Hi only1emme,
Knowing the quality of a mattress is completely dependent on knowing the quality of the materials and components that are inside it. Once you have this information then you don’t have to go by the name of the manufacturer to assess the quality or value of a mattress because knowing the quality of the materials gives you the ability to make meaningful comparisons with other mattresses regardless of who makes it. Boyd mattresses are no different and once you know the quality/density of the materials then you can assess the quality of any mattress you are considering. Every manufacturer makes low and high quality mattresses in different budget ranges and Boyd would be the same.
There is more about this in post #1 here and the basic information, steps, and guidelines it links to that can help you make the possible choices.
I can only speak to the quality and value of a mattress because the feel and performance of a mattress depends on many variables and can be very subjective. Because of the many differences (smaller and larger) in the design and components in two different mattresses … it usually isn’t possible to “match” one mattress to another except in very general or approximate terms and two mattresses that feel identical to one person may feel very different to another depending on their body type, sleeping style, and their own perceptions. You can read a little more about the difficulties involved in trying to match another mattress in post #4 here and in and in most cases it would depend on your own ability to assess and compare them in person. although this can be very subjective. it’s usually more effective to “match” each mattress against a common set of criteria than trying to match the subjective" feel" of one mattress to another unless you can test them side by side in real time.
Some of the better options I’m aware of in the Austin area are listed in post #2 here.
While I agree with Novosbed that for most people the odds of making a suitable mattress choice can be very low because most consumers don’t know how or take the time to carefully test the suitability of a mattress for PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) … I also believe that for those who do careful and objective mattress testing (using the guidelines in the previous post I linked) then the odds of making a suitable choice are dramatically improved.
Online choices can be a good option for those that don’t have access to good quality and value available locally but compared to “good” testing and working with knowledgeable and experienced local people who can help you in person, they also carry more risk than a local purchase where you can test the specific mattress that you buy. There are many ways to lower the risk of an online purchase which of course includes the knowledge and experience of the retailer or manufacturer you are dealing with, their ability to provide you with some good guidance, the options they provide and the cost involved to either exchange a mattress or exchange or re-arrange individual layers if you make the wrong choice, and of course their return policies.
There are many local manufacturers and retailers that have equivalent or better value than many online manufacturers (depending on the parts of each person’s personal value equation that are most important to them) and either direction can result in very good choices. My approach is that each of them have a different set of strengths and weaknesses that can be more or less attractive to different people. You can read a little more about online vs local in this thread as well as post #2 here and post #2 here.
Phoenix