Memory Foam v Pocket Springs with Foam

Tim_Deegan

ihatecaptcha wrote: »

I think you are leaving out the factor of being able to try out mattresses before you buy, and see for yourself what they feel like. Of course it's perfectly true that trying out a mattress in a shop is not the same as sleeping on it, but it does give you an idea of the difference between various methods of construction, various degrees of firmness, etc. A far better idea than you can get from buying a mattress by mail order, i.e. online. In a showroom you can see what you're buying -- big difference, for me. But it does cost money to provide that facility. London showrooms don't come cheap. To me it's reasonable that the prices reflect both the quality of what you're buying and also the retailer's overheads.

It's two different models of selling/buying. The online retailing model may suit some customers, while the Warren Evans, showroom-style retailing model may suit others. Both models have advantages and disadvantages, for the customer.

What you say makes a lot of sense. However although shops have overheads, so do on line retailers who deliver nationwide. So there is no excuse for a shop to charge 3x more for a mattress.

Yes you can try a mattress out in a shop, but as you say it only gives a very rough idea of what a mattress feels like. And I know for a fact that many people regret buying the mattress they liked the feel of in the shop. With on line retailers there is the fact that you can't try them out, and the service you can get from these retailers may vary massively. But if you speak to the retailer (and they are good at what they do), and give them all the information they need, then they should be able to come up with the right mattress 99% of the time. And if they have a good returns policy (beware as many don't), then you can always exchange or return it if you don't like it after several nights sleeping on it.

Most people would go for a pocket sprung mattress for less than the price that Warren Evans charge for an open coil sprung one. And pocket sprung would give far superior support.

ihatecaptcha

Tim_Deegan wrote: »

What you say makes a lot of sense. However although shops have overheads, so do on line retailers who deliver nationwide. So there is no excuse for a shop to charge 3x more for a mattress.

Which is the mattress you have in mind which you believe is equivalent to the £275 Warren Evans mattress, but costs one-third as much? I make that £93.18.

Yes you can try a mattress out in a shop, but as you say it only gives a very rough idea of what a mattress feels like. And I know for a fact that many people regret buying the mattress they liked the feel of in the shop. With on line retailers there is the fact that you can't try them out, and the service you can get from these retailers may vary massively. But if you speak to the retailer (and they are good at what they do), and give them all the information they need, then they should be able to come up with the right mattress 99% of the time. And if they have a good returns policy (beware as many don't), then you can always exchange or return it if you don't like it after several nights sleeping on it.

Now that's something I've wondered about. What happens to mattresses that are returned after they've been slept on for a while? Do they get destroyed, or recycled, or are they re-sold as secondhand? I believe (I hope!) it's against the law to re-sell them as new, but what does happen to them?

Most people would go for a pocket sprung mattress for less than the price that Warren Evans charge for an open coil sprung one. And pocket sprung would give far superior support.

But extra support is not always what's needed. Pocket sprung mattresses are good when there's two people in the bed, because as I understand it the fact that the springs operate independently (to some degree) reduces the disturbance when one person turns over or whatever. I looked at pocket sprung mattresses and concluded that rather than buying a lower-quality pocket-spring mattress, I would be better off going for a good quality open coil sprung mattress, since I only share my bed when I choose to.

Tim_Deegan

ihatecaptcha wrote: »

Which is the mattress you have in mind which you believe is equivalent to the £275 Warren Evans mattress, but costs one-third as much? I make that £93.18.

Obviously not their sale price, but their full price (which is about £100 over priced anyway).

ihatecaptcha wrote: »

Now that's something I've wondered about. What happens to mattresses that are returned after they've been slept on for a while? Do they get destroyed, or recycled, or are they re-sold as secondhand? I believe (I hope!) it's against the law to re-sell them as new, but what does happen to them?

Well that would depend on the individual retailer. So you would have to ask them. I know that some sell them as 'tried out and returned' items on either ebay or a clearance section on their web site.

No reputable retailer would try and sell them as new.

ihatecaptcha wrote: »

But extra support is not always what's needed. Pocket sprung mattresses are good when there's two people in the bed, because as I understand it the fact that the springs operate independently (to some degree) reduces the disturbance when one person turns over or whatever. I looked at pocket sprung mattresses and concluded that rather than buying a lower-quality pocket-spring mattress, I would be better off going for a good quality open coil sprung mattress, since I only share my bed when I choose to.

