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Tell HN: How we bootstrapped to the #1 rated mattress on Amazon.com

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Re: Tell HN: How we bootstrapped to the #1 rated mattress on Amazon.com

#141

Post by johmas »

mr_luc wrote: post #134
johmas wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a really good point. We should do a better job at communicating that. For clarification, we only sell a mattress at the moment. It is designed to be comfortable placed directly on the floor as it is on a bed frame. Thank you.

Dude! You should sell them both. I want to throw out my entire "sleeping situation" and just fix it. With the word-of-mouth you guys have going for you, you should see about partnering with someone who sells great bed frames -- even at a decent markup -- so people can order the whole shebang and solve their sleeping situation in one go. Or maybe include links on your website to great bed frames. I mean, I want to buy…

I completely agree. I'll share your feedback with the team. Thank you.

Re: Tell HN: How we bootstrapped to the #1 rated mattress on Amazon.com

#142

Post by luckyno13 »

johmas wrote: post #86
bernardom wrote: post #78

Hi guys, Love the idea, quick point of feedback: it is unclear, from a cursory glance, whether your prices refer to bed or bed+mattress. The floor vs. frame view is great, but the price doesn't change- so are you just selling a mattress? Should you say mattress instead? Are you calling a "bed" a mattress and the rest is a "frame?" (Not being a jerk, actually confused!)

That's a really good point. We should do a better job at communicating that. For clarification, we only sell a mattress at the moment. It is designed to be comfortable placed directly on the floor as it is on a bed frame. Thank you.

So I am assuming this means a boxspring would be optional as well?

Re: Tell HN: How we bootstrapped to the #1 rated mattress on Amazon.com

#143

Post by gcarre »

Good job on the website, simple, looks great!

Quick question, I bought a memory foam mattress 2 years ago and I regret it every day... I'm a 'hot sleeper', I fixed the 'waking up sweating' problem with a cotton mattress protector but it's still too hot.

Would I have the same problem with your foam mattress?

Re: Tell HN: How we bootstrapped to the #1 rated mattress on Amazon.com

#146

Post by dobbsbob »

jedahan wrote: post #112
dobbsbob wrote: post #111

Well timed article since I am looking for a mattress right now and was having a coffee reading HN after going to multiple scammy furniture places

Same here, and I have found http://www.sleeplikethedead.com to be an excellent resource for researching mattresses.

Great success bookmarked that link

Re: Tell HN: How we bootstrapped to the #1 rated mattress on Amazon.com

#147

Post by skanga »

johmas wrote: post #29
Scorpion wrote: post #11

Why no king sized on Amazon?

We just released the king size and want to collect some feedback on it before posting to Amazon. Amazon is really limiting when it comes to communication with our customers. This is a major pain point for us for that channel.

I need a Cal King too!

Re: Tell HN: How we bootstrapped to the #1 rated mattress on Amazon.com

#148

Post by tieTYT »

> Our primary success factor was starting with a rough draft. We didn't like our v1 much—an all cotton tufted mattress—but that didn't keep us from launching with it. This gave us a chance to experiment with problem/solution and to start collecting feedback right away. We had to do quite a few returns at first but we iterated constantly until our customer satisfaction was high enough for us to start getting referrals.

Putting myself in your shoes, this seems like a scary way to go about things. I'd think, "those first returns are from unsatisfied people. They'll give the product bad reviews and that will put the score in a negative rut it won't be able to pull itself out of. Yes, the next version will be amazing because of the initial feedback, but now we'll have bad reviews so people won't even give it a chance."

Would you mind explaining how I'm thinking about this the wrong way? Perhaps you never put v1 on Amazon and that's how you avoided my concern? But doing so seems like it could limit the feedback you get on v1.

Re: Tell HN: How we bootstrapped to the #1 rated mattress on Amazon.com

#149

Post by johmas »

gcarre wrote: post #143

Good job on the website, simple, looks great! Quick question, I bought a memory foam mattress 2 years ago and I regret it every day... I'm a 'hot sleeper', I fixed the 'waking up sweating' problem with a cotton mattress protector but it's still too hot. Would I have the same problem with your foam mattress?

That's one of the reasons that we're not fans of memory foam. We use a foam that is breathable and that you don't sink into. Ours has a little more bounce.

Re: Tell HN: How we bootstrapped to the #1 rated mattress on Amazon.com

#150

Post by johmas »

hnriot wrote: post #145

I noticed how the web site photos have their EXIF info still intact and the photos at the bottom (two of) are from an iPhone (5 and 4S) I bought my foam mattress from Ikea for less.

We'll check on that. Thank you for pointing it out.

Regarding Ikea, we're not really able to compete with them on pricing as a startup and I'm not really sure that'd be a wise move for us once we could. We really just want to focus on fair pricing and a well designed quality product.

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