Buying Guide

Confessions of a Former Mattress Salesperson

"Once upon a time, I sold mattresses and sleep sets in a retail store. We sold the major brands you'd recognize. But brand is not important. All of the major sleep set manufacturers make a decent mattress. Of course, they each claim to have a special system that makes theirs a better mattress, but they all make a decent mattress. It's knowing what goes on behind the scenes that can help you buy the right mattress. Here are the facts.

First, you need to know that the system is designed to confuse the consumer. Most of the major mattress brands have a system wherein they change the names of the SAME mattress at each different retail store so that you cannot comparison shop. For example, the Simmons "Royale" at Macy's will be the "Regency" at Penney's. You cannot price shop by name, color of the cover or TV ads. You can only price shop by specifications. If the specs of one particular mattress include a wool cover and a certain number of coils, then that's what you should use to comparison shop. Don't let the coil concept throw you. Here's how you can break the code.

Each company makes certain levels of mattresses: the cheapo, the decent cheapo, the good one and the better one. As with most products, but especially mattresses, you get what you pay for. A cheapo mattress is about 10% material such as foam, steel, padding, and about 90% air. A middle of the line mattress is about 40% material and 60% air. Get the picture?

Also, the weight of a mattress is directly proportional to how well it will hold up over time. Consider a cheapo, lightweight mattress for your guestroom, particularly if you don't want guests to overstay their welcome. Or buy a cheapo if you're a student and plan to throw it out in a year or two.

But if you pack a few extra pounds and/or have a heavy sleep partner, you want to buy the heaviest, most solid mattress you can. Remember that the weight ON the mattress also is proportional to how long the mattress will hold up.

Firmer is not always better. A mattress that's too hard will disrupt your sleep due to poor circulation. Each company makes an outrageously hard mattress, but even the companies themselves tell the salespeople to discourage the sale of these to anyone over age 60 or to people with circulation problems.

Determine what level of mattress you need. Do you need one that will hold up for 10 years? Are you overweight? Is this for your 60-pound child? Are you going to get married one of these days and dump the twin-sized?

Answers to these questions should help determine your price range. The next step is to eliminate the obvious: the too expensive and those obviously too hard or soft.

Now you can ask about coil counts or warranties, if you must. But, trust me, you can always tell by the weight of the mattress."