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Casper, Mattress Maker, Raises $170M and Plans I.P.O

nytimes.com

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Re: Casper, Mattress Maker, Raises $170M and Plans I.P.O

#41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One example is not indicative of the larger picture

App.net lost to Twitter. Netscape lost to Microsoft. Yahoo lost to Google. Ouya lost to Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo. Coin lost to existing payment cards...

The sentence that follows the quote is "So unless you discover a competitor with the sort of lock-in that would prevent users from choosing you, don't discard the idea.". Most of the winners in the examples you gave had insurmountable lock-in (network effects, etc).

Re: Casper, Mattress Maker, Raises $170M and Plans I.P.O

#42
Is it me or does anyone else fine $550 twin size mattress insanely expensive ? On amazon[0] you can find so many options under $100. I had one of these and used it for two years - it was still good in the end.

[0] https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3...

Re: Casper, Mattress Maker, Raises $170M and Plans I.P.O

#43
post #14

Worth listening to this story from Marketplace: Why are there so many mattress stores? https://www.marketplace.org/2016/05/02/world/why-are-there-s... Basically, mattresses in the US are sold at a very high markup (couple hundred times the cost) so it's an easy way to make money.

Along similar lines: Why are there so many mattress ads on the radio?

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/20...

Re: Casper, Mattress Maker, Raises $170M and Plans I.P.O

#44
post #14

Worth listening to this story from Marketplace: Why are there so many mattress stores? https://www.marketplace.org/2016/05/02/world/why-are-there-s... Basically, mattresses in the US are sold at a very high markup (couple hundred times the cost) so it's an easy way to make money.

It is nowhere near a couple of hundreds times cost. How about 2 orders of magnitude less.

Re: Casper, Mattress Maker, Raises $170M and Plans I.P.O

#45

Is it me or does anyone else fine $550 twin size mattress insanely expensive ? On amazon[0] you can find so many options under $100. I had one of these and used it for two years - it was still good in the end. [0] https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3...

Yes! I'd love to find out what the cost of manufacturing is. I'm sure the margins on $500+ mattresses is pretty high.

That said, a family member did give me a mattress a while back and wow, is it ever nice. They had spent close to $3000 on it. It was king size (which allow is great when you have a partner), but it was also foam over coil springs. Super comfortable. Before I would have said there was no difference in mattress quality when you get much over $500, but I take that back. Now whether the added quality is worth it, I'm not sure. No matter how comfortable this mattress is, there is no way I would spend $3000 on it.

Re: Casper, Mattress Maker, Raises $170M and Plans I.P.O

#46
I did a ton of research on mattresses when getting a new bed two years ago. Casper was my first choice since I heard so much about it from my startup friends. I wanted one that was biodegradable with no off-gassing. I took a deep dive into Casper's safety claims and it opened up a whole can of worms.

I've never seen an industry with so much greenwashing. The organizations that certify the mattresses as being safe are comprised of the suppliers themselves. They are basically chemical companies pushing cheap non-biodegradable foam with crazy markups under exotic brand names. Casper just sells this cheap foam with questionable safety standards like everyone else. The only standard I found not to be shady was GOTS [1].

I ended up making my own mattress from slabs of organic latex. It was cheaper and more comfortable than the Casper anyway. Now when I have guests over I can easily remove a layer and have another temporary mattress. They ship compressed and rolled up in boxes which were way smaller than the Casper one. (Btw, the box advertised in Casper ads and in their showroom is nowhere near the size of the actual delivered box. It's massive). If you don't want to make your own, here's a good one: https://sleeponlatex.com/products/natural-latex-mattress.

[1] http://www.global-standard.org

Re: Casper, Mattress Maker, Raises $170M and Plans I.P.O

#47

I got a sour taste in my mouth for Casper when I learned of their Federal lawsuits against affiliate bloggers who reviewed their product. I personally felt like Sleepopolis's review of Casper was as fair and observational as one could get with such a thing. Lawsuit Details: https://sleepopolis.com/blog/casper-sues-sleepopolis-with-fe... Casper Mattress Review: https://sleepopolis.com/mattress-reviews/casper-mattress-…

That's irritating. I bought a Hyphen mattress based primarily on a comparison of the mattress reviews on Sleepopolis. Kudos to him for fighting the lawsuit.

Re: Casper, Mattress Maker, Raises $170M and Plans I.P.O

#48

good luck, there are like 10 clones out there already

"It's exceptionally rare for startups to be killed by competitors—so rare that you can almost discount the possibility." - Paul Graham ( http://paulgraham.com/startupideas.html )

it's a little different when mattresses are essentially a homogeneous good

Re: Casper, Mattress Maker, Raises $170M and Plans I.P.O

#49

I got a sour taste in my mouth for Casper when I learned of their Federal lawsuits against affiliate bloggers who reviewed their product. I personally felt like Sleepopolis's review of Casper was as fair and observational as one could get with such a thing. Lawsuit Details: https://sleepopolis.com/blog/casper-sues-sleepopolis-with-fe... Casper Mattress Review: https://sleepopolis.com/mattress-reviews/casper-mattress-…

That is absolutely insane, this "unlawful" review is as informative and objective as it gets:

https://sleepopolis.com/mattress-reviews/tuft-and-needle-vs-...

You shouldn't be able to sue someone for writing a review, this reeks of violating one's First Amendment rights.

Re: Casper, Mattress Maker, Raises $170M and Plans I.P.O

#50
post #14

Worth listening to this story from Marketplace: Why are there so many mattress stores? https://www.marketplace.org/2016/05/02/world/why-are-there-s... Basically, mattresses in the US are sold at a very high markup (couple hundred times the cost) so it's an easy way to make money.

Because margins are high, it is an attractive business meaning that competition is high. So it is actually difficult to make money and requires tons of investment in marketing, brand building and distribution.
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