# Mattress recommendations and shopping tips? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 27, 2015, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mattress-recommendations-and-shopping-tips/718615 "2015-04-27T03:39:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2015, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mattress-recommendations-and-shopping-tips/718615/1 "2015-04-27T03:39:30Z")
I’m seriously investigating replacing my 15 year old mattress. Any recommendations or tips on the following are appreciated: - Type. I have an inner coil mattress, but the memory foam and regular foam ones seem interesting. My preferences lean towards middle soft to soft mattresses, and I sleep on my side. I hear, by the way, that modern inner spring mattresses don’t need to be flipped, only rotated. True? - Brands for any of the above. According to the latest Consumer Reports, they rate the Serta Perfect Day ($1075), Sealy Posturepedic (ditto on cost), The Original Mattress Factory ($540), and Tuft & Needles foam mattresses ($600) as Best Buys, with Serta atop both lists, though of course more expensive. (Prices as queen size.) - Price that I should consider “good”. The size I’m looking for is twin. - Where to shop. Have the typical outlets, the Internet, and Ikea available. - Side issue 1: my pillows are also fifteen years old. Would a memory foam pillow be worth the price? - Side issue 2: under what circumstances could I reuse my current box spring? I don’t know how it’s built, so I’d have to check, but I think, THINK, it has springs in it itself. Thanks in advance. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2015, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mattress-recommendations-and-shopping-tips/718615/2 "2015-04-27T04:00:20Z")
When we went mattress shopping a few years ago we discovered that we hated some of the more popular mattresses. So there is nothing better that you can do than put your butt on the mattress and see how it feels. The internet is a great place to do research on mattress types, but I’d never buy on online. If you don’t like it, and they’ve taken your old one away, you are stuck on the floor. We have three mattress chains all of which we visited. Sears and the like had smaller selections and were far more expensive. Check online for when you can expect sales, though some sort of sale seems to be on all the time. And 15 years is way too long to keep a mattress. My back felt much better when I got a new one. We got a modified foam one, and it has been great. I move enough when I sleep I don’t want a mattress to remember my position. But you might need something different. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2015, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mattress-recommendations-and-shopping-tips/718615/3 "2015-04-27T11:44:18Z")
I went through mattress shopping hell several years ago. The terminology is so inconsistent from one manufacturer to another, it’s impossible to comparison shop. And with most, you have to buy a box spring, whether you need one or not. I wound up going to the Original Mattress Factory, whose sale practices and terminology are very straightforward, and you can try on all the different models in their show room. I’m very happy with my purchase. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2015, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mattress-recommendations-and-shopping-tips/718615/4 "2015-04-27T13:23:04Z")
I’ve posted this at length in a few recent threads, so I will keep it short. \*Start \*with a multilayer latex mattress and euro-slat base. Explore all the configuration and cost options. If - and \*only \*if - you exhaust this choice’s possibilities without finding a bed that suits you and your budget, move on to innerspring beds. Why? 1. They don’t make mattresses like the one you’re replacing any more. (Cost and marketing reasons have all but driven the high-quality, moderate-cost, two-sided mattress off the market; it’s all smoke, mirrors, mir-a-kul technology and cost-cutting. Even at the very expensive end.) (You can get old-school mattresses from some small makers, but they are _expensive_.) 2. Latex is configurable, and re-configurable, over time, and you can change firmness, pressure points, support etc. endlessly to suit changing physical and sleep needs. I move the slat blocks once a year or so to accommodate changes. 3. True latex foam lasts essentially forever. (Ours is six years old and when I took apart the mattress stack to move it, the layers all looked new. Not the slightest trace of sag or slump.) ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2015, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mattress-recommendations-and-shopping-tips/718615/5 "2015-04-27T14:05:41Z")
