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January 3, 2009 at 3:35 pm #589316
yikesMemberI’m in the market to buy a queen sized bed and went to Sleep Country yesterday. It felt just like going to a car dealer… obfuscation, sales tactics and no real objective information on how to choose the best bed. Apparently, once you get a decent springs config, it is all in the mattress topper… but the prices vary widely between sellers and types, and everybody seems to have different names for the same product, so it is really hard to compare.
Does anyone know the inside scoop on buying a mattress… or how to assess the differences?
January 3, 2009 at 4:34 pm #653039
dhgParticipantI didn’t like Sleep Country. Even before he’d locked in his sale he was trying to sell me on buying a plastic bag to act as a barrier to keep out the mites. This contradicted the “mattress needs to breathe” mantra he had been repeating.
I settled on a mattress from DWR.
January 3, 2009 at 4:51 pm #653040
ZenguyParticipantYou are correct, the manufacturers change the name to make it impossible to compare. The only way to know is to test drive them. Find someone you trust as much as you can. I waited for a sale and bought a floor model for a heck of deal. Macy’s was really good to me.
January 3, 2009 at 5:37 pm #653041
AnonymousInactiveI’ve bought both a traditional and a memory foam mattress through Costco. Love both.
January 3, 2009 at 5:45 pm #653042
JoMemberI bought a new Sealy two years ago at Macy’s.
Good price, good customer service, and GREAT mattress.
Also, they took my old mattress. I can’t remember if there was a cost for that, but if there was, it was worth it.
January 3, 2009 at 5:52 pm #653043
IrukandjiParticipantWe went out to get a mattress for the kid and walked out of both Sleep country at Westwood and Macys because of the vulture-like sales staff. Ultimately we bought a natural latex mattress from Soaring Heart over near Fremont. Really happy with staff, info and service.
January 3, 2009 at 5:59 pm #653044
AnonymousInactiveI haven’t looked at Consumer Reports’s suggestions for a while, but I remember they said to not buy a pillow-top mattress. They said all mattresses will eventually compress, and a pillow-top mattress will be more noticeable.
January 3, 2009 at 6:38 pm #653045
ellenaterMemberwe have Ikea mattresses which are really nice because they have wool and keep us toasty. However they aren’t super soft. We have a memory foam topper from Amazon. It compressed over time. The Ikea mattresses seem to hold up well.
January 3, 2009 at 6:38 pm #653046
JenVMemberwe recently went to the Macy’s outlet in Tukwila – out where the old Levitz was. We got an EXCELLENT deal. Their stuff generally has a small amount of factory damage- I think mine had a scuff on it. I highly recommend buying there. Ask for a deal for bringing your own transport on the day you buy – I think they knocked $50 off because we brought our own trailer.
January 3, 2009 at 6:39 pm #653047
elikapekaParticipantWe had the same type of experience at Sleep Country. We ended up at a place called King’s Mattress in Southcenter – it’s on Andover East, I think. But it’s down by the Dania store.
My husband has a bad back and needs to sleep on a really hard mattress, so we did a lot of shopping. We found that each retailer has their inventory manufactured by the name brands, they just change the names. The mattress we ended up with is manufactured by Sealy. Less expensive than buying it from a mainline retailer, good service, not pushy, willing to deal. I can’t remember if they charged for delivery and taking our old mattress, but even if they did, we still saved money.
Good luck!
January 3, 2009 at 6:55 pm #653048
jbarMembertry bestbeds.biz — if you want a foam mattress. A local west seattlite owns this business AND he’s a nice guy. I can also vote for Costco for a “regular” mattress — bought a twin at Sleep Country that was a piece of crap (and expensive) bought a much better replacement at Costco for a fraction of the price.
January 3, 2009 at 8:24 pm #653049
AdmiralJanewayParticipantAnother vote for Costco although there is a limited selection. Wait until you receive the Passport coupon book for a good deal.
I also had a good experience with Macy’s Furniture Center in Tukwila. Again wait for the “lowest prices of the season” sale for a good deal. Bigger selection and free delivery if your purchase is over $700.
January 3, 2009 at 8:45 pm #653050
JanSParticipantI’ve had mattresses from the Everrest Mattress Co. on Elliot Ave. W, right before the exit on the right that goes up to Magnolia. You can go to the showroom, lie on all the beds, compare, they make them there, deliver, and haul the old one away. Usually priced way below store prices. Come in a variety of softnesses (is that a word?). Their Elite is much more firm for those who like a harder mattress.
January 3, 2009 at 9:32 pm #653051
TammiWSMemberI also got mine at Everrest. Not a HUGE selection but was recommended by my Chiropractor.
