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Why there are so many online mattress-in-a-box companies

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Re: Why there are so many online mattress-in-a-box companies

#141

Post by joshvm »

analog31 wrote: post #5

I don't know if this has any impact, but thinking about it, a mattress is a possession that can't be easily transported in a car, or even, by someone who doesn't have a car. I imagine that as people become more mobile and choose to have fewer possessions, it might be easier to simply abandon their mattress and have a new one shipped to their new location.

I used to worry about this, but I've got enough furniture and accumulated stuff that the size of my car is irrelevant for moving house. My bed frame alone is too big. Hiring a transit van for a couple of days is about $50 and gives you over 2m of room inside.

Pretty much as soon as you buy a bed, your car is too small. And if you're at the level of self sufficiency where you own a bed, you probably own other things like chairs, tables and chests of drawers.

Re: Why there are so many online mattress-in-a-box companies

#142

Post by setr »

bobwaycott wrote: post #66
setr wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>A simple custom-made japanese shikibuton, filled with felted wool panels and a buckwheat pillow. I put this on a modular set of bed slates to avoid insects, get better airing and avoid cold floors Can you explain your "bed slates" further? All I want is a simple raised wooden platform, and they're absurdly expensive. Bed frames in general seem like a totally messes up market; Ikea's fucking slats could drive a man t…

> At some point im going to be forced to build the damn thing myself if the market is going to refuse to sell anything sensible. Why wait? If all you want is a simple platform, you couldn’t beat the price of buying and cutting some wood yourself.

Im lazy, don't actually know what I'm doing, and the whole thing seems like a lot of trouble to setup (don't have a decent way to move the wood, or convenient/immediate access to tooling, etc).

I'll beat the price at the cost of time and effort (and probably some favors), and I'm not sure carpentry interests me enough for the learning to have much value. So its a last resort, if I can find nothing decent, and decently priced.

Re: Why there are so many online mattress-in-a-box companies

#143

Post by Tomte »

alister wrote: post #90

The journalist spoke to all these founders and to marketing people, but didn't ask a fairly obvious question: What makes the mattress market so much weirder than for other products? Let's compare mattresses to big-screen TVs, which are also $1000+, infrequently purchased, bulky items: - The article says, "If consumers recognize a brand, it creates a situation where mattress stores are slashing prices to compete with…

> Why do mattress manufacturers obfuscate the model numbers so that "every one of the stores gets a slightly different mattress" making it impossible for consumers to compare? TVs aren't like that.

I can't speak for the US, but in Germany all kinds of electronic appliances (TVs, washing machines, toaster ovens) are regularly advertised in the two big electronics stores' brochures and newsletters, and the model numbers are very often nothing the manufacturer's website knows about.

Re: Why there are so many online mattress-in-a-box companies

#144

Post by morgante »

verylittlemeat wrote: post #116
joshvm wrote: post #9

Somewhat ironic that the article comments about MemoryFoamTalk not disclosing comissions from Nectar and then provides an (undisclosed) affiliate link. I have a Leesa as it was the only mattress (at the time) which fit my bed properly. The fact that all these companies can offer 100-365 day trials does hint at how stupidly large the margins are.

I bought the wrong size $250 Zinus mattress from amazon and tried to return it. They refunded my money and told me to just keep the mattress.

I had the same experience with a $700 Tuft and Needle purchased through Amazon, though I actually found it to be a bit of a hassle. Ultimately I was able to sell it for ~$100, but it took me a month—I'd have preferred if they just arranged someone to take it immediately.

Re: Why there are so many online mattress-in-a-box companies

#145

Post by tinco »

sjg007 wrote: post #124
ghgr wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A way to sell in an imperfect market is with branding . You, as the seller (or manufacturer), won't risk your hard earned reputation by selling a couple of lemons. Something like in the kitchen appliances market. You can't try a dishwasher nor a washing machine at the shop, but you know that you cannot go wrong with Bosch (no affiliation, I'm just satisfied with them). The interesting part in my opinion is that in th…

Works great until the brands start cutting corners.

And Bosch is on of those brands, to my knowledge. Bosch is one of the main examples of a split brand: They compete with Miele and the other premium Germany made brands with their deluxe models that are still made in factories they control, but they also compete with Zanussi etc with their basic lines, without the 15+ year warranty, and definitely not made in Germany.

Here I'm not sure the name Bosch is worth anything, and you might as well buy a Zanussi, our student flat had all Zanussi stuff and nothing broke in the 10 years they had them.

