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What happens to a mail-order mattress after you return it

fivethirtyeight.com

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Re: What happens to a mail-order mattress after you return it

#221

Post by Operyl »

noman-land wrote: post #217
135792468 wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I didn’t read the article but I’ve worked for one of these companies that was a startup and have a local mattress company as a client. So a little perspective. These companies are all marketing companies. There is no “science” they literally get rolls of foam from foam makers, throw them on in layers and try to find the right combo. I was there, I’ve done it myself. The companies that end up winning have fantastic ma…

Where can I get the bulk foam that mattress companies use? I'd happily cut my own mattress.

I imagine it’s one of those things that’s only cheap when you have committed to ordering a ton of the product, frankly.

Re: What happens to a mail-order mattress after you return it

#222

Post by karim »

werber wrote: post #212
jbarciauskas wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

COGS for Casper is ~50%, which doesn't quite line up with your $50. I suppose if you mean $50 in raw materials, plus construction costs, then fine, but that doesn't get you to 20x markup. The margin isn't that crazy. Typical retail markup is 30%.

Is there any documentation on any of the costs? These figures are so different

That's straight from their S-1, page 6: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1598674/000104746920...

Re: What happens to a mail-order mattress after you return it

#223

Post by wh1t3n01s3 »

deftnerd wrote: post #41

It feels like there might be other possibly uses of old or unwanted foam mattresses. Perhaps they can be cut down to standard sizes for home insulation batting? As insulation between raised garden bed containers and the ground? Insulation between the ground and a fish tank in an aquaponics setup? While there might be better solutions for all of those things, if these materials are going to end up in the landfill and…

The best re-solution is to cut and use them as soil for indoor growing. I’m sure you can find tutorials around...

Re: What happens to a mail-order mattress after you return it

#224

Post by war1025 »

ip26 wrote: post #186
sjg007 wrote: post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. Furniture is the worst. You have to buy something high end to get any sort of quality, especially couches. This will sound crazy but I have a very expensive couch that was made in the 1970s and it is perfect. I also have a 1k sectional couch from Ashley's and it is absolutely terrible. Now I could probably fix the sectional with some diy hacks to firm it up but I don't have the skill. But that super expensive he…

Yeah, furniture is really frustrating. High end luxury or made-for-the-dumpster junk. As I like to call it, the vanishing middle market.

Somewhat related, I read the book "Factory Man" [1] probably five years ago now. It's a story of a guy who came from a big furniture producing family that had several factory towns in Virginia I believe.

Anyway, talks about how they got started out in the late 1800s and how starting in the 1980s things started getting cheaper and cheaper and then started getting moved to China for manufacture.

Then it gets into how this guy worked to actually keep the company he inherited up and running in the US.

Was pre-2016, but the book definitely had undertones of all the big "culture" stories that went around that election.

[1] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18774017-factory-man

Re: What happens to a mail-order mattress after you return it

#225

Post by war1025 »

noman-land wrote: post #217
135792468 wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I didn’t read the article but I’ve worked for one of these companies that was a startup and have a local mattress company as a client. So a little perspective. These companies are all marketing companies. There is no “science” they literally get rolls of foam from foam makers, throw them on in layers and try to find the right combo. I was there, I’ve done it myself. The companies that end up winning have fantastic ma…

Where can I get the bulk foam that mattress companies use? I'd happily cut my own mattress.

We made basically a futon mattress out of wool several years ago. Has been holding up great. If you're not afraid to get creative, there's not really all that much to a bed. Especially if you get away from the coil spring kind.

Re: What happens to a mail-order mattress after you return it

#226

Post by philwelch »

rahimnathwani wrote: post #141
unlinked_dll wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I've bought ~10 Ikea mattresses, avoided the cheapest ones of each type, and been pretty happy. You've bought ten mattresses from them?! In how many years, and for how many people? I don't think my parents bought ten mattresses in the 20-odd years they had their four kids living at home - and I still sleep on one of them. Personally I don't trust anything from Ikea anymore. Their quality is such garbage for all thei…

"You've bought ten mattresses from them?! In how many years, and for how many people?" In ~20 years. Most are still in use. Some were for my parents, for guest rooms and for flats that ended up being rental properties. I bought two mattresses last year, as we moved to the US from China (which has different bed sizes). "Their quality is such garbage for all their products from furniture to glassware to lamps" This is…

I’ve found a couple of patterns with IKEA. They’ll often have two virtually identical products, with overall quality and material being the only difference (particleboard vs. real wood, usually). Also, the main drawback is often the loose tolerances that lead to a given piece not always fitting together as well as it should.

Re: What happens to a mail-order mattress after you return it

#227

Post by mav3rick »

jacob019 wrote: post #14

Forgive me if this is off-topic. I am currently in the market for a queen size mattress in a box. The last one that I bought on Amazon was perfect, it cost about $300. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07F8NNL8X It is no longer available. Now it seems that you can get a decent one for under $250. Here are some that I found: Ashley: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0777K9RGX Vibe: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074NDQ143 PrimaSleep: h…

Try the Rivet mattress from Amazon

Re: What happens to a mail-order mattress after you return it

#228

Post by RC_ITR »

karim wrote: post #222
werber wrote: post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is there any documentation on any of the costs? These figures are so different

That's straight from their S-1, page 6: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1598674/000104746920...

Yeah, but their COGS would likely include shipping, return costs, AWS fees, etc., so the math could work.

Re: What happens to a mail-order mattress after you return it

#229

Post by dredmorbius »

dan-robertson wrote: post #159
dredmorbius wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Probably mostly natural materials. That'd be risky now.

At least in Europe most furniture uses fire retardant materials. But the chipboard that lots of things are made of will burn ok if you get it hot enough

I'm thinking plastics in everything: foams, fabrics, coverings, resins, glues. Even fasteners and structure.

Re: What happens to a mail-order mattress after you return it

#230

Post by pauljurczak »

croissants wrote: post #149
135792468 wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I didn’t read the article but I’ve worked for one of these companies that was a startup and have a local mattress company as a client. So a little perspective. These companies are all marketing companies. There is no “science” they literally get rolls of foam from foam makers, throw them on in layers and try to find the right combo. I was there, I’ve done it myself. The companies that end up winning have fantastic ma…

How should people buy mattresses, or mattress-like products, to avoid this 2000% markup?

Walmart has a decent quality memory foam mattresses for under $200 (Spa Sensations). I've used them for many years and don't see a reason to spend more.
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