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The war to sell you a mattress

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Re: The war to sell you a mattress

#161

Post by scotty79 »

xapata wrote: post #151
pcthrowaway wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I went in there a couple of years ago, and bought a full-sized Sultan Havberg after trying a few out (it looks like they don't sell this anymore, but you can find it in their product catalog - http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_US/pdf/buying_guides_fy15/Mattress... ) At the time it felt fine, but when it arrived I found it nearly impossible to sleep on. I could feel the springs pressing into me as I inevitably rolled around o…

Next time ask the IKEA staff which one they buy. I forgot the name, but I bought one after a clerk in that department said, "We all own this one." It's amazing. Sometimes I wake up in the morning marveling at how comfortable I was.

Not sure if that's the one but I bought Hamnvik there. It was so nice that right after carying it up to our 3rd floor me and my girlfriend fell aslep on it in the middle of the day for no reason. Unfortunately it lasted just few years. They have 10 years warranty though.

Re: The war to sell you a mattress

#162

Post by sliverstorm »

Fezzik wrote: post #122
mi100hael wrote: post #107

I've found Ikea to be a great place to buy a mattress. No shady sales tactics or aggressive salesmen, several models you can physically try out in the store, and good quality/value.

Seconded. Their latex mattresses are amazing if you are looking for a firm mattress, and priced significantly cheaper than anything else on the market. I have owned two over the last 14 years and both have been amazing: assisted in easing back pain and making my sleep more restful.

Is there a lot of nuance to latex? Or are they pretty similar/competitive with other latex mattresses?

Re: The war to sell you a mattress

#163

Post by blktiger »

ghostbrainalpha wrote: post #138
mwexler wrote: post #82

The business models for pricing aggregators and reviews sites are completely absent. Even Consumer Reports struggles to meet the costs of testing and staffing. The BBB is a mess. The "Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval" hasn't meant anything for decades. It's a sad state of affairs: We all want unbiased reviews, but we won't pay for them. We all want to know the spread of prices so we can balance service/trust with c…

The problem goes deep. I recently decided to get a Consumer Reports subscription after not having one for 10 years. I used it to find the absolute BEST dishwasher. But because their rating system is a little strange, and they don't exactly tell you BUY THIS, DONT BUY THAT, I ended up with a Dishwasher I hate. It was the most expensive, and best according to CR, but I cannot express how miserable this piece of junk ma…

Have you checked out The Wirecutter/Sweethome? I find their reviews thorough and they always give you several options while explaining why you might choose one over the other. Here is their dishwasher review for example: http://thesweethome.com/reviews/the-best-dishwasher/

Re: The war to sell you a mattress

#164

Post by scotty79 »

tcj_phx wrote: post #140
r00fus wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Personally I question visco-elastic foam. Sure, it's cheap and may be ok for a lot of people, but I personally sleep better on an standard spring bed. Foam mattresses don't breathe, they stink (some mattress I've seen are 1+ yr old and continue to stink) and aren't firm enough for me. Do any online retailers sell standard beds? Or am I a dinosaur?

My brother has a foam mattress in his guest room. He found it on Craigslist (it was someone's unused guest bed), used it himself for several years, then replaced it with a larger spring mattress. I can't stand sleeping on the foam mattress for more than a night or two. When I wake up it's like I've sunk into the foam and have been immobilized for hours. People are supposed to be able to move when they sleep. He's sin…

Memory foam seems like terrible idea to me unless you are immobilized for some untelated reason.

But I absolutely love latex foam. You can move easily during sleep and every position is comfortable. It lasts forever.

Re: The war to sell you a mattress

#165

Post by sliverstorm »

hugecynic wrote: post #74
coldcode wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bought one of those recently, most comfortable mattress I've ever had, and the cost was amazing. No idea why one would pay $3000 for a Temper-Pedic. Even if this mattress only lasted a few years I could buy 10 of them and still come out ahead.

not joking: i bought 2, and use one as the 'box spring'. it's pretty amazing sleeping on 24" of queen memory foam for less than half the cost of a single shitty mattress 10 years ago.

