Mattress Forum

Are we that stupid or do we have not enough choices?  When someone is beaten down by lack of sleep, it is pretty easy to sell him a new bed that promises comfort and rest.  And at first, almost any bed will feel better than the old bed that hurt.  It isn't until the new bed fails soon after purchase, repeat ad nauseum, that the consumer starts to get it. 

This list is fairly small compared to the amount of people who are desperately seeking a good bed.  Leads me to believe that there are millions of folks suffering with their beds.  We CAN'T be alone in this.  Actually, if you bring the subject up in conversation at a party, either the person has somehow stumbled into a good bed that works for them(and it is very personal, and possibly somewhat age-related), or they are suffering from a bad back that is bed related. 

I think the answer is mostly that the bed industry knows that people will buy the promise of good sleep, we need it like we need food and air, and they want to sell beds.  If a bed lasts a long time, they won't make as much money.  Somehow the life of a mattress has become shortened to an obscenely brief period of time, probably mostly due to cheap PU foam and lack of craftsmanship.  I remember when 20 years was do-able, now we are lucky if they make 2 or three years. 

Kait

Complicated?   First of all, the industry makes it d*mned complicated, intentionally.  They pile layers of carp on there, and then make it very difficult for the consumer to decipher exactly what the product is or isn't.   Additionally, I set out to buy a REALLY GOOD mattress and box spring this time, and I found it complicated because the type of durable and well-constructed tradtional innerspring mattress that I want to buy is no longer the typical mass-produced and widely distributed item.    I can't go to any of the 4 stores in my immediate vicinity and buy a suitable mattress and box spring there.   I have Sleepy Hollow mattress store retail chain, and three furniture stores.   In the last town that I lived in, I had Mattress Warehouse out of WV, three major furniture stores, plus Sears, Penney's, Kaufmann's, and some other cheap-o mattress store that I've forgotten the name of.  And they all carried exactly the same junkware.   Retail showrooms do not at this time carry exactly what I am willing to spend money on.  So, the next places to cast my wider net are a 2-hour drive from here, and I just don't have extra time in my day to go there.

Why do they sell junk?   Well, and this is just my opinoin:   Most people that I know are not going to research a mattress / foundation purchase nearly as much as they should.   It might actually be the least researched purchase they will make.  "Feels good?  Buy it and let's get outta here."   They will go to the 4 local stores here, test what's on the floor, maybe weakly try to comparison shop, but really not be able to, or possibly not motivated to put the time and effort into boiling off all of the thick wax coating those salespeople pour out when they are waxing profit-ic about that $2.56 pile of synthetic foam stacked on a cheap and flimsy spring, with a huge price tag attached. 

Why do Americans buy that junk?  Well, there is a mystique, no longer supported by facts or consumer's experiences, that those big brand names that have existed for a few generations now are the absolute best quality that money can buy.  And they cost a lot of money.   Having tried a Restonic and a Sealy Posturepedic, I set out to find a better product.   Fool me once, shame on you, Mattress Makerzz; fool me twice, shame on me.   So now I am really determined to AVOID buying any of those big names, and I will only buy from a smaller company, even IF I have never heard of it before and I have to drive 400 miles and haul the stuff back here myself.   I am now armed with much more knowledge.  And due to being disappointed in the quality and performance of the two name-brans sets I purchased at full retail or better, it's very difficult to pry anymore money out of my wallet.   You are alienating your customers, and making them educate themselves,  Mattress Makerzz.  lol