Mattress Buying Guide

How Retailers Sell Mattresses

Types of pricing

Every Day Low Pricing - Some retailers and wholesale shops are beginning to sell bedding with an every day low price format. This simplifies the purchase decision for you as you do not need to worry about mattresses being on sale next week. In our guide we provide you with the every day low price of mattresses.

Sales - Most retailers and wholesale shops run special sales 90% of the time. When they want to increase the number of brand X mattresses, they increase the discount on the X branded items. The primary reason mattress discounters do this is because they want to attract you into the store and make you feel like you have received a good deal. This style of advertising is confusing and will hopefully be replaced with every day low pricing.

You noticed a "Great!" deal in your Saturday newspaper on a brand name mattress? I bet you did. I also bet that when you arrive at the retailer you will be directed away from that particular mattress. Some of the practices we have heard of are downright funny. When you show up at the store the discounted mattress is in the poorly lit corner of the showroom with the plastic cover still on it. To get to it you need to walk past the expensive mattresses that are set up in inviting ways. We have even heard of sales folks replying to people asking for the great deal with lines like, "Oh, you don't want THAT mattress. Nobody buys THAT mattress." Their job is to extract as much profit from each sale as possible and they simply make less money on certain mattresses - keep this in mind.

In addition to tactics outlined above you will also find some retailers using methods similar to used car salespeople. "We can discount this unit x% but I can only do that today since my boss is not in..." "It seems to me Mr. Maglacutty that your little lady likes the one with the gold plated ticking - doesn't she deserve the best?" This is funny stuff unless you let yourself be manipulated by it. Keep your sense of humor and a clear mind and your shopping experience does not need to be painful.

As you are comparing mattresses you will need to use some objective measures. First, read through this guide fully so you understand the terminology you will need. Second, take a notebook with you when you are shopping. As you narrow down your preferences at one retailer make a note of your two favorite mattresses. Write down the manufacturer and model name. You will also need to write down the other stats on the mattress (coil count, pillow-top, super pillow-top, firm, etc.). Get as specific as you can here. You will then have something to take with you to the next retailer so you can compare. Be ready for the next retailer to not have the model name you are looking for - this is typical. Rather than using the model name us the manufacuterer name, coil count, gauge and type of top and check out what they have. Most likely this is exactly the same mattress you saw at the first retailer just with a different model name.