After sleeping in mattress hell for the past six years, (penniless student), I’m now ready to find the mattress of my dreams. I’ve read your basic tutorial, and am working on the more detailed articles. In the meantime, could you recommend any member stores near central New Mexico? (roughly halfway between T or C, and ABQ?) I’ll drive to AZ if I have to, but time is fairly limited right now.
Also, I’m confused about trying out mattresses in other stores. Like, is the assumption I’ll try a mattress at Store A, then go order it online from Store B (member of the underground?) Don’t the sales people get mad about this?
Also, I haven’t found it yet, but does any place in this article discuss latex allergies? I haven’t got one now, but wouldn’t want to incur one from sleeping on latex. (If tires give off latex dust, I assume a mattress would, too, eventually.)
And finally, do you discuss fire retardants or other noxious chemicals anywhere in an article? If so, please point me to it.
Meantime, this is great info and I plan to pass it on to all my friends.
None of the members of the site are in New Mexico but the better options or possibilities I’m aware of in the Albuquerque area are listed in post #5 here.
I certainly wouldn’t exclude any good quality or value mattress based on whether they are sold by a retailer or manufacturer that is a a member here or not. The goal is always to find the mattress that is the best match for you in terms of PPP and the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you … regardless of whether they are a member here. While the members of this site compete well with the best in the country in terms of quality, value, and service and they are certainly well worth considering … there are currently only 35 members and there are hundreds of good quality/value options available across the country that have sold mattresses to the members of the forum as a result of the information here. I would even guess that the majority of the local purchases that are made as a result of the information on this site are purchased from manufacturers or retailers that aren’t members here.
At the end of the day I would always begin by testing mattresses locally so you are familiar with different materials and types of mattresses and then if you are comfortable with an online purchase then it can certainly be worthwhile comparing the options they have available with what is available locally (although they won’t be the same) and including them in your finalists but I wouldn’t exclude any good option whether they were a member here or not. Which mattress is the best for you is always a personal choice that is up to each person and their personal value equation.
A store that has good quality and value mattresses that has a potential customer walk through their door that may not have otherwise and where they have a chance to win their business is one more potential customer.
There is more about latex allergies in post #2 here. It would be very rare for the latex in a mattress to be an issue. If someone has an actual type I latex allergy they would generally already be well aware of it and most likely be taking precautions and possibly be carrying an epipen because latex is everywhere in our society. The other types of latex allergies (irritant contact dermatitis and type IV latex allergies) are contact allergies that aren’t an issue with the type of latex used in mattresses and where there isn’t any contact with the latex.