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The war to sell you a mattress

fastcompany.com

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Re: The war to sell you a mattress

#181

Post by ghostbrainalpha »

lazerpants wrote: post #168
ghostbrainalpha wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

Bosch is the brand. Don't remember the exact series number, but its the most expensive model typically available in Home Depot or places like that. I don't want to slander them too much, because the product really is quiet, and very durable. But those ended up being the least important factors for me.

Re: The war to sell you a mattress

#182

Post by greedo »

pbhjpbhj wrote: post #176
mrhappyunhappy wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sadly some people can’t tell the difference between a sponsored read and an endorsement precisely because they make it sound like an endorsement.

That's against the law in Europe, sponsored content and ads have to be clearly identified.

They do identify them as sponsors. The just read the ad spots during the normal podcast, in the same conversational tone as the podcast itself. They sound just like podcast content, and even with disclaimers, they have a strong effect.

Re: The war to sell you a mattress

#183

Post by dv_dt »

TheRealDunkirk wrote: post #171
ghostbrainalpha wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

A dozen years ago, I had a house built, and I bought all the appliances myself. I thought I would research the market, find the sweet spot, and get a good deal through a specialty appliance store because I was getting everything at once. Boy, was I wrong. I subscribed to Consumer Reports online, and came up with what I thought was the right brand: GE "Gold". I bought everything in the line: stove, microwave, dishwash…

> I got more years of service out of the second-hand, refurbished, mismatched washer and dryer that I bought from the ratty converted house/shop on 3rd street than I got out of the "higher" end models, and paid 1/4 of the price.

I think that's one misperception. High end anything models aren't high end because they're more reliable - they're high end because they have more features or more expensive finishes, but have more complexity to go wrong. It's true of cars too.. My pet theory is the most reliable model is the highest volume model because the company doesn't want to get eaten by support costs.

I bought a low-end GE twenty years ago and it kept going with fairly easy parts repair on anything that wore out. But it was a very basic washer. I did eventually replace it with a higher end washer from another company - but I had to make my peace that I was getting low-water use and more complexity while likely giving up reliability. My wife and I have fantasized about starting an appliance company that values repairability and reliability without high-end features, but quality materials ...

Re: The war to sell you a mattress

#184

Post by makeset »

Distant_horizon wrote: post #95
milesokeefe wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mind sharing what the company/bed was?

Mine was Tuft and Needle.

FWIW, I've been very satisfied with mine for three years now. It's a much firmer foam than memory foam, and gives me just the right amount of support for side sleeping.

Re: The war to sell you a mattress

#185

Post by d1str0 »

hugecynic wrote: post #177
sliverstorm wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

uh, it's not a box spring. it's another mattress. do you know what 'quotes' do? and, memory foam mattresses come with moisture/stain guards.

Don't need to be a dick to strangers.

He was remarking that a box spring is there to provide certain things and that using another mattress instead of a box spring might not provide those benefits.

Re: The war to sell you a mattress

#186

Post by gknoy »

scotty79 wrote: post #161
xapata wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

> me and my girlfriend fell aslep on it in the middle of the day for no reason. Unfortunately it lasted just few years

I love that an un-careful reading of this accidentally implies a Rip Van Winkle style experience, where you and your GF fell asleep for a few years.

Re: The war to sell you a mattress

#187

Post by [deleted] »

sliverstorm wrote: post #162
Fezzik wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

[deleted]

Re: The war to sell you a mattress

#188

Post by Fezzik »

sliverstorm wrote: post #162
Fezzik wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

I can't say I did a lot of research beyond price (Ikea was cheapest) and comfort (they all felt the same to me).

This seems like a pretty good article about latex mattresses though (the photo part-way down of tapped rubber trees bummed me out): https://hubpages.com/living/Warnings-Wisdom-on-Buying-a-Late...

Re: The war to sell you a mattress

#189

Post by rsynnott »

sjg007 wrote: post #148
ghostbrainalpha wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

I think one issue with any consumer product is that it is hard to find their issues when searching by generic terms (e.g. bran X problems) vs specific terms (brand X error Y). So it is only once you have the device installed and run into problems do you know which keywords to search. Modern dishwashers basically suck except for looks, rack capacity/configurations and quietness. They are now all low water use and you…

I’ve got a fairly modern (2008 or so), low-end (Beko) dishwasher that came with my house; it cleans perfectly. My main complaint would be that it’s a bit noisy, but it works fine, basically. The current version costs about 250 euro. A higher-end one that I had when I was renting also worked fine. You may just have been unlucky with the particular model; modern dishwashers aren’t all bad.

Re: The war to sell you a mattress

#190

Post by rsynnott »

colmvp wrote: post #119
greedo wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even when you can tell the difference, it's hard to ignore the effect of someone you enjoy listening to do the read. With my favorite podcasts, I enjoy the "company" of the hosts, and have an implicit bias towards what they say. So an ad read by them is extremely effective. If it was a canned commercial like on TV, I'd be able to tune it out much more effectively.

I can't help but laugh when the guys at Pod Save America plug Square Cash and other companies

They advertise one of the non-Casper mattress brands, though. Internet mattress hipsters!

Also, two brands of internet razor. Podcasts seem to specialize in advertising things that I definitely would want to buy in an actual shop and not the internet.

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