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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

#171

Post by moftz »

scarface74 wrote: post #168
slavik81 wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Consumers are a lot less discerning about TVs than you think. Most consumers only care about size and maybe resolution. The TV market is dominated by low end brands.

The TVs that are sold with huge discounts that everyone kills themself trying to get on Black Friday are the cheap in-house brands that will probably crap out in a couple years.

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

#172

Post by jowsie »

fabianhoward wrote: post #157
pbhjpbhj wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I think that's fair enough though. If the product ships with a different plug attached then it makes sense to have a slightly different number. With most tech brands (Dell monitors spring to mind) that variation is consistent across their lineup and across the slightly different models they put out each year.

Not sure if this is common with the higher end TV's, but with the more budget brands sold in supermarkets, it's not uncommon to find an otherwise identical model in multiple stores, but with slightly dithering model numbers, or in some cases, complete rebrand (box and badge).

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

#173

Post by coldcode »

chrismartin wrote: post #161

Surprised that nobody has mentioned Zinus, which sells similar stuff but for (relatively) dirt cheap via Amazon, Walmart, etc. A year ago, I paid under $200 for a full size foam mattress, very comfortable for my partner and I.

I have two now, best mattress I've ever owned, and several coworkers have them now too. Yet I am sure they are all made in the same factory as the rest in China. Zinus has expanded into related products like frames as well so I am sure its mostly marketing over manufacturing in China. Yet I've know people who spent $4000 on a Tempur-Pedic and didn't like it much. I'd rather spend $200 and not like it than $4000. At least with things sold on Amazon you can read 1000's of reviews which are unlikely to be all fake which at least gives you an idea of what people think, unlike buying a mattress in a store where the only opinion you get is the salesperson's.

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

#174

Post by matte_black »

DIY mattresses will be the next big thing, and will disrupt the industry. A mattress you can tune as you build it to give you the exact feel you’re going for. You could even have a different feel for both sides of the bed. And for way cheaper. We’re working on it.

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

#175

Post by scarface74 »

moftz wrote: post #171
scarface74 wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Consumers are a lot less discerning about TVs than you think. Most consumers only care about size and maybe resolution. The TV market is dominated by low end brands.

The TVs that are sold with huge discounts that everyone kills themself trying to get on Black Friday are the cheap in-house brands that will probably crap out in a couple years.

I agree, but is that a bad thing? I've had two cheap TVs that went out after 5 years and the TVs - equally low end - were a lot better.

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

#177

Post by iambateman »

rconti wrote: post #128
iambateman wrote: post #12

We bought a Tuft and Needle mattress three years ago, and it's been fantastic. A few other friends have bought mattresses online and all been very happy. If it's all a marketing ploy, as the article implies, then there's a lot of happy people benefiting. ;)

The question is, how are all of those 'happy people' benefiting? Could you not have purchased a mattress from a brick and mortar store? It seems it would be relevant to cite the advantages. I can't help but feel like the entire podcasting industry was funded by businesses that are 'cutting out the middleman' as if this is a novel concept. Frankly, the mattress-in-a-box companies are nowhere near the worst offenders i…

I paid 60% less than a lot of friends, so I’m $1200 happy.

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

#178

Post by andrewflnr »

matte_black wrote: post #174

DIY mattresses will be the next big thing, and will disrupt the industry. A mattress you can tune as you build it to give you the exact feel you’re going for. You could even have a different feel for both sides of the bed. And for way cheaper. We’re working on it.

You can almost do this now with mattress toppers.

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

#180

Post by amelius »

pdonis wrote: post #109
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…

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…

> The result is a standard asymmetric information scenario

I think you nailed it with that. But now the question is: can we do something about it?

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