Ways to dump a mattress?

Tim_Deegan

headintheclouds wrote: »

Even if you buy online, do take some time to go and try some mattresses in a bed shop. It would be a nightmare (ho ho!) to spend out the money and then find that it wasn't comfortable. A friend of mine spent out a lot of money on a memory foam mattress and just couldn't cope with it, so it's now in her spare room & is hardly ever used. Bed shops do expect you to lie down and test the beds, so you don't need to feel too self-conscious. I was told that you should lie on your side (if that is how you sleep) and there shouldn't be any space between you and the mattress, because it should give enough to fill in any gaps. The staff in a decent shop should be trained to help you decide. You don't actually have to buy it there - you can always say you need to think about it before making a decision.

After all that worrying about how to get rid of the old mattress, I'm sure you need a good sleep!

As most of you know I actually sell beds and mattresses, so I will probably get the usual people saying that I am trying to advertise on here. Well my name on here is nothing like my business name or my ebay name. Sorry, I just had to say that before I get slated.

It is good to go into a bed shop to find the type of mattress that you like. Make a note of the type of springs, the firmness, they type of quilting, and the overall firmness of the mattress.

Although you can get a rough idea, it is impossible to tell if a mattress is suitable unless you have slept on it of a few nights.

If possible try and avoid the sales reps as this could just confuse you. In many shops they are trained to just sell rather than help you make the right choice. The mattress they try and push you towards would most likely be the one that gives the most commision to them. There are a few things that they may tell you in order to try and get you to spend more:

a) The more pocket springs the better - untrue, more than 800 pocket sprungs in a king size mattress is enough to do what pocket springs are designed to do. Mattresses with 2000 or even 3000 springs have very small and fragile springs that can very easily be damaged.

b) The more memory foam the better - untrue, some manufacturers use very deep layers of memory foam, and tell people that the deeper the foam the better. The truth is that the optimum thickness for memory foam is 2" to 2 1/2". Less than this and it won't be enough to contour to your body. If the foam is too deep, then you will sink into it, and it will wrap around you making you too hot.

c) Non Turn Mattresses - Sales Gimmick, I should point out that all mattresses should be turned on a regular basis in order to prevent uneven wear. This especially applies to pocket sprung mattresses. When a manufacturer makes a non-turn mattress they often advertise it as a feature, and say that the mattress has been made in a special way so that it doesn't have to be turned. The truth is that all they are doing by making a mattress non-turn is:
i) making it cheaper to manufacture because they only have to put quilting/memory foam on one side.
ii) making a mattress that won't last as long because you can't turn it over as well as around lengthways.

I know that many people are very wary about buying items like beds from ebay. However if you follow a few guidelines then you can save up to 75% on the shop prices:

1) most important of all make sure that the seller gives a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

2) check previous feedback for the seller, and even contact previous customers to ask them about the seller.

3) use a company who display their phone number, so that you can talk to someone about your requirements (they want you to make the right choice because it will cost them if you return it).

4) check the sellers return policy. Many sellers charge for postage on returns.....can work out very expensive if you have unpacked a vacuum packed mattress, and you don't like it.

5) try to use a seller who delivers using their own transport. Couriers often damage or misplace goods (believe me I know from experience).

Obviously you can't try before you buy, but for the saving it is worth the risk if you follow the guidelines above.