Don't forget to ask for your "The Mattress Underground" forum member discount/bonus

Just wanted to say thanks for all the great information. My wife and I are actually going to be visiting Quality Sleep Shop in LaGrange, IL based on your recommendation and all the great feedback. Now to the bigger challenge, finding a bed we both agree on.

Thanks Again,
Brian

Hi 1749fern,

As you know … I think they are a great choice both in terms of quality and value.

It’s also nice when you can focus on finding the mattress that you need and prefer instead of having to unravel the many “stories” that are so common in the mass market outlets.

Good luck in your “competing choices” … and I hope you have a chance to let us know about your experiences and what you end up with :slight_smile:

Phoenix

Hi Phoenix, New to the forum and the MU. Based on your recommendation, I am heading to the Quality Sleep Shop (LaGrange, IL) this week to order my new mattress. I’ll certainly request the 5% discount. After hours of fruitless online research and trying out mattresses in local franchises, I finally happened upon your site and found the specific information I was looking for. I’ll report back about the Quality Sleep Shop buying experience.

Hi Achinallover.

You are certainly heading in a great “direction” IMO and I think the service and information that you get there will be a breath of fresh air compared to the “environment” that most people are used to when they are mattress shopping.

I’m looking forward to your feedback :slight_smile:

Phoenix

Hi, I wanted to know where in houston tx can I go to get a mattress. I went to mattressfirm and bought 3 mattresses from them and have not like their mattresses and service. Please help. I was thinking of getting the sealy optmious inspiration but now I don’t know.

Hi anacar8,

The first suggestion I would make is to read this article. This will help you avoid most of the worst choices when you are mattress shopping and (hopefully) keep you away from chain stores and major brands.

The next thing I would focus on is gathering some basic information about mattress materials and construction which will help you ask better questions. It will also help you know who is giving you “marketing” information designed to “sell” you and who is giving you more factual information that is meant to truly help you make your best choices. Spending half an hour or so scanning the overviews in the mattresses section of the site would be helpful here (I would just scan them to get a general sense of the information instead of studying them in detail).

The next step is to find the manufacturers or stores in your area that have the best odds of being staffed by people with real experience and knowledge about mattresses and carry mattresses that are good quality and value. These are what I call “mattress people” and are committed to working with you and giving you the help and guidance you need to make meaningful comparisons between mattresses and help you choose the best possible mattress for your needs and preferences. The “mass market” outlets are generally staffed by people who are more focused on their commissions and/or the profit margin or the marketing training of the store than they are on your real needs and preferences and on educating you about their mattresses.

In the worst outlets … almost nothing you buy will be good quality and value. In the better outlets … almost everything will be good quality and value … but more importantly you will have the tools you need to tell the difference no matter where you go. This article will give you some ideas to help you recognize and separate the better from the worse outlets in your area. The goal of this step is to “find the experts” in your area that sell high quality/value mattresses rather than having to become an expert yourself.

Now that you have some basic information about materials and the different types of mattresses, you’ve eliminated the worst possible choices, and you know how to tell better from worse local outlets … now it’s time to start testing mattresses and the different types and materials you may be interested in. Post #2 here has a list of some of the better choices in the Houston area I’m aware of.

As a side note … you can read some of my thoughts about the Optimum line in post #48 here.

Phoenix

Phoenix - This is a great site; thanks for all your great info. We’re in the phoenix area and have decided to head into sleepez to take a look at their latex mattresses. We are coming from a beautyrest spring mattress that sagged 3.5" after only 3 years and were interested in a memory foam replacement until I found this site. Im still uncertain which type of latex to demand. It seems like a natural talalay mattress is one of the higher quality types. Im hopeful the folks at sleepez can help us find something that fits. We’ll let you know what we decide.

Hi comfortseeker,

This article may help you with your choice between different types of latex and SleepEz will also give you accurate information about the differences between them. You will also have the chance to try each type so you can experience the difference in “feel” between Dunlop and Talalay as well.

Your best “value” is probably in either 100% natural Dunlop or blended Talalay but of course what may be important to each person is part of their own “value equation”.

I’m looking forward to hearing about your experience there.

Phoenix

We went, we saw and we purchased. We ended up with the select sleep 10000 talalay blend with his/hers firmness levels. The overall experience was very easy and the individual we worked with (didnt catch his name) was well versed in the latex options and reasons to purchase each. He stated they ship about 15-20 mattresses daily to folks around the country and typically configure based on the individuals weight, so they seem to be pretty successful. I liked the idea of their individual sides of layers to allow for firmness adjustment and the ability to “trade-in” layers within 90 days. They’ve got a great warranty, so this seemed like a no brainer decision.

We mentioned this site and received out 5% discount for a total of about $115.

Thanks again for your help and we look forward to our delivery next Saturday.

Hi comfortseeker,

Well that was “easy” … and congratulations on your new mattress :slight_smile:

As you know I think highly of SleepEz and the people who work there. They (and others like them around the country) can certainly take the pain out of mattress shopping.

I’m looking forward to your feedback when you’ve had a chance to sleep on your new mattress.

Phoenix

All,

After spending much time on this site, and becoming educated, we decided to purchase an Ultimate Dreams mattress. It was a hard decision with some decent MF mattresses locally, but we will take the on-line chance. Am placing the order now.

