I have been shopping around a good bit lately and one sales trick I have come across to disguise the true cost of the mattress is the box spring swap.  I wanted to get everyone's take on this.

They tell you their best price and then say that price can come down significantly if you choose another 'lower level' box spring.  This box spring apparently does not void the warranty in any way.  When asked the difference they will give very vague answers.

So my question is 2 parts:

Is this just a trick to hide the price and muddy the negotiations?

How much does the box spring really affect the mattress?

Thanks

it is not a standard sales trick here but could be in the sates. some companys will offer diffrent quality of bases - platform top, open coils, pocket sprung, and these will all affect the price. some charge diffrent for diffrent qualitys of fabric and most will charge diffrent for drawers or not even leg choice, i have 1 company i deal with that has 7 diffrent legs (well from high quailty wooden one with a brass glide caster to a down and dirty plastic caster) and every one is a diffrent price!

it could just be a case of a 'lower level' one uses less quantity of material to make so is cheeper. what kind of diffrence in price are we talking here?

and a good quality box spring will make a world of diffrence to how you feel on the bed and the lifespan of your matt!

I've had the same tactic pulled on me. I think that if you're at all hesistant to purchase the set because of the price, they'll try to tempt you by offering a lower quality, lower priced box spring. In my case, they were offering a box spring that I know for a fact was only half as sturdy and supportive as the one that comprises the set. I went with the box spring that comes with the set because it's of a much higher quality.