Where can I find reviews of the Sleep Better Store mattresses?

[aaelghat]

My wife and I have been mattress shopping. We’re thinking of getting an air bed similar to the Select Comfort mattresses that are sold in dedicated retail stores in many malls. The main thing I don’t like about Select Comfort is the price of the mattresses - and I’ve read many reviews that although the mattresses are very good, you overpay compared to what you get.

So, I found similar mattresses (or so it seems) on the internet at the Sleep Better Store. They seem more affordable, but the problem is I can’t find any consumer reviews on the air mattresses sold there. I’ve checked epinions, and I’ve spent a long time googling to no avail.

So my basic question is, how can I find out if there are complaints (or kudos) about the mattresses sold by the Sleep Better Store?

[brachyrhynchos]

One place to start is epinions.com. I’ve been using them for household items. Reviews are done by consumers and can be pretty informative when there are plenty of reviews. You get the good, the bad, and the fugly. It’s less helpful when there are only a couple of reviews, as in the case of sleepbetterstore. They also review the Select Comfort mattresses (there are many more reviews, and they may also contain something about the store itself).

Here’s the Better Business Bureau’s info. You may also want to check with your state consumer advocate for any complaints.

(By the way - I don’t know what kind of mattress the Select Comfort is so maybe this doesn’t come into consideration, and I absolutely love my mile-high King Koil - but avoid mattresses deeper than the standard kind. It’s been a real pain to find decent fitted sheets that don’t cost an arm and a leg.)

Good luck!

[aaelghat]

Thanks, brachyrhynchos - your response was very complete.

I should have been more verbose in my OP. The Sleep Better Store doesn’t sell the Select Comfort mattresses - they sell a competitor to Select Comfort. I had found the couple of reviews on epinions about Sleep Better, but I was hoping there was more out there. I’ve discovered the mattress manufacturer is Innomax which also makes mattresses for Comfort Craft and Luxury Support, but alas their are no reviews on those mattresses on epinions.

[mhendo]

Buying a mattress is an exercise in frustration, and this is exactly what the mattress manufacturers and retailers want. Through a variety of techniques, such as marketing the same mattresses under different names, and refusing to adopt industry-wide standards, they make comparison shopping very difficult for the customer.

Cite 1:

Shopping for a mattress can be frustrating and confusing because there are few industry standards. In Europe, firmness is measured on a standard scale, with one being the firmest and 10 being the softest. In the United States, the market is clotted with a mix of terms that vary by company: Some offer firm, medium-firm and soft mattresses. Some use “plush” to describe softness. Others use their own number system to denote firmness levels.

Mattresses also come in a variety of materials. Some are latex, some use a type of foam developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration; most have a coil-like support system. In general, more coils mean more support, but even that can be misleading. Smaller mattresses require fewer coils, and some models are made with a single, tightly wound coil.

To make matters worse, some manufacturers sell the same mattress to different retail chains, but often license them under different names. This makes comparison shopping even more difficult.

And here’s a warning and some advice from Consumer Reports:

If you think shopping for a car is an ordeal, try shopping for a mattress. Sure, you can lie down on a mattress, maybe even take it home for a 30-day “test drive.” But try to peek at its innards and you’ll be thrown out of the showroom. Worse still, while a Ford Taurus is a Ford Taurus nationwide, the names of essentially identical mattresses–called “comparables” by the industry–often differ from store to store. Independent bedding shops typically offer mattress sets from manufacturers’ national lines. Major chains such as Macy’s and Sears and telephone-order sources such as Dial-A-Mattress sell mattresses from the same manufacturers’ lines but with names unique to the chain. Comparables are supposed to share basic components, construction, and firmness but may differ in color, fabric pattern, or quilting stitch. Consumers are the losers, since they can’t comparison shop. This name game allows retailers to vary the price of similar mattresses by hundreds of dollars.

<snip>

The only way to judge mattress comfort is to try out a variety of brands and models in the store. (If you buy by phone, of course, you’ll have to do your testing at home–after having made sure you can exchange an unsatisfactory mattress.) A good mattress will gently support your body at all points. Although we could find no published scientific data on which type of mattress is best, orthopedic experts generally recommend the firmest mattress that you find comfortable.

Never pay list price for a mattress. Sales are common, and deeper savings are often possible if you bargain. If you spend at least $450 for a twin-size mattress set, $600 for a full-size, $800 for a queen-size, and $1,000 for a king-size, you can get a high-quality, durable product. Spending more for a mattress gets you thicker padding, damask ticking, and perhaps a pillowtop–a cushion on both sides of the mattress that’s filled with foam, wool, silk, or a down blend. Mattress-by-phone businesses usually offer rock-bottom prices, especially if you persist in seeking low quotes, but you buy the bedding unseen and untried. Be sure you can exchange it.