Would the psychology of mattresses also be a factor? When couples break up, there’s a strong desire to cleanse one’s self of the procreative playpen, like one might cast off other used paraphernalia before choosing a new partner. I mean, yuck. So while the “average” customer might only need a new mattress every half- to full- decade, a handful of customers might be in regular annual rotation, enough to provide the demand.
When I recently purchased a new futon from a local company (Rock Soft, in Portland), I noted that I was paying less for a custom queen-size futon that the typical “discount” on a mattress. Also, if the futon starts to get a bit uncomfortable, I can take it back and have it rebuilt for $25, plus materials.
Also, as a side-note to Warth’s comment, there are more and more one-person households as the economy improves.
Re the parenthetical Lots of product labeling is similarly nuts, of course; on the other hand, you’re not dropping $2,000 on a razor blade, there is always [the $100,000 razor](Lots of product labeling is similarly nuts, of course; on the other hand, you’re not dropping $2,000 on a razor blade.).
Link to original article: Why are there so many mattress stores? - The Straight Dope
Because people loves them all the sleep they can get. I’m going to run right out now and get two mattresses, so’s I can sleep 8 hours on each of them every day/night.
At least one manufacturer blatantly markets, in their advertising, to those sleepers who like sheep. There must be a groundswell of market demand right there.
Mattresses are very trendy as art objects now, and not just for social justice art projects!
I’m sorry, you have to say ‘dog kennel’ to Mr Lambert, because if you say ‘mattress’ he puts a bucket over his head.
Well, my most recent mattress purchase was from Amazon and I am very happy with how that turned out, and similarly a lot of people I know buy their mattresses from Ikea. Maybe this revolution is a much more quiet one.
Ikea sells good mattresses at reasonable prices.
Interestingly, Ikea sells mattresses in the US for more than double what they cost in Sweden (excluding VAT) and we still think it’s a good price.
How hard can it be to make one’s own mattress, and avoid paying these outrageous markups?
Yeah, check this out:
Order some big sheets of foam, cut them yourself, maybe stack it in layers with wooden slats or something in between for extra support, wrap it in a sheet to make it look good. I’m never buying a mattress again!
They actually sell mattress size pieces of foam. Personally, I can’t stand memory foam, but that’s besides the point. Anyways. Queen is $140 and King is $180 for a 6" think piece. ISTM, that you’d be better off just spending a few extra dollars and getting a real mattress instead of spending that and sleeping on a chunk of foam that you’re just going to sink into.
Just checking Sears (first place that came up) you can kind King and Queen size matresses (springs and all) for about $300.
Interesting article.
I am in the market for a mattress at the moment, and I am generally angry at the entire industry.
The current mattress I have is less than 5 years old. It is not only the most expensive mattress I have ever owned, but it is garbage. I paid a LOT of money for it, and it is probably the second-worst mattress I have ever owned (continue reading)
The first? A memory foam mattress that had a 100-day warranty on it (thank god). This mattress broke down completely, both the foam and the wood support structure. This was with normal use, nothing crazy. This mattress was a torture device, and I’d love to sue the company who manufactured it. Instead of money, I would ask the jury to force every executive who works for the company to be required to sleep on their own shitty memory foam “mattresses” for 3 years. OR they can pay me $10MM each to opt out of the punishment. I would suspect that many execs would find the money.
My current mattress came from the same store (the warranty on the first was a “put cost toward a new mattress” which is something I NEVER did before and didn’t think I would have to with the memory foam garbage.). We got a new, slightly more expensive (naturally) conventional “spring” mattress, and the ONLY reason it still resides here is because I wasn’t prepared for another multi-thousand dollar mattress purchase so soon. But my back can’t handle it any longer.
Which brings me to my gripe. Not only is this business “shady”, and very high profit, but there is really no way to tell what you have purchased. Sure, you can cut the mattress open, but aside from that, there is no way to see if what you purchased is brand spanking new from the factory, or is just a refurbished return. I’ve seen a couple of “exposes” and “hidden camera” stories that show a returned mattress being stripped of its outer shell, and re-covered with new material. I would bet the “new” mattress I got was exactly that… Someone else’s return, spruced up and pushed back to another consumer.
I wish I could find a reputable company with reputable products that deliver a good product for a good price. And with the margins that mattress companies clearly enjoy, I am amazed that no one has entered the market to compete with the big manufacturers.
This sounds exactly like the eyeglass industry, where something like 90% of all frames are manufactured by the same parent company. They control the entire market with multiple storefront names, and keep the frame prices artificially inflated. (I can’t remember the company name, but I remember seeing a 60 minute segment on the topic, I think it is an Italian-based company.)
Anyway, I’d be interested in finding out the name of the company mentioned at the end of the article and see if it is still in business.
If not, maybe it’s time I start my own Mattress/Sunglass Hut. Franchise information will soon be available! Look for one at your nearest strip mall!
It’s probably Casper. (casper.com) I guess Cecil didn’t want to name them for fear of making an implied endorsement.
A couple of other factors contributing to the mattress scam… pretty much all the retail chains are also owned by a couple private equity firms, making the oligopoly even worse on the retail side.
And features that are passed off as selling points like “no flip mattress” actually mean it has half the lifespan because it’s only designed to be used on one side instead of both, meaning you need to buy a new one twice as often.
Could be. I found them during my latest round of research, and their negative reviews are really bad.
They make only one mattress “density”, and it is amazing how many people claim it is “too hard” while others say “too soft”. I understand that people have different perceptions, but one person will complain that it was like sleeping on a floor, while another person says they sank all the way through to the box spring.
The other thing that seemed to happen during this summer is a batch went out with bedbugs. People actually posted pictures. If true, that would be an unpleasant surprise.
I am starting to look on amazon and a foam website for options. I find the store process both gross and misleading. The bed NEVER feels the same to me in a store as it does in my home, and I hate the idea of how many people have crawled all over the bed before me. And I am not even a germaphobe!
Seriously, though… Who knows how long a mattress is sitting on the sales floor? And why would I not think that an industry that has such a shady history would be beneath putting a great, comfortable mattress on the sales floor, but ship something else? How would anyone know?