Hi samattes,
I switched your post to a new topic of its own since it wasn’t related to the title of the original topic you posted in.
You can see my comments about the Consumer Reports mattress ratings and recommendations in post #2 here and in this topic. While they may be a good source of information about more “objective” purchases … as you can see I would consider them to be an unreliable source of information or guidance about purchasing a mattress and they are somewhat nonsensical and meaningless. My thoughts are also shared by most of the more knowledgeable people in the industry (see post #5 here for an example).
While other people’s comments about the knowledge and service of a particular business can certainly be very helpful … I would also be very cautious about about using other people’s experiences or reviews on a mattress (either positive or negative) or review sites in general 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 any 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 (even if they are in a similar weight range) and reviews in general certainly won’t tell you much if anything about the suitability, quality, durability, or “value” of a mattress for any particular person (see post #13 here).
You can also see some comments about the Novaform Serafina in post #2 here.
[quote] It is going back to Costco-God bless their return policy.
Return policies now condition all my future mattress purchases. [/quote]
I’m assuming that you’ve read the mattress shopping tutorial here which includes all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that you will need to make the best possible choice … and perhaps more importantly know how and why to avoid the worst ones.
Two of the most important links in the tutorial that I would especially make sure you’ve read are post #2 here which has more about the different ways to choose a suitable mattress (either locally or online) that is the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort” and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) that can help you assess and minimize the risks of making a choice that doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for and post #13 here which has more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase 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 buying a mattress from Costco in post #4 here.
If you are looking at online mattresses that you can’t test ahead of time then I would certainly agree that for many people the options you have after a purchase to exchange or return the mattress (or in some cases individual layers or components in a mattress) can be one of the more important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase.
If you are looking at online options then the tutorial includes several links to lists of the better online sources I’m aware of (in the optional online step) that include a wide range of different types and categories of mattresses in a wide range of designs, firmness levels and budgets and many of them have good return policies as well.
If you let me know your city or zip code I’d also be happy to let you know about any of the better options or possibilities I’m aware of in your area as well.
Phoenix