We bought a Tempur-Pedic in 2003 and have had zero problems with it. It’s a platform bed, and if you don’t buy the TP platform, it can void the 10 year warranty and 25 year limited warranty. I know that they have increased the types of TP mattresses now, so you’d have to shop for what suits you. You won’t find them on sale, as the manufacturer prohibits it, and they’re not cheap. They’re also heavy, but don’t need to be flipped. From what I’ve read, ordinary coil spring mattresses generally have a life of about 5-6 years before deteriorating. You may not notice it right away, but the support starts to fail. ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2015, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mattress-recommendations-and-shopping-tips/718615/6 "2015-04-27T16:26:48Z")
FWIW, I just heard some consumer report on the radio this morning that mentioned mattresses get discounted after Memorial Day. They were talking about the best time of the year to buy different types of items. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2015, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mattress-recommendations-and-shopping-tips/718615/7 "2015-04-28T02:01:10Z")
If you are considering moving from inner spring to memory foam, it may be worthwhile to get a less expensive one first. Although I wouldn’t recommend going less than 6" (which pretty much knocks out IKEA unless you stack two.) [Woot.com](http://Woot.com) and [Overstock.com](http://Overstock.com) periodically have some amazing deals (especially at the Twin and Full sizes.) I got a Queen sized one from Woot about five years ago now for only $300. It will need replacing in a couple more years, but I’m glad I started with it and learned how much I prefer the memory foam. Many of my friends have spent fortunes on the name brands and found that they hated it. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2015, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mattress-recommendations-and-shopping-tips/718615/8 "2015-04-28T17:11:38Z")
We went to a local mom and pop mattress store where the owner gave us the full run down on the various brands. He pointed out that there is only one major domestic producer of springs for mattresses and boxes (Legget and Platt) and all the big name brands use them. The only real difference then is the material around the springs. He pointed us to some sets made by Golden Mattress Co. They were about half the price of the brand names and made with the same materials. We ended up buying the Golden brand foam and pillow top combo. We were so pleased with that purchase we have gone back several times since to replace others. [Mattress Underground](http://www.themattressunderground.com/mattress-forum/general-mattresses/10745-golden-mattress-company-in-dallas.html)is a good sourcec of mattress buying info. The site Admin has this to say about Golden; > [@](#): > > I personally don’t recommend any “brand” … including Golden, because the label on a mattress is not as important as the materials and construction that is in it…there are many manufacturers that make some good quality and value mattresses that are not members here and one of these is Golden. FWIW ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2015, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mattress-recommendations-and-shopping-tips/718615/9 "2015-04-28T17:57:17Z")
Mattresses, like speakers for a stereo, are a personal thing but here is a [link](http://www.sleeplikethedead.com/) that helped me quite a bit. FWIW, I switched to a [memory foam pillow](http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/tempur-pedic-reg-standard-medium-swedish-neck-pillow-153/1012007272?categoryId=13114) some years ago and found I slept better than my old standard pillow. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2015, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mattress-recommendations-and-shopping-tips/718615/10 "2015-04-29T00:42:03Z")
Here are two posts I made in similar threads several years ago. I haven’t bought a new mattress since then, but I’d be surprised if things have changed much. > [@Me in 2008](#): > > DO NOT pay the listed price! Shopping for a new mattress last summer, I went into Mattress Discounters and tried out a bunch of different models. After deciding that I like a firm mattress with a pillow top, I expressed interest in a Simmons Beautyrest with a list price of about $2,200. When I said I liked it, but couldn’t pay that much, the saleswoman said it had been on sale a week or so earlier. She got on the phone to see if she could still offer the sale price, and came back and said I could have it for $1,100. So obviously, prices are highly negotiable. > > I ended up buying a similar Simmons Beautyrest at another store for under $800. > > BTW, the whole business of mattress stores saying they won’t be undersold, or will match other stores’ prices, seems to be a complete scam. From what I could tell in my shopping research, different stores don’t carry the same model of mattress: they have the same brands, but similar mattresses have different model names in different stores. Presumably they do this so they can make these falsely reassuring claime and discourage comparison shopping. > > So go and try out as many mattresses as you can, and pick the features and general style you like. Tell the sales person you’re willing to pay half of the list