Why there are so many online mattress-in-a-box companies • Hacker News Board

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

#251

Post by pdonis » Tue, Apr 03, 2018, 3:58 AM UTC

closeparen wrote: post #139

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…

>You can easily test TV brands by going to a store and looking at them And a store can easily game this by selecting the most pleasing settings on the most expensive TVs.

Even if stores do this, it's not the same as trying to get customers to buy a lemon. It's basically upselling, which is a common technique, yes, but the products are still competing on features and price--more precisely, on the balance of features vs. price.

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

#252

Post by Fins » Tue, Apr 03, 2018, 6:47 AM UTC

47 wrote: post #28

"Since Casper launched its “mattress in a box” concept in 2014, digital-savvy entrepreneurs have been launching new mattress brands online seemingly every week." Casper was not the first mattress in a box online company. But Casper definitely is the first company to get the marketing right.

Right. I got a boxed mattress back in 2007 or 2008, from a place imaginatively called bedinabox or somesuch. It was a fraction of Casper price, too.

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

#253

Post by Fins » Tue, Apr 03, 2018, 6:57 AM UTC

curun1r wrote: post #222

calvinbhai wrote: post #88

Surprising that an article about mattress in a box companies can be written without mentioning T&N. Tuft & Needle probably was the first one to come out with this concept, and probably is still the best priced one. I have two T&N queen mattresses for more than 4 yrs. Been very happy with these in terms of comfort and durability. Never going back to any of the 4S mattresses. No reason for me to try other mattress in a…

> Tuft & Needle probably was the first one to come out with this concept Nope. That was Nest. Or, at least, Nest came out with it a year before T&N. But they also failed to get a mention in the article.

Hmm, pretty sure I had a mattress delivered in a box back in 2007-8 and it was neither of those. Was a perfectly fine mattress, too.

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

#254

Post by sumedh » Tue, Apr 03, 2018, 10:13 AM UTC

tomc1985 wrote: post #237

jimmy1 wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Every couple of days on HN, I learn of something else you can't do in California. That, plus absurd rent, makes me really glad I don't live there.

Have you seen some of the things people do on their mattresses? I certainly wouldn't want to sleep on one secondhand without having it cleaned first.

You dont sleep on hotel beds?

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

#255

Post by devonkim » Tue, Apr 03, 2018, 12:19 PM UTC

Somewhat related but this article from a while back had some observations on how mattresses are a marketer’s dream to sell. The really shady nature of these companies in protecting their brand even at the online review level does not inspire confidence and trustworthiness.

https://www.fastcompany.com/3065928/sleepopolis-casper-blogg...

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

#256

Post by zafka » Tue, Apr 03, 2018, 1:51 PM UTC

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 got lucky and saw the Zinus thread last year, I was close to spending over a thousand when I heard about them. I spent 400 for a king mattress and a stand. My Wife loves it!

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

#257

Post by astura » Tue, Apr 03, 2018, 2:20 PM UTC

colechristensen wrote: post #243

astura wrote: post #223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not only are half medications useless to harmful, most of the time side effects aren't ever disclosed. I'm still bitter about this due to being prescribed medication I would have never had taken if the potential side effects we're disclosed.

The pharmacy always gives you papers with all of the side effects, interactions, and instructions. Is that not good enough?

Is this a serious comment? Of course it's not good enough.

I'm supposed to wait until after I leave the doctor's office and fill the prescription to know the side effects of a medication I just spent money on? So if I don't like the side effects I have to make another doctor's appointment and wait until the doctor has availability?

So I go to my doctor and say "I have X problem." Doctor says "take these pills." I go to the pharmacy and read about the medication. I say "well these side effects don't look good, I don't want to take the medication." I go back to my doctor, the doctor says "here's some different pills" and I have to fill that second prescription and compare the two side effects.

No, that's not good enough.

There's also the problem that that information is given in a vacuum, there's no information given about what the alternative treatments are for your condition and what the side effects are for those alternative treatments. That discussion rarely occurs to my satisfaction at the doctor's office because oftentimes the doctor seemly doesn't know about the side effects or is misinformed.

This has just been my experience...

For me, the medication in question was given to me in an acute setting. I asked directly about side effects and I was brushed off as "oh most people don't have any side effects" or something of that nature. Especially when the medication is administered by a nurse and I was just given pills, I had to firstly ask what the medication even was.

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

#258

Post by bsg75 » Tue, Apr 03, 2018, 4:37 PM UTC

jijji wrote: post #46

you can find mattresses all day long for $50-$75 on craigslist, i dont know what these people are talking about paying $1,000 for a mattress.

https://www.livescience.com/33097-does-your-mattress-really-...

"According to materials published by Ohio State University, a typical used mattress may have 100,000 to 10 million mites inside. Ten percent of the weight of a two-year-old pillow can be composed of dead mites and their droppings. Mites prefer warm, moist surroundings such as the inside of a mattress when someone is on it. One of their favorite foods is dead skin, and people shed about one fifth of an ounce of the stuff every week, some of which surely ends up flaking into your mattress."

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

#259

Post by tomc1985 » Tue, Apr 03, 2018, 5:33 PM UTC

sumedh wrote: post #254

tomc1985 wrote: post #237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you seen some of the things people do on their mattresses? I certainly wouldn't want to sleep on one secondhand without having it cleaned first.

You dont sleep on hotel beds?

What's the kinkiest sex you can think of? Because if it what you're thinking of doesn't soak/soil the sheets and mattress, then you're not thinking dirty enough. Hotels will at least toss the mattress and bill the customer under those circumstances.

Have you ever worked hospitality?

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

#260

Post by gmiller123456 » Tue, Apr 03, 2018, 6:06 PM UTC

otterley wrote: post #238

leesalminen wrote: post #216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think that if I were to become homeless tomorrow I would prefer to sleep on an almost new mattress than on a new cot. This is my problem with California- let people decide for themselves what they want. I don’t need a government telling me what to do.

Have you ever considered that there might be needs and issues at stake whose importance exceeds your preferences as an individual?

Certainly. But the fact that California is such a statistical outlyer with the number of laws but does not show a significant increase in the quality of life (in fact it's last by most measures), makes me think something else is at play. Like market manipulation, or theatrics, or both.