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!
January 27th, 2009 at 10:28 pm
I confess I work in the mattress biz.
The inability to comparison shop “models,” it’s a tradition. Retailers everywhere demand their own unique sku’s. The goofy half-off sales, that’s a tradition too. Some retailers, though, are avoiding that behavior now.
But you must admit, this is the only consumer product that no matter what brand it all seems the same–white rectangles.
So they jazz things up–foams, coil counts, stretch knits, hypoallergenic yada yada.
My advice: find a furniture or mattress store you like w/good sales help or cs, and a wide selection. And buy there. Good-sized stores cover all the price points.
My new latex mattress is fabulous. The old bed gave me a backache. A new mattress is worth its weight in feeligs of well-being.
March 3rd, 2009 at 7:10 pm
Issues with Simmons & Sleepys
From: Alan Prefer
Date: Sat, Feb 28, 2009 at 2:10 PM
Subject: Listening to the voice of reason
To: dacker@sleepys.com, tom.freet@sleepys.com, ablank@sleepys.com, tfreet@sleepys.com, sacker@sleepys.com, amarder@sleepys.com
- Show quoted text -
Why wont you attempt to work with a consumer to resolve an issue and be logical:
mattress set wasnt what was represented…list 2799, i went to my max budget which was 1400 and said, if you cant do the deal, then we will understand…YOU DID the deal
the set which wasnt in that store The Bianca…which is truly what the set should have been is 3999, so at 50% it would be 2000…
manny offered to switch out originally for 478 then for 620 then everything changed
we dont have the money but to clear everything and move on we would find the money
doesnt it make more sense to do the right thing and be done, rather than this disaster the way that it is?
alan
On Fri, Feb 27, 2009 at 6:26 PM, Alan Prefer wrote:
This is an email which was sent to the president of Simmons.
Your customer service has an attitude issue and they dont get it. Have you ever tried to call in and see how your “customers” get manhandled and treated. I am sure that if you got treated the way that they treat customers, you wouldn’t stand for it.
You took a satisfied return customer and alienated them and in this economy, thats not good for business.
I was hiumiliated, made to feel like an idiot and told that the mistake was my fault…read this letter
I will also be sending an email to all the news channels and telling them my story.
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Alan Prefer
Date: Fri, Feb 27, 2009 at 5:44 PM
Subject: Simmons Issues & Why American Companies Lose in the Market
To: ceitel@simmons.com, charles.eitel@simmons.com, charles_eitel@simmons.com
I hope this email gets to you.
I left you a message on your voice mail as well
I just got off the phone with Sleepys and Sleepys Customer Service.
Let me start at the beginning:
We currently own a Simmons Dalton mattress-great mattress queen sized, puchased 3 years ago approx from Sleepys
We decided to upgrade to a king…but the same format
We went into Sleepys on 2/16, my wife’s birthday to get a king on Route 4 W in NJ
We were undecided between a SpringAir and your Balthazar mattress
My wife decided to stay with the Simmons and go through Sleepys
We went back to Sleepys and placed the order taking our budget as far as we could-which we explained to our sales person
The mattress came in and was very late on Friday evening…about 10:30…I had to bribe our building to get it in
They set it up and we sat on it…wasnt the same feel as in the store…no padding like sleeping on a rock
We contacted the store and went there on Sat
They acknowledged that other people had had the same complaint and they upcharged them to switch
They said that the bed in the window might have been sat on too much (yeah right) , they had had other complaints on this bed and misrepresentations, told to us by Manny
After going back and forth, Marcy the Simmons regional rep (908-875-6891) indicated that the mattress had been in the sun too much (????) and that it had been there for a long time and its too bad, not her responsibility.
Isnt it a mfg rep responsibility to ensure that the places selling her product have good product
Product which properly respresents what someone will get if they purchase
Then she said to go look at a different model…that wasnt the same feature set as the Balthazar
Then we finally cornered her (she REFUSED to come to our home and see the mattress to understand our issues) NO ONE WOULD COME OUT AND SEE THE BED..its hard as a rock and no padding
Sleepys then said, its too bad, we will do nothing for you…the bed we wanted which we saw subsequently was more money and they decided that they were considering ours a switch out, not a bad mattres and considered it an exchange and were charging more than we could afford. Hugo is a nasty human being.
We went to 6 stores in 6 nights, ended up fighting between ourselves over what should have been a fun experience
This isnt the way to run a business or build especially in this economy. The mattress that was represented was not the mattress which we had delivered. The bed and its sitting here and Simmons lost a client and Sleepys lost a sale and a reference.
Doesn’t any one care any more…..
At the end of the day, after we found an acceptable mattress and called Manny, he first said it would be 478 more, then called back and said 620 more…THEN said that the company wouldnt stand behind him and it had to be considered a replace and was 1070 more. NOT NICE
-
April 21st, 2009 at 7:53 pm
I am shopping for a new mattress after 13 years with the same bed. It does seem like a scam and the sales pressure is amazing. They want to make their buck that day. Anyway, I am confused about coil count and coil gauge. After much looking in stores, I found a sealy posturepedic online that has the PostureTech coil system. The coil gauge is 14 and the coil count in 986. I have not seen it in the showrooms. It sounds great, but what does the coil gauge mean? Does the higher coil count matter? I do like a firm bed, but there are now so many firm options. One place is really pushing the Natural Allure that is firm, but a little fluffy on top. It has some kind of bamboo in it and is considered a green bed. I am suspicious! Can anyone help direct the search?
April 23rd, 2009 at 1:51 pm
Looking for a new king, esp. since my wife will soon be undergoing back surgery and it’s time to put our 20-y.o. mattress out of its misery. CostCo is offering a Posturepedic ["West Wind Plush"] for $1,300. I like CostCo [no superslick sales person trying to push a particular brand or model because of the greater commission it will bring him] and I think Sealy PostPed has a good performance record…yes? no? Any advice, comments? Thanks.
May 23rd, 2009 at 12:03 am
I shopped at Back-to-Bed and allowed myself to be sold a Tempur-pedic Deluxe bed by a condescending salesperson for too much money when afterwards I realized my cheaper Serta in the guest room with a memory foam,eggshell foam pad on top from HomeGoods worked better for much less money.
The one scam I did not fall for though was the $3,600 top-of-the-line Temper-pedic bed with a pillowtop. If the whole basis for how the temper-pedic beds work is your body’s heat melds into the memory foam of the bed, then how can it possibly do that if you have pillowtop material present between your body and the memory foam? Your body heat cannot possibly carry through all the way through the pillowtop material and your sheets to get through to the memory foam and then sink in to make an impression of your body to provide you that comfort fit. So you are paying for about a foot thick of memory foam for nothing.
If I had it to do over, I would have gone with my first instinct and bought the Westin Heavenly Bed off their website. I have always slept incredibly well when sleeping on those beds.