Mattress

tom.senex

Hi
Can some one suggest where to buy a good value for money mattress?
Have so far looked at John Lewis and Dreams.
I'm looking to spend 300-400quid.
Much appreciated.
Tom

Tim_Deegan

tom.senex wrote: »

Hi
Can some one suggest where to buy a good value for money mattress?
Have so far looked at John Lewis and Dreams.
I'm looking to spend 300-400quid.
Much appreciated.
Tom

That's two places to stay well away from if you want good value for money.


Shop on line, stay away from big brand names, and make sure the seller has a good return policy.

paulwf

I'm sorry but I have to disagree with the advice given by Tim Deegan...everyone has different opinions though, I'm in no way saying mine is any more valid

With a mattress you need to go to the shop and try them out. A £400 mattress that you got online for £300 then found to be too soft isn't a saving of £100 it is a complete waste of £300!

Certainly with memory foam the foam comes in different thicknesses and different densities, we tried a dozen out in a shop and they were all very different. "Memory foam" as a generic term doesn't mean anything useful when buying a mattress.

Yes, you could try them out in a store and then get the exact model and try and get the price down online (I don't advocate that as it isn't really fair to the store but that is down to personal opinion). However, we got our from Sleep Right with free delivery, a months no quibble return if we didn't get on with the mattress and interest free credit...seemed like a good deal and they did spend a lot of time with us making sure we got the right mattress.

moutard

hi tom
iv just seen this in very its a good matress but comes with the bed to i think its a good deal but donr know if you want the bed too http://www.very.co.uk/rf/vry/p.do/valentino-metal-bedstead-with-free-airsprung-mattress?Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&SNtt=mccord+valentino+bedspread&groupId=641892517&Nu=this_product&SNtk=generic_search&Np=1&SN=118+85&Ntt=641892517&D=641892517&Ntk=group_search&Dx=mode%2bmatchall&thisprod=641892517&N=118+85&Nty=1&Mis_item_id=15&Mis_item_loc_id=1&product=641892517&selectedImg=A912_SP829_01_TH280a.jpg

Tim_Deegan

paulwf wrote: »

I'm sorry but I have to disagree with the advice given by Tim Deegan...everyone has different opinions though, I'm in no way saying mine is any more valid

With a mattress you need to go to the shop and try them out. A £400 mattress that you got online for £300 then found to be too soft isn't a saving of £100 it is a complete waste of £300!

I fully understand your point of view, which is the same as many people. However there is a way to get the right mattress at a very low price, with no risk.

That's why I said buy from seller with a good return policy, in other words a satisfaction guarantee. It's only a waste of money if you buy from someone without a satisfaction guarantee.

You can only get a very rough idea from laying on a mattress in a shop for 10 mins.

If an on line seller gives a satisfaction guarantee, then it is in their interest to make sure you get exactly the right mattress the first time. Otherwise it could cost them a lot of money replacing the mattress. And for this reason the sales staff should make sure that the customer gets exactly the right mattress for them, rather than the most expensive one that earns the sales rep the most commission.

Obviously I don't know the sales staff at the shop you bought from, so I don't know how they operate. But in general in most of the big chains, the sales staff are commission driven, and would never advise a cheaper mattress if that was more suitable.

paulwf wrote: »

Certainly with memory foam the foam comes in different thicknesses and different densities, we tried a dozen out in a shop and they were all very different. "Memory foam" as a generic term doesn't mean anything useful when buying a mattress.

Yes memory foam does come in different thicknesses, and densities. And in many shops they will tell you "the deeper the better", because they want you to buy the most expensive one. The truth is that this is complete rubbish.

The memory foam is only there to mould to your body, providing even support without causing pressure points. 2" to 2.5" is enough to do this. If the memory foam is too deep then it won't be enough to mould to your body. If it is too deep, then due to it being open celled, you will just sink deeper into it. This can cause the memory foam to engulf you, making you too hot, and making it difficult to change position. For this reason the optimum depth is 2" to 2.5".

As far as density goes, if it is too low, then you won't get very good support. If it is too high, then you will get excellent support, but due to the slow recovery rate, you could find it very difficult to change position. So the optimum density (which is obviously a compromise), is 60 to 70kg per m3.


Memory foam is not a generic term. Whoever told you that obviously didn't undertsand. The last time I heard anyone say that they were trying to pass cheap reflex foam off as memory foam. Memory foam is foam that has a slow recovery rate leaving an imprint for a short time after pressure is released. It does this because unlike reflex foam which is made up from lots of bubbles of air, visco elastic memory foam is open celled. This means that the air can flow through it rather than it being trapped. Memory foam has to be high density to work properly, which means that the holes are very small only allowing air to pass through very slowly. The result is that memory foam will mould to your body without causing pressure points, rather than trying to push back and regain it's original shape.