price. When he/she says, no, walk out. (Not too quickly: they may offer a lower price before you get to the door.) Go to the next store, repeat. > > If my experience is any guide, you should be able to get a mattress you really like for half the list price or less. > [@Me in 2010](#): > > If you don’t haggle, you will pay about twice as much for your mattress as you should. No exaggeration. If you’re no good at haggling, take a friend who is better. > > I bought a mattress (no box spring) a few years ago, and from my experience, you should usually be able to get a mattress for slightly more than half of the stated retail price. Free delivery and removal of the old mattress should be standard, no matter what price you negotiate. > > First, find out what type of mattress you like: firm or soft, pillow-top or plain, etc. You have to lie on them for a long time, and in the positions in which you sleep. Relax, take it easy. Take your bedmate so that both of you can try it out. Do the two of you roll in toward the middle? Do you like that? > > This could take quite a while if you check out a number of mattresses at three or four different stores. They’ll each have different models with different features, and each manufacturer seems to provide each store with its own unique model names, so you can’t get the same model from different stores. Very annoying. > > Once you find a mattress you like, find a salesperson and say that you’ll buy that one today for half the price on the tag. And you want free delivery and removal of the old one. If they say no, you say, “Okay. Bye,” and head for the door. As others here have reported, they’ll stop you and make an counteroffer. (If they don’t, leave and go to the next store.) > > If they’re willing to sell at half price, you can let them charge you a moderate delivery/removal fee, say $100. But if you pay anything more than half price, free delivery is a must. You should aim for no more than 60% of full price and free delivery. Paying more than 75% is getting ripped off. > > Do not buy a box spring if you don’t need it, and don’t let them make it a bargaining point. If they keep trying to sell you a box spring, walk out. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2015, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mattress-recommendations-and-shopping-tips/718615/11 "2015-06-21T02:27:11Z")
Bumping this because I am now in a position to shop in earnest, and I still feel a little lost. IKEA prices are good, but are the mattresses? How much should I consider any kind of foam? I’m sort of paralyzed by possibilities here. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2015, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mattress-recommendations-and-shopping-tips/718615/12 "2015-06-21T14:26:00Z")
I’ll repeat my answer in different form: It should be clear that the industry, especially the retail/buying end of it, has gone completely crazy since the days a decade or so back when there was some correlation between cost, quality, comfort and longevity. In asking for opinions, you are pretty much only going to get rah-rah for whatever the poster bought… not necessarily because it’s some superior choice in an absolute way, but the owner finds it good enough and has some measure of justifying their multi-$k expenditure. There are a number of good recommendations in here. I will just say that I spent a lot of time on our purchase five years ago - way too much, including weeks on specialized forums and doing some fairly deep research, and applying what I know of changes in the consumer market for mattresses (where, IMVHO, dazzle marketing has replaced pretty much everything else). I am pretty confident in saying you would not be unhappy with latex over a euro-slat base. What’s more, you would likely be not-unhappy with it for 20 years or more. I know of no other option that can say that. (That is, I know of no other option that has a comfort lifespan much past five years, and that’s stretching it for many mattress brands and technologies.) ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2015, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mattress-recommendations-and-shopping-tips/718615/13 "2015-06-21T14:33:07Z")
Missed the edit: The pluses are: High initial comfort (very selectable). Extensive reconfigurabilty over the years. Extreme durability. Not sold by high-pressure used-car-sale stores (or at least available from more ethical/relaxed sellers). Minuses: Not the cheapest option. But not necessarily the most expensive, either. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2015, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mattress-recommendations-and-shopping-tips/718615/14 "2015-06-24T13:20:42Z")
Thanks for the rephrased advice. What do you think of the haggling advice above? I’m not good at that kind of thing, so if I’m going to have to bring someone else, I’d like to know… ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2015, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mattress-recommendations-and-shopping-tips/718615/15 "2015-06-24T13:39:48Z")
