Mattress

Tim_Deegan

property.advert wrote: »

Thanks for your guidelines. The thing is just how can you tell who is an independent manufacturer ? The whole business, like much of furniture, seems to be full of spivs and even the big players such as John Lewis are accused of re-branding cheap merchandise as their own.

If in doubt then just ask me, and I'll find out if I don't know.

property.advert wrote: »

I used Alphabeds but they closed the shop in TCR and are now only in Wales, though I'd use them based on experience. However, I'd like to use someone where I can go and see the product in London and not some crappy store on the market !

If you go with an on line seller who gives a satisfaction guarantee, then it is their interest to make sure you make the right choice the first time. Otherwise it will cost them money to replace your mattress if you don't like it.

So phone them first, and ask advice. If they are pushy, and are trying to get you to just buy the most expensive, rather than what is most suitable for you, then hang up.

property.advert wrote: »

I found these guys in North London. Is this the type of thing you mean or is this still factoring in too much profit for the firm and we should go further up the supply chain ?

http://www.tauruspinebeds.co.uk/products_mattresses.php
http://www.tauruspinebeds.co.uk/about.php

I suspect that they don't actually make their own mattresses, and that they are made for them, and then rebranded.

tom.senex

Tim, which independent manufactures would you actually recommend please?
As a guideline in store we tried this which we really liked
http://www.johnlewis.com/230436593/Product.aspx
I also notice this is a no turn mattress, why do you advise to avoid them?

Many thanks

Tim_Deegan

tom.senex wrote: »

Tim, which independent manufactures would you actually recommend please?
As a guideline in store we tried this which we really liked
http://www.johnlewis.com/230436593/Product.aspx
I also notice this is a no turn mattress, why do you advise to avoid them?

Many thanks

I'm not allowed to recommend anyone I'm afraid.

For many years we have all been told to turn our mattresses on a regular basis to make them wear evenly, and make them last longer. Then memory foam came along, and due to the high cost of memory foam they only put it on one side. Then they would tell us that it is for our convenience. This is complete rubbish, and it is only to production costs. The mattress won't last anywhere near as long as a two sided one (as long as you turn it).

The general trend amongst the bigger brands in the bed industry is to cut costs by increasing automated production, and lowering quality to cut costs. In fact there is one large group of companies whos average life for their mattresses is between one and two years. This is why I say you should stay well away from big manufacturers. The John Lewis mattresses will most likely be made by large companies.

tom.senex

Thanks Tim, have followed your suggestions and looked for independent manufactures on the web.

Came across this, do you think - in terms of firmness and possible likeability - it may be similar to the one in John Lewis (as above) we tried?

http://www.bedkingdom.co.uk/la-romantica-venice-mattress.html#

It's even free delivery!

The only issue is that the layer of memory foam may keep us too warm during the summer.

property.advert

Tim_Deegan wrote: »

I suspect that they don't actually make their own mattresses, and that they are made for them, and then rebranded.

I think they even state that they went looking for mattresses and thought these were the "best" they found for the price.

Sorry to keep plugging away but if you think the best deals are from the guys who actually stitch the things together, then where are they ?

Are there really UK based people who make mattresses at a price which is competitive with the buying power of the main retailers ?

Tim_Deegan

property.advert wrote: »

I think they even state that they went looking for mattresses and thought these were the "best" they found for the price.

Sorry to keep plugging away but if you think the best deals are from the guys who actually stitch the things together, then where are they ?

Are there really UK based people who make mattresses at a price which is competitive with the buying power of the main retailers ?

You won't be able to buy from the manufacturers themselves, you would have to buy from a retailer. You would have to ask them who makes their mattresses.

It seems that most shops that are set up to sell their own hand made furniture, usually charge very high prices for extra items (like mattresses).



Tom, there is no sutch thing as free delivery. You either pay for it included in the price of the mattress, or it is listed seperately.

There are climate control fabrics available like Climasmart and Outlast that regulate the temperature.

BLUis

Tim_Deegan wrote: »

I'm not allowed to recommend anyone I'm afraid.

Ok you cant recommend anyone - BUT if you were to buy a mattress, where would you go. Just asking out of curiosity.....;)

jamiesd

I've been looking at the Hypnia ones on ebay.
Mind you if you buy from there i'm sure your guarantee would be worthless

Tim_Deegan

BLUis wrote: »

Tim_Deegan wrote: »

I'm not allowed to recommend anyone I'm afraid.

Ok you cant recommend anyone - BUT if you were to buy a mattress, where would you go. Just asking out of curiosity.....;)

From myself obviously, but I'm not selling on here.

property.advert

Tim_Deegan wrote: »

I'm not allowed to recommend anyone I'm afraid.

Er ... why not ? have I missed something ? PM if you think able.

Ford probably produce 20 variants of a car but there are 10,000 variants of a mattress. How on earth is the guy on the street going to make an educated decision ?

So how do we find manufacturer "X" who does decent mattresses (which you presumably know but can't say) ?

Even if we grilled these small suppliers, we have no idea whether what they tell us is of any use and we don't know whether they are marking up their product too much.

We can't tell whether a mattress at £500 is a good deal because it is a top quality one marked up fairly by the retailer or whether it is a much cheaper mattress, market up much more by another independent retailer.

If we knew the mattress manufacturers to look out for then we could be forewarned. Just because someone suggests or recommends something does not mean we are blind enough to follow.

I like and recommend Nokia phones and Panasonic electrics.