Mattress Retailers Hartford CT

Even the experts at Consumer Reports magazine have difficulty conducting a mattress brands comparison. The reason, they say, is that mattresses are basically a "black box" to consumers. You can't see inside of a mattress so it's very difficult to make a mattress brands comparison. Also, the same manufacturer's model names may differ from one store to another, making price comparisons almost impossible.

However, it is possible to make a mattress brands comparison within broad price ranges. According to securities filings made by Sealy Inc., the mattress industry divides up the market into four price categories: under $500 (promotional); $500 to $999 (premium); $1,000 to $1,999 (luxury); and $2,000 or more (ultraluxury). Since the mattress industry builds mattresses to fit these price points, the price ranges give consumers a rough benchmark for mattress brands comparison. That is, one $1,000 Sealy mattress should be roughly equivalent to another in terms of quality and construction technique.

Interestingly, Consumer Reports found that all but the cheapest mattresses are just fine for most people. Their mattress brands comparison also found that any coil count over 390 (in coil spring mattresses) is adequate, although some ultraluxury mattresses coil counts ranged as high as 1,728.

In short, you won't find much real difference in a mattress brands comparison between mattresses within one of the four price ranges mentioned above. It's best to steer clear of the under-$500 if you budget permits, for those bottom-rung mattresses won't last as long and may be thinly covered on top, allowing springs to poke the sleeper. But mattresses within a couple of hundred dollars of each other are pretty much equivalent.

Still, everyone has their opinions of mattresses based upon their personal experiences. Often, these opinion-based mattress brands comparisons include opinions of the seller, the store in which the mattress was purchased, and experiences with customer service after the sale. It may seem odd, but such aspects of a transaction can actually affect how well someone sleeps on a given mattress and how they rate the mattress itself in a mattress brands comparison.

ePinions.com is a great source for this sort of individual consumer opinion. It can help you conduct a mattress brands comparison. You'll find hundreds of reviews on each of major brands Sealy, Serta, Simmons, etc., as well as ar...

Buy locally made mattresses for excellent mattress deals. That means look for mattress deals from manufacturers whose factories are close to you. It's a simple matter of freight costs, which must be built into the price charged by any retailer. Instead of checking the SuperPages.com site under "Mattresses Retail", try "Mattresses Wholesale & Manufacturers". The manufacturers are the ones with the best mattress deals. You may have to drive a few dozen miles to pick up your mattress, but you will save a bundle on shipping costs.

Online mattress retailers' prices look great, mainly because online retailers don't have the overhead of a store and "trial" mattresses, bed frames, store staff, etc. Shipping costs will be a significant add-on cost; it costs more to ship a single mattress to a residence than the per-mattress freight cost of a truckload delivered to a retail store. On the other hand, you can save a heap of money on sales tax by buying from an out-of-state online retailer.

You might think that online wholesalers catering to hotels and motels require multiple-item purchases and sell the cheapest, mediocre mattresses. But you would be wrong. United Products Inc. is just one such "hospitality wholesaler" that offers great mattress deals on brand names such as Beauty Rest.

Surprisingly good mattress deals are available at many thrift store chains such as ARC and Goodwill Industries. They sell new mattresses for as little as $59 for a twin or $89 for a queen-sized mattress. They also sell new box springs for similarly good prices. No, these are not designer name brands, but they are durable, serviceable coil spring products good for kids and guest rooms.

The best times of year to look for great mattress deals at retails stores are the three-day weekends: Memorial Day, Labor Day, Independence Day, Easter, etc. The week between Christmas and New Year's is another good window of opportunity for mattress deals, as retailers try to reduce their taxable inventory for the current year. Actually, they have the whole month of January in which to offer you great mattress deals, too.

Membership discount stores like Sam's Club also offer good mattress deals. But often they can be beaten by online stores. A full-sized set of BeautyRest mattress and box spring, for example, sells for $690 at United Products versus $950 at Sam/s Club. Check the shipping charges, and allow for sales tax savings.

Finding the best of all mattress deals ...