
September 23rd, 2008 at 4:45 pm
I’ve always slept on a waterbed. The firmness (or softness) can be adjusted by the amount of water put into it.
September 23rd, 2008 at 5:30 pm
we’ve been ikea bed and mattress owners for the past 25 years. we recently bought a new bed and mattress again from ikea - total price for under $1000. we’ve always slept soundly, and have ever rarely experienced any backaches or bad sleeps.
September 23rd, 2008 at 7:48 pm
Great post. I only wish that I had this information about six months ago when my wife and I were looking for a new mattress. We ended up spending nearly $3000 for our mattress but that was after the $2000 one destroyed our backs. Good luck with the new mattress. I hope that your back adjusts better than mine did.
September 23rd, 2008 at 8:19 pm
Thanks for the info. We just purchased a mattress from Big Lots for use in a second bedroom(cheaper than anywhere else). But in looking around on line to compare Serta’s, I ran into the same thing - never the same style name. This is done with appliances and TV’s and almost anything else you can think of. Any store that offers to beat the competition’s price on a certain thing knows that no one else carries that model name, number or whatever they use for identifier.
September 23rd, 2008 at 9:02 pm
Wow thats nuts. I also went through that sort of trouble when buying a mattress.. now I’m thinking I over payed for it
September 23rd, 2008 at 9:22 pm
Everybody has a different preference, so I don’t think the coil count etc. really matter. I bought a thin foam mattress from Ikea along with the bent wooden slats that come with the bed. I haven’t slept so well in years.
Also, I work in sales and I think a 100-200% markup is pretty standard across most industries. Once you factor in the sales commission, the salaries of non-commission employees, shipping, and everything else that comes with running a business, the actual profit isn’t as much as you would think.
September 28th, 2008 at 6:36 pm
I bought a queen mattress from a store front in Phoenix for $200. Best mattress that I’ve had in years, and since I put it in a mountain cabin, every relative that has stayed there has commented on it.
Thus, my comment is that you should go to smaller shops and lay on them, but the one that you want, price means nothing.
September 29th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
Live by the advice I got from my uncle who worked in the mattress shop for years. Buy the heaviest mattress in your price point that is comfortable. It will last the longest, because the coils are the only thing that weigh anything. And never buy a pillow top. Not being able to flip your bed will make uneven wear. And getting a feather bed to put on top of your mattress amount to the same thing, except the feather bed is replaceable and let the mattress be flipped.
October 3rd, 2008 at 8:22 pm
buy the costco memory foam matress for $500
October 13th, 2008 at 9:01 am
Don’t buy the costco memory foam. It is made by Novafoam. 100% petroleum foam and harmful chemical fire barrier. Buy the Keetsa memory foam. 12% plant oil, no VOC. Keetsa.com
November 17th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
Mattress buying is the most frustrating experience. I’m one of those super consumers who researches and compares everything about a product I’m thinking of buying and I’ve never seen anything so confusing as a mattress purchase. I don’t know how they can get away with this!