I bought a new mattress and box spring last year, from one of the big local chains. I tested them by lying on various models in the showroom, fully dressed and with shoes on. It was as awkward as you can imagine. I settled on one that seemed comfortable enough and didn’t even bother to negotiate much, figuring that this was a purchase I was unlikely to make again for a decade or more. (FYI, it was about $800 for the mattress and box spring.) ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2015, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mattress-recommendations-and-shopping-tips/718615/16 "2015-06-24T15:10:45Z")
I just have one thing to add… be aware when you’re laying on the test mattresses at the mattress shop that some of them are sort of 2-in-1 test mattresses, with different firmnesses on different sides. My wife, me and the mattress salesman had a bit of a “who’s on first” thing when she and I laid down on one of these, and both proclaimed it to be perfect. The salesman asked “Which one?” We said “This one!” and after another go-round, he explained that I was laying on the firmer side, and my wife on the softer side. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2015, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mattress-recommendations-and-shopping-tips/718615/17 "2015-06-24T16:41:18Z")
I like soft, squishy mattresses. I wanted foam because I like how it feels. I checked out Mattress Underground, found reviews of Dream Foam, [found one](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0092UCKNO?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00) on Amazon that seemed like it was squishy and a good buy, read the reviews, went to their website, and ordered it. Love it. I’ve had it for a year. I was replacing a latex mattress that was simply too firm and I could never make it work. I do not use a box spring. I have an adjustable bed. I know that mattress sellers do not recommend reusing a box spring but I don’t know if that is just to make you buy a new one or if it’s a real thing. Hope some of this is useful, from another side-sleeper who likes a soft bed! ---
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2015, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mattress-recommendations-and-shopping-tips/718615/18 "2015-06-24T18:04:11Z")
I just bought a new mattress a month or so ago. When I first saw this thread, I was hoping for more info since I was in the market. I first eliminated bed types that I found uncomfortable. The memory foam ones felt weird to me. The response of the foam was too slow for me. I would roll over, and the foam would take a few seconds to respond. Since I tend to flip around a lot, I found that to be annoying. The firm offering of all brands were too uncomfortable for me. That left the softer version of the big name brands (which all start with the letter S in the USA) for me to consider. I spent about 45 minutes total laying on them. I picked a pillow top (I think Serta) because it felt best. On other soft mattresses, it felt like I was only being supported by a few points when I was on my side. I could only feel support at my shoulder, hip, and knee. I figured that would not be ideal in the long term. In the one that I bought, I felt support across my entire body in any position. It seemed that the pillow top made it feel soft, but the support right under that was very good. So I pointed and said “that one.” Took out my credit card and paid for it. Too much energy to haggle. ---
**Author:** ![RickG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rickg/32/5174_2.png) [@RickG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickG)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2015, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mattress-recommendations-and-shopping-tips/718615/19 "2015-06-24T19:26:03Z")
Anybody here tried [Casper](http://casper.com) (or one of the other similar online-only purveyors)? I hear their ads on podcasts about 4 times a day. The 100-day return policy seems especially attractive, and the prices seem reasonable (and every podcast ad comes with a $50-off coupon code). We are shopping for a new bed for our daughter, which will become a guest bed in a couple of years when she graduates from college. She loves the Tempurpedic beds in the dorms at school, but those are quite pricey. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2015, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mattress-recommendations-and-shopping-tips/718615/20 "2015-06-29T01:18:02Z")
So I checked out my first latex mattresses. Not bad. I definitely go for softer rather than firmer, and something that feels more like a traditional mattress than memory foam, so latex does seem like a good fit for me if I don’t go completely traditional. The ones I liked best were sale priced at $900 and $1100, including delivery. Both also included box springs; I didn’t ask about the euroslat base mentioned above. Gives me food for thought for sure. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mattress-recommendations-and-shopping-tips/718615.md?page=2)