I was interested in the Astoria mattress put out by Christeli. Someone told me they were very nice, but when she found the mattress too firm she could only make an exchange. Even though she did not like anything they had she had no choice. She stated the website was doing return for refunds, but her mattress could not be returned, because she did not purchase her mattress during their return policy. What upset her was that her data also stated a return. Had she gone down the page she would have seen a return for an exchange. I tried her mattress and it seemed nice, but I am afraid to take a chance. Has anyone dealt with Christeli and were they satisfied. I called and asked about refunds. I was told I would have to keep checking ttheir website to see when it is available… I just now saw return which lead me to believe it meant a refund, but further down I saw exchange. I called and was told someone will get back to me. Any help will be appreciated. I spent over $2,000 for a mattress that has not worked a week after I purchased it, so I need to work with good people. Thanks for any feedback
Hi cinn,
Welcome to the Mattress Forum! 
Just in case you haven’t yet I would make sure you’ve read the mattress shopping tutorial here which includes all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best possible choice … and know how and why to avoid the worst ones.
I would be very cautious about about using other people’s experiences or reviews on a mattress (either positive or negative) as a reliable source of information or guidance about how you will feel on the same mattress or how suitable or how durable a mattress may be for you and in many if not most cases they can be more misleading than helpful because a mattress that would be a perfect choice for one person or even a larger group of people may be completely unsuitable for someone else to sleep on (see post #13 here).
There is more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase in post #13 here which which can help you make more meaningful quality/value comparisons between mattresses in terms of suitability (how well you will sleep), durability (how long you will sleep well), and the overall value of a mattress compared to your other finalists (based on all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you).
There is also more about the different ways to choose a suitable mattress (either locally or online) that is the best “match” for you in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) in post #2 here that can help you assess and minimize the risks of making a choice that doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for once you actually sleep on your mattress.
Since the most important part of “value” is how well you will sleep on a mattress … when you can’t test a mattress in person then the most reliable source of guidance is always a more detailed phone conversation with a knowledgeable and experienced retailer or manufacturer that has your best interests at heart who can help “talk you through” the specifics of their mattresses and the options they have available that may be the best “match” for you based on the information you provide them, any local testing you have done or mattresses you have slept on and liked that they are familiar with, any special considerations you may have, and the “averages” of other customers that are similar to you. They will know more about “matching” their specific mattress designs or firmness options to different body types, sleeping positions, and preferences or even to other mattresses that they are familiar with than anyone else.
The return or exchange policy that is offered by a business can certainly be an important part of the “value” of a mattress purchase and they are built in to the price you pay for the mattress (the people who don’t return or exchange a mattress are the ones who pay for the ones that do). You can see their previous return policy here and I don’t see any reason for your friend to be upset (at least with Christeli) and I don’t think it would be reasonable for a business to change their policy because one of their customers didn’t read it or ask about it. Making sure you are comfortable with the return/exchange options you have after a purchase (just in case a mattress purchase doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for) is part of making an informed choice that each customer is responsible for.
As you can see here … Christeli changed their return policy on June 25th and now offers a return/refund policy rather than the exchange only policy they had previously.
I have talked with Christeli on a number of occasions and think highly of them. They make some good quality/value mattresses which is why they are included in the online memory foam list here.
A forum search on Christeli (you can just click the link) will also bring up more comments and feedback about them as well.
There will be a break in and adjustment period with any new mattress so I would give a new mattress a few weeks at least before you decide whether it’s a good “match” for you in terms of PPP (see post #3 here).
Phoenix