This needs "Mattresses" added to its database: http://nonstartr.com/
We Need a Warby Parker for Mattresses
51–60 of 173 posts
Re: We Need a Warby Parker for Mattresses
#52Having worked for one of the major mattress firms, there are truths in the article, but also some serious mistakes.
The pricing structure, where they hide the models by using different names across retailers, is 100% true. They absolutely do that to prevent price shopping.
The markup math is off. Mattresses are a high margin business, but most of those mattresses you see in specialty retailers are not built until someone buys one. You see, those mattresses are custom to the customer - from the tick (stitching pattern, which creates a firmer or softer surface) to the foam density, to EVERYTHING. It's like ordering a car where the car is measured to a specific person's height, weight and engine preference. You can imagine what a returned mattress is worth. Pretty much nothing. The margins have to cover all of that. Are the margins good? Yes. Would a small company be able to cut their margins to make one-off custom mattresses and compete? ...maybe.
Finally, there are retail outlets - Costco, Ikea, that buy from those mattress companies in bulk and sell generic mattresses much cheaper.
So, yeah, there's some market there but not as rich as some might think.
Re: We Need a Warby Parker for Mattresses
#53Earlier quoted context omitted.
Absolutely, you would have to get new bedsheets, comforters, and beds to support the new form factor, but if it means replacing the mattress every n*2 years instead of every n, I'll come out ahead in the long term.
You would also need to change the entire ecosystem: if you use standard mattresses, then you can leverage the existing supply of sheets etc. Which is not to say it's a bad idea, but I imagine there's much more involved.
You could sell the custom sized mattress at cost, but then charge a premium for the sheets. That way you make money off of the sheets, which wear out more quickly than a mattress anyways.
Edit: I'm joking...
Re: We Need a Warby Parker for Mattresses
#54We need a Warby Parker for Diamonds! 1. Oligopoly market structure CHECK 2. Insane gross margins CHECK 3. Opaque and misleading product naming CHECK 4. Expensive distribution through unpleasant channels CHECK CHECK CHECK
No. There shouldn't be a Warby Parker for Diamonds. Sure there are services like BlueNile etc but they're nothing like a Warby Parker for Diamonds. Diamonds are bought, not because of what they are but what they represent . The whole point of diamonds is to capitalise on what they're representing rather than their actual worth. Their value is created through the likes of "diamonds are a girl's best friend" which is w…
True but actually less significant than you think. With the caveat that the diamond should not be insignificantly expensive the reactions to engagement rings fall into one of two categories
a) the girl is a "nice girl" and is more than happy that the finacee got a ring that was even better valuable (I've one singaporian friend that actually had her fiancee take his ring back and buy another one from singapore - not because she wanted a bigger one but she wanted him to get a better deal (I think it ended up being a bigger diamond but that's not what she was angling for))
b) the girl wants to have a bigger ring than her friends in which case it's also a win.
The actual value of the ring is more of a "hygiene condition". Once it costs "enough" then to someone who actually cares (most girls are just happy with getting a hubby) what actually matters is what it's perceived to cost and a fiancee who can deliver bigger, delivers bigger!
Re: We Need a Warby Parker for Mattresses
#55Like any startup idea, there will be objections. Shipping mattresses is expensive, people want to lie on them first, mattresses require research and development spending to develop, a mattress purchase only happens once a decade, etc. All these objections might be right, but they all sound surmountable. They might be surmountable, but that doesn't make this a better opportunity than a lot of the other opportunities o…
> a mattress purchase only happens once a decade This is a cultural artifact. We've reached a point in manufacturing technology where this should no longer be true. > disrupting the mattress industry as a manufacturer AND retailer...Like IKEA,... The most comfortable mattress I've ever slept on: A Sultan Fonnes mattress, with an egg crate foam topper from http://www.foambymail.com/ on a platform bed, no box springs.…
After developing neck+back pain and doing many hours of research this is the solution I arrived at as well. I use an Ikea firm foam bed with a 2.5" memory foam on top. This ends up giving the support of a "medium-firm" many doctors advocate for. For back sleeping, this is by far the most comfortable bed I've owned.
Re: We Need a Warby Parker for Mattresses
#56I'm not sure if you can count this as a startup, but I bought my King-sized Sleep Innovations (memory foam) mattress with Amazon Prime for $530. And if I wanted the less-think 10" one, it would be $400. http://www.amazon.com/Sleep-Innovations-12-inch-Memory-Mattr... The damn thing was ~100lbs in a giant box, and I got it shipped to me free. It's super comfortable and well worth the money - remember you sleep for like…
The problem is that many people like to lie on a mattress before they buy it. Sure, that's a little silly since lying on it for a minute or so is unlikely to capture the experience of tossing and turning on it for a night, but it's clear that it's a competitive advantage to let the consumer compare a few models in a physically direct way. Warby Parker can get away with the similar consumer requirement for glasses bec…
My wife and I almost got a Sleep Innovations mattress, but in the end we felt that we couldn't buy a mattress that we hadn't had a chance to try out. We both like a very firm mattress, which can be difficult to find.
While it's true that lying on a mattress for a few minutes won't tell you whether it's the best one or not, it sure did help us rule out many mattresses. We ended up getting an Ikea mattress, which turned out to be quite nice.
Re: We Need a Warby Parker for Mattresses
#57Someone should do a Warby Parker for Wheelchairs.
Re: We Need a Warby Parker for Mattresses
#58Earlier quoted context omitted.
Absolutely, you would have to get new bedsheets, comforters, and beds to support the new form factor, but if it means replacing the mattress every n*2 years instead of every n, I'll come out ahead in the long term.
You would also need to change the entire ecosystem: if you use standard mattresses, then you can leverage the existing supply of sheets etc. Which is not to say it's a bad idea, but I imagine there's much more involved.
Re: We Need a Warby Parker for Mattresses
#59Earlier quoted context omitted.
Absolutely, you would have to get new bedsheets, comforters, and beds to support the new form factor, but if it means replacing the mattress every n*2 years instead of every n, I'll come out ahead in the long term.
You would also need to change the entire ecosystem: if you use standard mattresses, then you can leverage the existing supply of sheets etc. Which is not to say it's a bad idea, but I imagine there's much more involved.
Re: We Need a Warby Parker for Mattresses
#60I'm not sure if you can count this as a startup, but I bought my King-sized Sleep Innovations (memory foam) mattress with Amazon Prime for $530. And if I wanted the less-think 10" one, it would be $400. http://www.amazon.com/Sleep-Innovations-12-inch-Memory-Mattr... The damn thing was ~100lbs in a giant box, and I got it shipped to me free. It's super comfortable and well worth the money - remember you sleep for like…
I bought one from Costco, and didn't like it. They gave me a refund, and the choice to either donate it to charity or have them come pick it up and take it to the dump.