Hi TedLogan,
The first step in choosing a topper would be to decide which materials you are familiar with and you would prefer over the other alternatives that you have available. This would be a preference choice more than a “better/worse” choice. Most people who prefer to sleep on memory foam would prefer a memory foam topper unless they wanted to change the “feel” of sleeping on memory foam.
Once you’ve decided on the type of material then you can use the topper guidelines I linked or a more detailed conversation with a knowledgeable and experienced supplier that is familiar with the specifics of their toppers to help you decide on the thickness and softness of the topper that you think would work best for you.
While I don’t know the specifics of the return policies of all the sources that are linked in the component post off the top of my head, they either list them on their site or would provide you with the specifics with a phone call. Most of them don’t allow returns or exchanges for a topper (which is the norm in the industry), some allow for returns/refunds, and some of them have an exchange policy but no return/refund policy.
The advantage of dealing with a big box store like Costco or Sams Club is that they usually have great return policies. The tradeoff is that they usually have little knowledge about the specifics of what they are selling outside of what is listed in their site (which in many cases is incomplete or doesn’t indicate the quality of the material … only the type), they may not have the specific materials that you are looking for, and they also don’t usually have the knowledge or experience to give you any guidance about which of their toppers may be the best choice for you when you talk with them so you would really be rolling the dice and relying more on their return policy than on how the topper may feel and perform on your mattress (see post #4 here). They are also a good way to test different types of toppers and materials that you aren’t familiar with to see which type you tend to prefer. I would just make sure that you know the quality of a topper that you are considering because even a low quality/density topper can feel good for a little while but will soften and break down much more quickly than higher quality versions of the same material and many of the products they sell are not particularly good quality materials.
When you are looking at a return or exchange policy I would make sure you know all of the options and costs involved.
-
Do they offer an exchange, a refund, or both?
-
Who pays the cost of shipping to return or exchange it (and how much is it likely to be) and is the cost of the original shipping to you (which may have been a hidden cost included in the purchase price) included in any refund?
-
Are there any restocking or other fees deducted from your refund?
-
If they only offer an exchange … what kind of other toppers do they have available to exchange for?
-
How much time do you have to try it before you need to decide about returning or exchanging the topper?
-
How does the topper need to be packaged if you decide to return or exchange it?
Once you are clear about all of these then you can factor in the “value” of the return or exchange policy along with the type and quality of the topper and the “value” of the guidance they can give you into your purchase decision.
Outside of the big box stores … the retailers/manufacturers on the list that have a return or exchange policy I’m aware of (but check to see the specific costs and time frame involved are) …
https://www.sleepez.com/ 90 day return and a member of the site
https://sleeponlatex.com/ 30 day return policy and a member of the site
https://latexmattressfactory.com/ 30 day return policy and a member of the site.
http://www.mattresstopper.com/ (Brooklyn Bedding) 30 day return policy and a member of the site.
http://www.kttenterprises.com/ 30 day exchange
https://www.foamorder.com/ 90 day return
https://sleeplikeabear.com/ 30 day return
http://www.sleepwarehouse.com/ 30 day return
https://thecomfortoutlet.com/index.php 30 day return
Amazon fulfilled toppers: 3o day return. They have told me that a topper return will generally cost between 15% and 20% of the cost of the topper depending on the condition when they receive it.
Once again … make sure you are clear about the terms and conditions and any costs involved in any return or exchange policy before a purchase.
If you let me know the city or zip code where you live I’d be happy to let you know about any of the better “brick and mortar” options or possibilities I’m aware of in your area so you could check to see if any of them sell toppers and find out about their return policies.
Phoenix