Re: Why there are so many online mattress-in-a-box companies

#146

Post by pbhjpbhj »

slavik81 wrote: post #137
rconti wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be fair, who can really tell the difference between TVs in the store? The source is crap, the lighting in the viewing area is crap, the settings are totally unknown.. and the reality is, they'll all look good once you get them home.

I think he's close, but it's more that there are objective criteria for TV quality. My guess is that there are enough people who will only buy TVs with good reviews that manufacturers don't want to muddy the waters on their top-tier models. Low-end TVs sometimes still have store-specific model numbers. For a mattress, a review is less helpful. Firmness is probably the most noticeable feature of a mattress, and what's…

I'd have thought most in store buyers would look at the name, then the general appearance, and then the sellers recommendation. Does the general public pore over reviews?

Indeed I'd imagine most would simply follow what "the expert" tells them. When it appears to go against their view they'll say "your the expert" and go along with it.

Sadly I think "the expert" is most likely selling according to the profit margin/bonuses.

As long as the choice isn't dire for the customer then they'll come back in 2-3 years and do the same.

Re: Why there are so many online mattress-in-a-box companies

#147

Post by vkou »

tomerico wrote: post #112
pdonis wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can easily test TV brands by going to a store and looking at them. You can't really test different mattress brands in a store; yes, you can lie on them, but in my experience at least, that doesn't give a very good prediction of what sleeping on the mattress long term will be like. The result is a standard asymmetric information scenario: the seller knows much more than the customer about the actual quality of the…

Another small observation - the properties you described (asymmetric information, obfuscation, and a necessary purchase) apply to many parts of the healthcare market. I wonder whether it means that this market is dominated by lemons.

Prior to Obamacare introducing some sanity to insurance spending/denial of claims due to pre-existing conditions, the health -insurance- market was dominated by lemons.

You would end up paying for a plan that would not not actually cover you when you had a catastrophic health event (Or would cover a lot less then you'd expect.)

Re: Why there are so many online mattress-in-a-box companies

#148

Post by SOLAR_FIELDS »

rconti wrote: post #126
dpark wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ditto. My tempurpedic cost a fairly ridiculous amount. I would pay it again in a heartbeat if my mattress caught on fire. The best mattress I’ve ever slept on by a very large margin.

These recommendations seem wholly legitimate. Funny thing is, though, the only person I know well who owned one (my brother-in-law) liked it but said it was simply too damn hot, which I've since heard others discuss as well. They had to return theirs, just couldn't live with it. I don't think of a normal mattress as providing ventilation, but I guess it does, at least somewhat -- less thermal mass, at least.

This is a problem with memory foam mattresses in general, they trap too much heat. It's not too bad if you live in a cold climate, but I live in a hot climate and during the summers it got to be too much.

Gel memory foam is the nice compromise. You get the memory foam but with a gel topper. It's noticeably cooler and a bit firmer than typical memory foam. We got one and have since moved the regular memory foam into the guest room.

Re: Why there are so many online mattress-in-a-box companies

#149

Post by pbhjpbhj »

chime wrote: post #119
alister wrote: post #90

The journalist spoke to all these founders and to marketing people, but didn't ask a fairly obvious question: What makes the mattress market so much weirder than for other products? Let's compare mattresses to big-screen TVs, which are also $1000+, infrequently purchased, bulky items: - The article says, "If consumers recognize a brand, it creates a situation where mattress stores are slashing prices to compete with…

> - The article says, "If consumers recognize a brand, it creates a situation where mattress stores are slashing prices to compete with each other." But how is that different for Samsung or LG TVs? I can speak for this because I've actually experienced this. When I went to a local mattress store and found a mattress I liked, I was unable to find it online by name/model. Only references I found were to the same mattre…

Tech does get different model numbers when sold in different places sometimes too (in the UK). Usually there's small changes to the spec as well.

Re: Why there are so many online mattress-in-a-box companies

#150

Post by krrrh »

rconti wrote: post #126
dpark wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ditto. My tempurpedic cost a fairly ridiculous amount. I would pay it again in a heartbeat if my mattress caught on fire. The best mattress I’ve ever slept on by a very large margin.

These recommendations seem wholly legitimate. Funny thing is, though, the only person I know well who owned one (my brother-in-law) liked it but said it was simply too damn hot, which I've since heard others discuss as well. They had to return theirs, just couldn't live with it. I don't think of a normal mattress as providing ventilation, but I guess it does, at least somewhat -- less thermal mass, at least.

It’s a common issue with memory foam, and especially closed cell foam. Some of the foam mattresses on the market now use a gel or gel-infused layer to take advantage of phase shifts, while others use a cooling layer with air channels above the memory foam.

I switched from a memory foam mattress to the Purple specifically because of the heat issue.

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