I’ve had my bed for a year now and love it. It’s a pillow top, you can flip it and the pillow is on both sides. Very comfy. And with good sheets, even more so!
If the BF, who sleeps on a old, saggy bed can finally say last week that he’s actually beginning to like my bed it’s a good thing!
January 4, 2009 at 12:34 am #653052
LenaParticipantWe bought our mattress from Seattle Mattress Company in Ballard a couple years ago. They were great about answering questions and made a special box spring for us so our bed would not be too high. Very nice local company.
January 4, 2009 at 1:12 am #653053
SueParticipantI’ve never bought a mattress at Costco, but I just got a coupon book in the mail today that has a coupon for $140 off a Sealy Waterbrook Mattress Set (King or California King).
We have a Tempurpedic that we’ve been happy with – got it about 4 years ago. However, if you should decide to go that route, don’t just call and order one. If you call and get the info packet sent to you, they’ll send a sample and the price list. Then we procrastinated and they sent out an offer for a free pillow if we ordered now. We ignored it and then got an offer for free shipping. Later we got an offer for free shipping and two free pillows. Seemed the longer we procrastinated, the better the incentive. :)
January 4, 2009 at 3:39 pm #653054
yikesMemberEverrest sounds just like my kind of place! I looked up their website and what occurred to me is that there are only a few archetypes of beds… and then the marketers and salesfolks got in the bargain and created way too many choices. Thanks so much for the recommendations!
January 4, 2009 at 5:24 pm #653055
AlkiRagdollParticipantAnyone try the sleep-by-the numbers company — I think they are Select Comfort? wonder if that type of bed is worth the $$s.
January 4, 2009 at 5:34 pm #653056
WSMomParticipantWe’ve been happy with Costco mattresses. This time of year they have them in the stores as they clear out Christmas merchandise. We’ve had excellent luck with the store models, and we’ve also purchased the foam style mattress from Costco Online.
January 4, 2009 at 6:01 pm #653057
KenParticipantThere does seem to be differences in the subjective experience of buying a mattress.
I have had uniform disappointment with the big chain mattress stores over the decades due to shoddy design, bait and switch and simply corrupt sales tactics.
The current Costco coupon looks good but we will not be in the market for several years yet.
A few years ago I designed and built our bed so we could do without the box spring. (a modified futon design plus my standard over-engineering) Sears had a sale on sets but allowed half the sale price on just the mattress. We got free delivery and pickup of the old one. The perfect firm mattress sight unseen, online and less than 200.00 including tax.
If I ever have to move the bed I will have to disassemble it, but it is suitable for and earthquake refuge and sleeps three dogs underneath.
January 4, 2009 at 6:13 pm #653058
JayDeeParticipantI briefly considered getting a new mattress and looked into the “best one”…I don’t think there is a more confusing consumer product. From what I was able to figure out, Tempurpedic and other memory foams are very popular, but there is a anti-Tempurpedic crowd — “Too hot, too expensive, breaks down…”. Plus the mattress weighs a ton, so the old bedset would need to be replaced.
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Take a look at the complex plumbing under a Sleep Number mattress and ask yourself what is the likelihood that all those lines and bladders won’t leak. I wouldn’t be willing to bet — Besides I always think of those lousy plastic air mattresses. But I am sure some people swear by Sleep Number beds.
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My Beautyrest may be old enough to go to college, but it still works fine, and I will check out Everest Mattress.
January 4, 2009 at 6:54 pm #653059
dhgParticipantThe Radison Hotel in Minneapolis featured the “Sleep by Number” bed so i got to try it out. I assumed the manufacturer would have some clever design that would make the mattress feel very unlike an inflatable bed but no, they did not try hard. It’s an infalatable mattress with a plush cover over it. I was surprised and very very unimpressed.
January 5, 2009 at 12:09 am #653060
AimParticipantWe have a platform bed (no box-spring) and we got our most recent mattress from IKEA. It’s the 3″ thick dense foam kind. It’s been good for about 2 years now, but it starting to compress and feel pretty hard, even for a firm mattress. We’ll need to get a new one soon.
Prior to that I had a top of the line Sealy. It split apart at the seams, and as a result lost all its shape and support.
Went to Sleep Country a few years ago just to look around and see what they had. We were pounced on by two sales guys the moment we walked in. We clearly told them we were NOT going to be buying anything but just wanted to wander through and see what their selection was like for future reference. One guy followed us through the store telling us about the features of every mattress we walked past. He came off as desperate, and after the third time telling him we weren’t buying today and just wanted to be left alone, we finally just left. I won’t go back.
I’ve heard great things about both Everrest and Soaring Heart. I have to admit I like the idea of a non-latex mattress. :)
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