I believe the point of the box spring is:

1) Providing rigidity for use on a sparse frame

2) Providing airflow so the underside of the mattress does not stay damp (from sweat etc)

Don't know how much of an issue this still is, but as far as I know it's not just a spacer.

Re: The war to sell you a mattress

#167

Post by Jemmeh »

r00fus wrote: post #55
Animats wrote: post #17

The whole mattress industry is a scam. Actual manufacturing cost is $75-$300. Mattresses are even cheaper on Alibaba. Vacuum-packing memory foam shrinks mattresses for shipping, and now they can be imported easily. If you really want to annoy the US mattress industry, set up a review site and review sub-$100 mattresses off Alibaba. (Personally, I have an air bed which cost about $200.)

Personally I question visco-elastic foam. Sure, it's cheap and may be ok for a lot of people, but I personally sleep better on an standard spring bed. Foam mattresses don't breathe, they stink (some mattress I've seen are 1+ yr old and continue to stink) and aren't firm enough for me. Do any online retailers sell standard beds? Or am I a dinosaur?

There's loads of spring mattresses on Amazon for cheap.

Re: The war to sell you a mattress

#168

Post by lazerpants »

ghostbrainalpha wrote: post #138
mwexler wrote: post #82

The business models for pricing aggregators and reviews sites are completely absent. Even Consumer Reports struggles to meet the costs of testing and staffing. The BBB is a mess. The "Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval" hasn't meant anything for decades. It's a sad state of affairs: We all want unbiased reviews, but we won't pay for them. We all want to know the spread of prices so we can balance service/trust with c…

The problem goes deep. I recently decided to get a Consumer Reports subscription after not having one for 10 years. I used it to find the absolute BEST dishwasher. But because their rating system is a little strange, and they don't exactly tell you BUY THIS, DONT BUY THAT, I ended up with a Dishwasher I hate. It was the most expensive, and best according to CR, but I cannot express how miserable this piece of junk ma…

Which dishwasher was it?

Re: The war to sell you a mattress

#169

Post by saberworks »

ghostbrainalpha wrote: post #138
mwexler wrote: post #82

The business models for pricing aggregators and reviews sites are completely absent. Even Consumer Reports struggles to meet the costs of testing and staffing. The BBB is a mess. The "Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval" hasn't meant anything for decades. It's a sad state of affairs: We all want unbiased reviews, but we won't pay for them. We all want to know the spread of prices so we can balance service/trust with c…

The problem goes deep. I recently decided to get a Consumer Reports subscription after not having one for 10 years. I used it to find the absolute BEST dishwasher. But because their rating system is a little strange, and they don't exactly tell you BUY THIS, DONT BUY THAT, I ended up with a Dishwasher I hate. It was the most expensive, and best according to CR, but I cannot express how miserable this piece of junk ma…

They weight energy efficiency way too high in their reviews of everything. Appliances, cars, etc. It means if you follow their recommendations you get dishwashers that don't dry your dishes and cars that can't accelerate to the speed limit on a freeway on ramp.

Re: The war to sell you a mattress

#170

Post by pbhjpbhj »

sjbase wrote: post #135
vijayr wrote: post #105

Why is everything a "war" in the American media? war on obesity, war on diabetes, war on this, war on that...? It is just businesses competing to sell products - maybe a little too interested in suing, but business nevertheless.

It's really unfortunate. There's a great book called Metaphors We Live By [1] that digs into this same observation, using "arguments" as an example: you "attack" another person's argument, you "defend your point." You either win or lose. We could have just as easily chosen arguments to be a dance instead of a war. A lot of narrative here in America eventually turns into good vs. evil, and War on X is an example of th…

>We could have just as easily chosen arguments to be a dance instead of a war.//

I don't see how that works - partners dancing together are cooperating to improve the outcome. Those competing in business are (unfortunately, in capitalist systems) almost always trying to profit and destroy their competitors. It's perhaps a bit like moshing?

War fits as a better metaphor for companies under capitalism.

If the companies were helping each other and targeting better products with less profit, that would be more like dance partners.

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