Hi everyone!

I'm going to purchase my first mattress soon and have been doing research on Sealys, Simmons, Serta, memory foam, toppers, latex, have read articles online and in Consumer Reports, went to a mattress store today, and I had absolutely no idea there was so much to know and how many options there are! Hopefully with some research I can get a great mattress that will provide great sleep. I'm also thinking more about quality of sleep, initially I was planning on buying a cheap mattress but having done some research I think it makes more sense to get a quality one to improve my sleep.

I have a number of questions and I tried to do searches on the forum here but have not been totally successful in finding what I'm looking for.

1. How do you distinguish between coils and upholstery? When I go back to a mattress store and try out different ones should I try to determine the ideal coil number for me, and then try to find different mattresses with that number of coils with different kinds of upholsteries, some soft, some very thin? I'm confused because more coils is supposed to be firmer, but then a person just gets a feathertop upholstery which negates the firmness... so I don't see how these play together. It says in the Buying Guide that the upholstery is for comfort and once you fall asleep it is the number of coils that determines the support, in which case why wouldn't the most coils be the best? Or do you have to determine it based on how your back feels in the morning?

2. What's the purpose of mattress toppers? It seems that some use them to make cheap mattresses more comfortable, but wouldn't it be a pure comfort issue since its not increasing the support of the bed any (or is it?)?

3. How reputable are memory foam mattresses sold online on ebay? Eg, see the following one:

http://cgi.ebay.com/10-FULL-DBL-5LB-DENSITY-MEMORY-FOAM-MATTRESS-bed-beds_W0QQitemZ190297159413QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item190297159413&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2|65%3A15|39%3A1|240%3A1318#rpdId

It's being comparted to a Temperpedic, is 5 pounds density, which sounds pretty good for a foam mattress, and there is a 10 year warranty and 60 day money back guarantee. It's also an ebay power seller.

4. I found some inexpensive mattresses online, a Sealy Backsaver alone for $220 and a 390 Bonnel innerspring coil system for $200. How do I determine the quality of these, can I look at number of coils, manufacturer warranty, etc?

Thanks for any input!

Hi!  I can absolutely relate - four months ago I knew we needed a new mattress.  I had no clue what adventure my husband and I were about to embark upon.
First of all, try out the Temperpedic style mattresses in store.  A friend of mine swears by hers, but I have read many different opinions.  For some people, they sleep HOT, and you really do sink into them.  Once you are settled in, it's hard to roll around and move.  My husband and I tried a few in the stores - they were not for us.  Try out any bed you are seriously considering for at least 15 minutes.  Lay on all sides.  Also, any bed you try in store is going to feel completely different after a full night's rest.  I would check on the return policy - doesn't hurt to check with the BBB either.  It's pretty easy to look up any company online.  I think there are a few ebay companies listed as well - I know they hold records of many online companies.  I'm sure you've already read customer reviews on the store.  :-)
Take your time on this decision and research this site as well as the old forum (http://legacy.whatsthebest-mattress.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=wtb-mattress).  You may have done all this already - I just know how helpful it's been for me. 
Mattress toppers are used as an added layer of comfort.  I didn't think it would make much difference, but a 1" soft latex topper (20ILD) REALLY did help quite a bit.  Toppers on innerspring mattresses: pillowtops.  They are really finicky things - most people seem to get body impressions in them after just a few months.  The PU foam collapses pretty quickly and the comfort level with it as well.  Many people suggest buying a firm mattress and building your own comfort layers: memory foam, latex, cuddlebeds, intelligel, or just plain convoluted foam.  When you consider the expense of a plush or pillowtop mattress vs a plain old firm one, you actually have money to spare to build your own layers.  Then, if these collapse, you strip the top layers and start again instead of throwing out the whole bed or performing mattress surgery!  I am really impressed by the people who actually take apart their innerspring mattressess and rebuild them!  However, I would not want to do it.  Yikes!
I'm not sure about coils and upholstery.  I got frustrated with the reviews on innerspring mattresses and started to look for alternatives (love the latex!).  However, latex is not for everyone.  It seems to be a good split with any type of mattress - memory foam, latex, innerspring, waterbeds, airbeds - it really depends on your own comfort level and what feels good to you.  I know this is ridiculously unhelpful, and I struggled with this, but it's true.  Not everything is going to work for everyone.  I'm the type of gal who goes to Consumer Reports, reads what needs to be read, and makes a decision from there.  If you are looking into investing in your mattress and truly making an informed decision it's going to take time and probably some frustration.  My husband and I are still perfecting our bed, but oh it's so nice!
All I can do from here is offer encouragement - you are not alone in your confusion and frustration.  I'm sure a few other members of this forum will also reply, hopefully with more helpful answers.  Hang in there - it's worth it!

We spent about four months recently to see if we wanted any of the alternatives (foam, latex, innerspring) and we went to a ton of stores and sat on and stretched out on a ton of different mattresses plus we did blinding hours of online research.  We talked to all of our family and friends.  Prices were rediculously high - at least a grand for the lowest of the low ends of all makes and models.  It was interesting to watch mattresses go "on sale" at the big chain stores at 1/2 off from a very inflated list price.  We learned about coil counts and coil "turns" and enclosed coils and continuous coils and then we moved on to all the different tops like Euro and Pillow (cheap padded covers over the core that seem to fail in months or less).  We did pretended sleep testing in stores of memory foam and latex and the amazingly over priced tempur-pedics.

From reading a ton of online testimonials we learned that a buyer shouldn't pay much attention to mattress warranties because they all seem to have little weasel words built in so that most anything you do will void the warranty and even the manufacturers seem to suggest in their literature that regardless of warranty claims a mattress should probably be replaced within five to seven years or "when you notice that you are not as comfortable as when you made the purchase."  We learned that only about 60% of innerspring buyers were happy with their mattresses - even after just a few weeks or months while 80% or more of latex/form buyers were happy but NO mattress of any kind scored near 100% satisfaction.

We wanted a bed that would allow us to adjust firmness easily but we didn't want an air chamber type - we have one in our rv and it's okay for camping but not something we want in our home bedroom.

Anywho, after all that time invested in our research we chose the mattress that hardly anyone seems to respect - the waterbed mattress in a hard side bed frame and our latest model is even better than the three others we have slept on for over 22 years.  Compared to all other mattress types they are inexpensive, easily adjustable for firmness, gently heated or comfortably cool depending on thermostat setting with no springs to fail or foam to permanently indent.  New models can be completely waveless and extra firm (but never hard) so if you think you have looked at and tested all mattress types please consider giving a modern and recently designed waterbed mattress a critical look.  We're both older and my wife suffers from multiple and permanent back conditions and we both consistently sleep through each night on this type mattress.  To give a complete picture we combined the waterbed mattress with a semi-firm three inch thick 4.3 Cloud9 foam topper - this morning was like every other morning - we both went WOW what a comfortable bed!

Best of luck with you qwest for the "perfect sleep platform" - It's a very individual and personal decision and we are very glad to have found the perfect solution for us.

Jim