Extra support is always good in the long term, and the fact that pocket springs all work independently, but with open coil springs you are on a sprung platform, means that the support is going to be far better with pocket springs.

I do agree that it is better to get a top of the range open coil sprung mattress rather than a poor quality budget pocket sprung one. But what I was saying is that you can get a decent quality pocket sprung mattress for around the sale price that Warren Evans charge for their open coil sprung one. And you can get a top of the range open coil sprung mattress for about £100 less.

Like I said though. I'm not criticising your decision, I'm just informing other people who are looking for a mattress.

ihatecaptcha

Tim_Deegan wrote: »

Obviously not their sale price, but their full price (which is about £100 over priced anyway).

So the sensible thing for Warren Evans customers to do is to buy at sale price, or buy the mattress together with the bed, as I did, which you then get a lower combined price. And the beds are beautifully made.

But I'm open-minded. If you can point out a store or a site that sells mattresses of the same quality for a third of the price, I'm certainly ready to reconsider my opinion.

Well that would depend on the individual retailer. So you would have to ask them. I know that some sell them as 'tried out and returned' items on either ebay or a clearance section on their web site.

No reputable retailer would try and sell them as new.

Let's hope not, especially with all these bedbugs around. But the trouble is, the alternatives aren't too great either. I wouldn't have thought there would be a very big market for used mattresses, except in those charity shops that sell furniture to families on benefits. And I think those shops usually get their stock donated free. That's what I did with my old mattress.

If the tried-out-and-returned mattresses get destroyed, on the other hand, that's really bad news from the point of view of the environment, and of course it must add to the retailer's overheads. So that just leaves recycling. But I don't suppose recycling a mattress would recover much of the cost, which must be a considerable disincentive.

This problem is one of the reasons I wouldn't buy a mattress online without the chance of trying it out first -- not only would I not want to have the hassle of returning it, if it wasn't satisfactory, but also I really would rather not be responsible for wasting a whole mattress with just a few nights' sleep.

I do agree that it is better to get a top of the range open coil sprung mattress rather than a poor quality budget pocket sprung one. But what I was saying is that you can get a decent quality pocket sprung mattress for around the sale price that Warren Evans charge for their open coil sprung one.

Could you point out the mattress you are thinking of?

And you can get a top of the range open coil sprung mattress for about £100 less.

Again, could you point out which mattress you have in mind?

It would be interesting to compare.

newleaf

We have a memory foam mattress which was bought very inexpensively on ebay and despatched from a warehouse in Wakefield, where I believe you can visit and buy direct. It's very comfortable. We've had it about 3 years.
The only thing I would say is if you tend to be a hot sleeper, don't get memory foam. The memory foam mattress retains body heat and reflects it back at you. Lovely on dark winter mornings, but absolute hell in midsummer!

ihatecaptcha

newleaf wrote: »

We have a memory foam mattress which was bought very inexpensively on ebay and despatched from a warehouse in Wakefield, where I believe you can visit and buy direct. It's very comfortable. We've had it about 3 years.
The only thing I would say is if you tend to be a hot sleeper, don't get memory foam. The memory foam mattress retains body heat and reflects it back at you. Lovely on dark winter mornings, but absolute hell in midsummer!

Yes, I've heard that. Maybe an Outlast mattress cover would help?

I'm not much drawn to memory foam because to me it sounds like it would be like wallowing around in quicksand. But I suspect that's just an irrational fear on my part!

Tim_Deegan

newleaf wrote: »

We have a memory foam mattress which was bought very inexpensively on ebay and despatched from a warehouse in Wakefield, where I believe you can visit and buy direct. It's very comfortable. We've had it about 3 years.
The only thing I would say is if you tend to be a hot sleeper, don't get memory foam. The memory foam mattress retains body heat and reflects it back at you. Lovely on dark winter mornings, but absolute hell in midsummer!

I presume your mattress is all foam (reflex foam with memory foam on top)? THis type of memory foam mattress can be very warm, as there is no spring layer for the air to circulate through to dissipate the heat.

Tim_Deegan

ihatecaptcha wrote: »

So the sensible thing for Warren Evans customers to do is to buy at sale price, or buy the mattress together with the bed, as I did, which you then get a lower combined price. And the beds are beautifully made.

But I'm open-minded. If you can point out a store or a site that sells mattresses of the same quality for a third of the price, I'm certainly ready to reconsider my opinion.



