Hi Newhomestuff,
[quote]The Astoria is siginificantly less expensive even with signature return add on. I can’t see an obvious reason not to proceed with the Astoria (with the signature return). Just wanted to hear your thoughts and see if there was anything (including other favorable comparable mattresses) I’m missing that makes selectfoam worth the extra cost.
Thanks so much. [/quote]
They are two different mattresses. The cost of the materials in the Conform signature (which has 4" of memory foam vs 3" and includes a layer of gel memory foam and uses a higher density base foam) would be higher and of course each business also has different pricing models, margins, options, and business costs which are all reflected in the final cost of their products (although of course this isn’t information that a business discloses to their customers).
Once you have eliminated the worst options and are down to final choices between “good and good” then the choice between any two (or more) mattresses would depend on all the objective, subjective, and intangible factors that are most important to you. there are no “bad” choices between them … only the one that is best for you.
There are several other manufacturers on the list that offer mattresses similar mattresses that either use the Tempurpedic Contour Signature as a specific reference point or have (or can make) a similar construction (4" of 5 lb memory foam over a high quality polyfoam base layer) but some of these don’t use specific Tempurpedic comparisons on their site and you would need to talk with them to ask which of their mattresses would be the closest “match” to the Tempurpedic Contour Signature. The choice between them would depend on which one you believed was a better “value” based on your conversations, your confidence in the suitability of the mattress, and all the other criteria that are most important to you. The raw material cost of a mattress is only one part of each person’s personal value equation and when you look back on a mattress purchase a decade or so down the road you will remember much more about how well you slept than you will about how much you paid for the mattress although of course the purchase price is also an important part of any purchase decision.
Phoenix