Once we get used to the new mattress, I’ll try to post a quick review.

Best,

Jeff

Thanks for all your hard work! Going to check out Midwest Mattress and see what they’ve got to offer as it’s the closest of your recommended list to me.

Hi jtdogg,

Congratulations on your new mattress :slight_smile: I’m looking forward to your review once you receive it.

and Hi RedTwister,

I think you are headed in a good direction. Say hi to Joe (the owner) from me if he is at the store you visit :). He is definitely “mattress people”.

Phoenix

Phoenix -

Thanks for creating this site…over the past few weeks I’ve learned more about mattresses then I ever thought possible! I sell homes for a living and sometimes I think the mattress industry is even more complicated.

I went to SleepWorld in Austin today and mentioned to the owner that I found them through your website and I was about to purchase a mattress right then and there.

Although I wasn’t a “member” yet, because I’m just now posting my first article, I told him I would do it when I got home and email it to him. However, it wasn’t good enough for him and I guess he wanted me to present proof of membership in person after it was complete. He didn’t seem too clear as far as what was “proof” of membership, asking me to come in to the store after I got my membership and maybe present some “proof” to him. This seems much different than “just ask for the discount.”

I wanted to purchase a mattress and receive the discount and then post my experience on this forum. Since the store was 45 minutes away, it will be a bit of a hassle to go back and he didn’t want to take my purchase over the phone even after my membership. I guess my experience would have been better at that retailer if they were a little more clued in on the process. I wonder if I really had posted my article at that time and just asked for the discount, would he still ask for some type of proof?

The good news is, it’s allowed me to do more research on my mattress:) Thanks again for all your hard work, I’ll be posting some more on my mattress considerations shortly.

Keep it up!

Hi FavoriteHOMEboy,

Sleepworld isn’t actually a member of the site yet (you can see a current membership list here) which may be why he was “confused”. We have talked about it and I need to talk with his daughter Lisa (she looks after things like this) to go over all the details and make sure everything is OK on all sides before they become an official member.

While I include many manufacturers and various retail outlets that may have better quality and value in most of the various “lists” that I include throughout the forum (the majority of which are not members) … no matter where they are and regardless of their membership here … only the official membership list offers the bonus or discount for forum members (although many others are well aware of the site from customer’s comments and some of these may provide some benefit to customers from time to time as well just because they know they are dealing with a more educated consumer).

So hopefully this will clear up any confusion … and at this point in time … they have good quality and value and are certainly a potential member but are one of many manufacturers and retail “sleep shops” that I think highly of but are not “yet” members.

Phoenix

That certainly clears it up! I think it’s great that consumers continue to tell these stores how they heard about them and maybe that will motivate them to take action and get signed up with you. Although Bob did mention he was a member as well…maybe he meant as an individual and not as a manufacturer.

Your Favorite HOMEboy.

Hi FavoriteHOMEboy,

It’s not quite as simple as “signing up” and membership here is usually the end result of several more detailed conversations that take place (time permitting) over the course of time. At any particular time … there are usually quite a few potential members who are in the process of getting to know me (as well as the other way around) that may well become members over time but this is not a process that is automatic in either direction or in any way.

Over the years … the membership is not likely to go beyond somewhere between 50 and 100 manufacturers or better retail sleep shops and I have turned down quite a few requests for membership because they didn’t quite “fit” the profile of membership or looked at the site as a form of advertising rather than as recognition that they really are among the best in the country in some definable way. I need to believe in other words that they really are among the “best of the best” and this is partly a subjective process as well as an objective one. Of course the potential members themselves also need to be comfortable that they will be listed and “compared” to some of the best manufacturers and retailers in the country in various ways and share the values of this site (quality, service, and value).

Because I wear many hats in the ongoing development and growth of the site … there are also long periods of time where I’m not actively seeking new members because of other competing demands on my time and other developments and plans that are happening in the background (including my least favorite task which is the webmaster part of the site). Some new memberships may happen in these times in a more “organic” manner as a side effect of my other activities (which is where the majority of the membership has originated so far). I am in no hurry to “recruit” members in other words and whether any particular manufacturer becomes a member or not … their value remains the same as it was before their membership (except of course that they offer a bonus or discount to the forum members) and all the members understand and are comfortable with knowing that I do my best to recognize value regardless of membership and they are not the only ones I mention on the site as manufacturers or retailers that I think highly of (although they are the only ones that I “officially” recommend).

In the case of SleepWorld … while he knows he would be welcome and we have had discussions that made our shared values clear … the final details haven’t yet happened.

Phoenix

Thanks for clarification.

Phoenix,

Thank you for the incredible site that you have put together. I have been researching mattresses on and off for a while now. I was trying to get more info on a certain mattress offered by Costco when I came across a discussion on the Ultimate Dreams. I then spent more than a few hours reading and absorbing the material on this site. I can’t imagine the amount of time you take out of the day to answer everyone’s email with such details. I have placed an order for the UD but will continue to keep an eye out on this forum.

Thanks again,
lovecoffee

Hi lovecoffee,

Thanks for the kind words, it’s always great to hear that the site is helping people.

Congratulations on your new mattress :slight_smile:

I hope you have a chance to give us your feedback when you’ve had a chance to sleep on it.

Phoenix