Let's hope not, especially with all these bedbugs around. But the trouble is, the alternatives aren't too great either. I wouldn't have thought there would be a very big market for used mattresses, except in those charity shops that sell furniture to families on benefits. And I think those shops usually get their stock donated free. That's what I did with my old mattress.

If the tried-out-and-returned mattresses get destroyed, on the other hand, that's really bad news from the point of view of the environment, and of course it must add to the retailer's overheads. So that just leaves recycling. But I don't suppose recycling a mattress would recover much of the cost, which must be a considerable disincentive.

This problem is one of the reasons I wouldn't buy a mattress online without the chance of trying it out first -- not only would I not want to have the hassle of returning it, if it wasn't satisfactory, but also I really would rather not be responsible for wasting a whole mattress with just a few nights' sleep.



Could you point out the mattress you are thinking of?



Again, could you point out which mattress you have in mind?

It would be interesting to compare.

You know very well that I can't recommend anything on here as it could be viewed as advertising.

As for the returned mattresses, you are just speculating. Like I said, ask the individual retailers. I mentioned what some retailers do with them, but as you say there wouldn't be much of a market for tried out and returned mattresses. Well it's even more in the retailers interest to make sure the customer gets the right mattress the first time then, rather than just trying to push people towards the most expensive like most shops do, isn't it?

You really are taking this personally aren't you??? It's a money saving site. So despite what you have chosen to do, for whatever reason. The advice I am giving is for anyone else to help prevent them from making an expensive mistake. And it isn't aimed at you personally.

newleaf

ihatecaptcha wrote: »

I'm not much drawn to memory foam because to me it sounds like it would be like wallowing around in quicksand. But I suspect that's just an irrational fear on my part!

It's actually surprisingly firm, it took a few nights to get used to it, but we find it very comfy now. I'll look into the outlast cover, thanks.

Tim_Deegan wrote: »

I presume your mattress is all foam (reflex foam with memory foam on top)?

Yes it is, I think 7 inches of reflex foam with a 2 inch topping of memory foam.

ihatecaptcha

Tim_Deegan wrote: »

You know very well that I can't recommend anything on here as it could be viewed as advertising.

No, I wasn't suggesting that you recommend or advertise -- just point out an example of a mattress of equivalent quality to the Warren Evans mattresses, which is on sale for a much lower price. It doesn't need to be from your own website. I just would like to see what sort of mattress you have in mind.

As for the returned mattresses, you are just speculating.

No, I just listed the possible options: resale (as used), recycle, or dump. There just physically aren't any other options, as far as I can see.

Like I said, ask the individual retailers. I mentioned what some retailers do with them, but as you say there wouldn't be much of a market for tried out and returned mattresses. Well it's even more in the retailers interest to make sure the customer gets the right mattress the first time then, rather than just trying to push people towards the most expensive like most shops do, isn't it?

Absolutely, I hate it when salesmen try to drag you over to whatever makes them the biggest profit or the highest commission. And I agree with you it's in the retailer's interest to reduce returns to the absolute minimum. That's exactly the problem, you see -- it seems to me that someone who's buying online, with no opportunity to try the mattresses before buying, runs a bigger risk of picking the wrong mattress than a customer who tries out a number of different mattresses beforehand. People vary so much in what kind of mattress they find comfortable, and often find it hard to put into words exactly what the difference is for them.

You really are taking this personally aren't you??? It's a money saving site. So despite what you have chosen to do, for whatever reason. The advice I am giving is for anyone else to help prevent them from making an expensive mistake. And it isn't aimed at you personally.

No, I'm not taking it personally. I just got interested in the question, and wondering, what exactly is it that makes a buy good value or a waste of money. Money saving is exactly the point. Is the customer more likely to make an expensive mistake by trying out mattresses beforehand, or by buying more or less blind, guided only by advice from a salesman, with no chance to try it out for themselves until after it has been installed on their bed and their previous mattress is leaning up against the wall waiting to see if the new one is suitable.

So you see, if you indicate which mattresses you think are better value than the one I bought, then I would find that interesting, to look at the quality of the other mattress and see how it compares. If it's correct that mattresses of equivalent quality, bought online, are way cheaper than the equivalent mattress bought in a shop, then that would be an important factor to take into consideration in waying up the pros and cons. But if the price differential is not very great, that would tip the balance back the other way -- see what I mean?