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

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

#141

Post by rahimnathwani »

unlinked_dll wrote: post #131
rahimnathwani wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ikea sells different types of mattress (spring, foam, latex), each with different thicknesses and price points. I've bought ~10 Ikea mattresses, avoided the cheapest ones of each type, and been pretty happy. I can understand why a foam topper would feel hot. It's main purpose is to provide a sleeping surface that's the same shape as your body, so of course this means it maximises the amount of contact between you and…

>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 an overstatement. I and my family members have several Pax wardrobes that are still going strong after 20 years. And several Malm dressers that have lasted over 10 years. As long you assemble and install the things correctly, and make sure they're straight, then there's no reason they shouldn't last.

There are Ikea dressers which are less sturdy than the Malm, because the drawer runners are weak ball-bearing style ones, instead of the wheely ones on the Malm. (Ball bearing runners can be great, but the ones I've seen on Ikea dressers aren't designed to carry much load.)

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

#142

Post by sgustard »

135792468 wrote: post #82
bsanr wrote: post #30

I'd thought I'd get around the madness of mattress shopping by using just the technique mentioned in the article here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22377160 At least, until I found something I liked. I purchased a Purple 3, thinking that if I loved it, I'd just stick with it. I did love it, but I couldn't justify spending $2k on a twin(!). I returned it, and purchased from another company for ~$700. I didn't…

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…

Is the mattress industry significantly different from furniture in general? In terms of rarity of purchase, huge markups, cheap raw materials, different brands at every store, and so on?

Back when I listened to the radio, there were literally mattress store ads multiple times an hour, all day every day. Sleep Train, etc. Is that the key to their "fantastic marketing?"

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

#143

Post by ce4 »

pkaye wrote: post #135
benibela wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Something is very wrong in the US I think I paid around 30€ to buy a foam mattress in Germany

Can you link to a website of how that mattress looks like?

Not exactly 30€ but starting from 50 (when you subtract the 20 or 30% discount of some of the cheaper models):

https://www.lidl.de/de/matratzen/c11480

Edit: Here's the german discounter store archive, it lists past sales of the three largest chains Lidl, Aldi north/south. Just search for "Matratze" and you can check past sales up to 15yrs ago:

https://www.discounter-archiv.de/suche.php

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

#145

Post by throw7 »

I never liked the space a bed takes up so I decided to look into alternatives some years ago when it started to offer less support.

I always had a futon so I immediately switched to that. I also bought a cheap hammock and built some hammock stands to use it indoors.

I didn't have any problems adjusting to the futon; that's what I sleep on most of the time today. I'm also pretty sure I'd have no problems with a japanese style roll up beds either (it's basically like a futon anyway).

Hammocking, though, took a bit longer. I really wanted to make it work too. To make a long story short, my initial hammock was too short and now I do have a hammock I can sleep soundly in (which I do every now and then).

I was also initially interested on trying to train myself to sleep on a flat floor... but, ummm, that did not go well and I've never returned to trying. Maybe...

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

#146

Post by RuleOfBirds »

throw7 wrote: post #145

I never liked the space a bed takes up so I decided to look into alternatives some years ago when it started to offer less support. I always had a futon so I immediately switched to that. I also bought a cheap hammock and built some hammock stands to use it indoors. I didn't have any problems adjusting to the futon; that's what I sleep on most of the time today. I'm also pretty sure I'd have no problems with a japane…

I slept on a hammock for years indoors slung between two huge hooks I screwed into my walls.

It took a couple weeks before I fully adjusted. One nice thing is that when I went camping or on a three month bike trip, I had my every-night bed with me! It felt so luxurious!

I loved it, and if I was single, I'd still be sleeping in a hammock every night.

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

#147

Post by MichaelDickens »

Zimahl wrote: post #127
egdod wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Any thoughts on why markup stays so high if the industry is actually cutthroat? Competition should be driving margin way down.

I'm not OP, but I'd guess its because there is a really limited market for mattresses. People of course need and want them, but the turnover is (or can be) a very long time. I have a mattress in our guest bedroom that I used in college, over 20 years ago. It could probably be replaced, but will probably only get replaced with our main mattress when we replace it. It's fine for the minimal guests we have or when my wi…

> I don't really understand why someone would buy one of their mattresses that you can't test out at a store

As someone who bought a mattress online:

1. You don't have to go to a store, which makes it much more convenient to buy. 2. If you don't like it, you can return it for a full refund, so there's no possibility of wasting money on a mattress you don't like.

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

#148

Post by abawany »

benibela wrote: post #134
egdod wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Any thoughts on why markup stays so high if the industry is actually cutthroat? Competition should be driving margin way down.

Something is very wrong in the US I think I paid around 30€ to buy a foam mattress in Germany

Zinus foam mattresses in the US are quite affordable (~$200) especially when they have their sales going.

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

#149

Post by croissants »

135792468 wrote: post #82
bsanr wrote: post #30

I'd thought I'd get around the madness of mattress shopping by using just the technique mentioned in the article here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22377160 At least, until I found something I liked. I purchased a Purple 3, thinking that if I loved it, I'd just stick with it. I did love it, but I couldn't justify spending $2k on a twin(!). I returned it, and purchased from another company for ~$700. I didn't…

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?

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

#150

Post by troydavis »

joegahona wrote: post #97
whalesalad wrote: post #80

FWIW I had a Leesa and ended up returning it. That went fine and dandy, everything worked as they promised with no frills. What I actually want to share with you all here is to go to a mom-n-pop mattress store in your local area. Find your local mattress NERD and buy a bed from them. They're going to have all kinds of wild stuff you can try and will do a great job of selling you the right bed for you (and your partne…

I have a Leesa and don't love it, but I've had it over a year now, so can't return it. I didn't realize "mom-n-pop mattress stores" existed -- how would one find one? I ended up with an online-mattress purchase because of a poor experience with both a Mattress Firm store (pushy salespeople) and most obnoxiously with a specific manufacturer, Simmons. I stayed at an AirBnB in SF years ago and the bed was noticeably the…

> how would one find one?

Mattress Underground's explanation of local manufacturers is a good start: https://www.themattressunderground.com/the-industry/manufact.... Their forum also has Q&A about specific cities.

The rest of their tutorials are as good as any online: https://www.themattressunderground.com/the-industry/industry..., https://www.themattressunderground.com/mattresses/mattress.h...

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