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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

#271

Post by 135792468 »

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?

That’s a good question. It’s ridiculously hard to avoid, but there are places that others mentioned here you can find deals.

Short of that you can find knock off versions on Amazon that might not last you as long but for a fraction of the price $100-200 iirc

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

#272

Post by 135792468 »

pauljurczak wrote: post #231
forgotmypw16 wrote: post #191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have any opinions on off-gassing?

Don't plan to sleep on it right after you take it out of the box. Give it a few days in a well ventilated room - open the window at least a bit. If you can keep it on the balcony, it will work even better.

Agree with this. Tested one of the most popular brands and it was at least 5 days before my wife didn’t smell the gas

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

#273

Post by 135792468 »

egdod wrote: post #117
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…

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

Honestly it’s 90% perception and 10% marketing costs.

The market is super saturated CPCs, affiliate commissions and the rest of the advertising eats into the real margin.

The rest of it I always saw that people associated more expensive with better when in reality there isn’t that much difference in quality. ie they will all suffer from sagging at some point. Brands play into this too.

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

#274

Post by 135792468 »

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.

There are plenty of foam suppliers in the US and probably every country, most of them will sell you rolls of whatever you want and plenty will let you come do it in the factory.

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

#275

Post by endorphone »

Johnny555 wrote: post #91
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 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 don't understand this -- you loved the mattress and you knew the price when you ordered, so what other outcome did you expect if you couldn't justify the price to yourself even if you loved it? It seems that you'd have been better off going with a more affordably priced mattress…

I hesitate to judge GP, but I had exactly the same internal monologue to their post. On the flip side, the high price of the Purple stuff is because they're pricing in dealing with people who have such uncertainty, so the customer-base are all playing each other, while we sit on the sidelines and just buy a cheaper one at the outset.

"It's kind of like test driving an $80K Acura"

It's much worse than that. When you drive that Acura back into the lot it's still a new car and the eventual buyer will love it just as much. When you return that mattress it's a used mattress that at best is going to be donated to a charity, but more likely is ending up going to a landfill.

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

#276

Post by superseeplus »

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?

Check out https://www.themattressunderground.com/. It is a site for people who nerd out on mattress construction going so far as to assemble their own from layers, but their forum has a user curated list of small local manufacturers for almost every metropolitan area. The smaller manufacturers are not necessarily cheap, but the good ones do a better job of using higher quality materials and understanding your specific needs.

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

#277

Post by jsjohnst »

jjeaff wrote: post #260
RC_ITR wrote: post #228

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

None of those things, Shipping, returns, AWS costs (unless directly part of the manufacturing process) would qualify under gaap as cogs.

Inbound shipping is definitely part of cogs for every company I’ve been part of, but agree on to customer shipping, returns and hosting.

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

#278

Post by ramraj07 »

Retric wrote: post #162
croissants wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

IKEA for example sells a lot of mattresses under 150$. Under that you can just by foam pads, but the biggest savings is simply avoiding mattress stores or companies. If you like pillow tops or those egg shell foam pads you can also just buy them separately.

I've slept on a 150 dollar Ikea for years and I've slept on a leesa. Maybe these conspiracy theories are true, but the Leesa is much more comfortable than the cheap Ikea. Ikea also has more expensive substantial mattress options, but it looks like they approach the same price range anyway. So what's your real suggestion then? Sleep on the floor in a sleeping bag?

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

#279

Post by quibbler »

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…

Production costs may be liw, but you have to factor returns into the equation. It is very misleading to judge only by production costs. Not saying it is not a racket, but would need more input.

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

#280

Post by ramraj07 »

nahtnam wrote: post #192
mech1234 wrote: post #53

Get a firm or very firm innerspring mattress from IKEA. You can do this for less than $300 and it will fit in the back of a sedan in it's roll-up-package. Sleep on it for a bit. If you don't like the feel, which you probably won't, add a memory foam mattress topper for ~$50. Use a thicker or thinner topper to suit your needs. Congrats! Because your mattress is firm, its foam will not break down for a long, long time.…

I got a Zinus mattress (cool gel version) and it is absolutely amazing. Cost me like $220 for a queen size and I couldn't be happier

Seriously wanted to, but most recent reviews in Amazon many said after a couple years it's unusable :(
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