You also mentioned that you got free delivery...........delivery has to be paid for, so if it says free delivery, then they have just included it in the price of the mattress.

Tim_Deegan

moutard wrote: »

hi tom
iv just seen this in very its a good matress but comes with the bed to i think its a good deal but donr know if you want the bed too http://www.very.co.uk/rf/vry/p.do/valentino-metal-bedstead-with-free-airsprung-mattress?Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&SNtt=mccord+valentino+bedspread&groupId=641892517&Nu=this_product&SNtk=generic_search&Np=1&SN=118+85&Ntt=641892517&D=641892517&Ntk=group_search&Dx=mode%2bmatchall&thisprod=641892517&N=118+85&Nty=1&Mis_item_id=15&Mis_item_loc_id=1&product=641892517&selectedImg=A912_SP829_01_TH280a.jpg

My advice is to never get the mattress that comes with package deals. They will usually be the very bottom of the range, and you will be able to feel the springs through it.

If you are only after a mattress, then forget the bedstead, and spend the money on a much better mattress.

Geoff001

My opioion is that Dreams, John lewis and Bensons all offer poor value for money. we have just spent alot of time looking for a new matress.
some interesting points to consider.
Dreams etc all charge about 30-50% extra mark up basically they get a mattress say a sealy or vi sprung and then re brand it add 20-50 % for the very same mattress and call it something else. for example john lewis re brands vi spring and adds a couple of hundred quid and sells it as "their own vi spring"
if you have to go with on of the above choose john lewis at least their customer service is better that the other two.

So what to do.
The cheapest option is to go online, problem there is you cant the the mattress.
you other option is to go somewhere independant, which can be hard to find essex beds is pretty good if you in the london area. also found some reasonable prices at paul simon.
Personally i would always try a mattress before i buy but this will certianally increase the leg work in a market dominated by Dreams john lewis etc

Good luck

Geoff001

one option i forgot is to go to dreams john lewis etc find a bet you like and thentey to ring the company ie sleepezy or sealy and ask what model is the same some will tell you some wont.

Tim_Deegan

Geoff001 wrote: »

My opioion is that Dreams, John lewis and Bensons all offer poor value for money. we have just spent alot of time looking for a new matress.
some interesting points to consider.
Dreams etc all charge about 30-50% extra mark up basically they get a mattress say a sealy or vi sprung and then re brand it add 20-50 % for the very same mattress and call it something else. for example john lewis re brands vi spring and adds a couple of hundred quid and sells it as "their own vi spring"
if you have to go with on of the above choose john lewis at least their customer service is better that the other two.

So what to do.
The cheapest option is to go online, problem there is you cant the the mattress.
you other option is to go somewhere independant, which can be hard to find essex beds is pretty good if you in the london area. also found some reasonable prices at paul simon.
Personally i would always try a mattress before i buy but this will certianally increase the leg work in a market dominated by Dreams john lewis etc

Good luck

You hit the nail right on the head with your post. Except that in your last paragraph you say you should allways try before you buy. I can fully understand that most people will think they have bought the right mattress after trying it out for 10 mins in a showroom. However this can only give a very rough idea. You need to sleep on a mattress for at least a week befor you can tell for sure if it is the right one for you.

So shop on line and make a huge saving. Make sure the seller has a satisfaction guarantee in case you decide you don't like it. Call the seller to make sure you make the right choice, as it is in their interst that you get it right the first time, otherwise it will cost them more money. If they start trying to sell you mattresses full of gimmicks, just hang up.

tom.senex

Thanks to you all for the time taken to respond to my post.
I would have never thought that buying a new mattress could be such a headache.

Will look at suggested websites, btw I'm looking for a pocket spring mattress.
Thanks again, much appreciated.

paulwf

Tim_Deegan wrote: »

Memory foam is not a generic term. Whoever told you that obviously didn't undertsand.

Sorry, to clarify what I meant by "memory foam" being treated as a generic term is that many people think the actual mattresses are all the same...as witnessed by them being knocked out on home shopping channels all the time just because they are memory foam. Although the material is what is meant by memory foam people don't realise there are different thicknesses and densities giving different characteristics.

I guess I was lucky as the salesman I got was a bit of a mattress geek He didn't push us to buy the most expensive and in fact steered us away from the expensive ones that made you sink in too much.