First post

Hello Everyone I am new to the forums

I just bought a mattress and would appreciate some feedback. It was an impulse buy b/c I just moved and didn’t have a mattress and thought I was getting a good deal. I bought a Stearns and Foster Luxury plush eurotop. I don’t know much about mattresses but I can tell you that I have been sleeping very well and so has my partner. I also enjoy just sitting and laying on it, it feels very comfy.

So I would love to learn a little more about the mattress. It is hand-tuffted, can someone please explain why this is beneficial? Also it has horse hair in it, again can someone please explain the benefit of that. I did some googling and this is the mattress.

http://www.sleepys.com/stearns-and-foster-g.s.-stearns-luxury-plush-euro-pillowtop-mattress-SF9343.html#start=6

…I think the video is the same mattress, I remember reading that different mattress salesmen sell the same mattress under different names or something. Also I got the mattress for $600 with shipping, I felt like this was a great deal so i pulled the trigger without shopping around too much. The price included delivery so I thought it was a good deal, I didn’t get a box spring because I want to put the mattress in a platform bed. Can someone please tell me a little about my mattress and if this was a fair deal? I appreciate everyones help!

Hi Sheepcounter,

I’m not sure which mattress you purchased but there are a number of Stearns and Foster luxury plush eurotop mattresses so the one you purchased may be different from the ones you linked (which are different mattresses).

You can see the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase in post #13 here. If your mattress is a good match for you in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) then you have the most important part of the “value” of a mattress covered.

The next most important part of the “value” of a mattress purchase is the quality and durability of the materials inside it. This is all about how long you will sleep well on the mattress before it loses it’s comfort and support to the degree that you begin to tolerate it more than sleep well on it and at some point decide to replace it. To assess the quality/durability of the materials or whether the mattress has any weak links you would need to know the information in this article. Unfortunately this may be difficult to find out because the major manufacturers don’t tend to be transparent about their materials and in most cases either use lower quality materials than many of their smaller competitors or charge more if the materials are the same quality and durability. This information would also help you to know which mattress you purchased.

Finally all the other parts or your personal value equation that are important to you are the last part of the “value” of a mattress purchase (including the price and any special features or materials such as tufting) which you can use to make meaningful comparisons with other mattresses.

Tufting a mattress helps to keep the materials together and prevent shifting without requiring gluing and will also precompress the materials which will affect the firmness and feel and lessen the chance that they will develop impressions and add to their durability. You can see a video about hand tufting here.

Horsehair is a natural fiber similar to wool that is one of the most resilient (springy) of the natural fibers and similar to wool it is also very breathable and can hold moisture inside the fiber itself and away from the body so it can be very useful in terms of temperature regulation as well. Of course knowing the amount of horsehair or other premium materials or fibers would be important because in some cases the percentage is very low and is only there for marketing purposes (so they can say that it’s there) rather than having enough to make a meaningful difference in performance.

If you purchased the mattress for only $600 then it certainly wouldn’t be a new mattress and you would most likely have purchased a used mattress that was a comfort or warranty return (and there also wouldn’t be a warranty on the mattress). You can also check the law tag (white if it’s new and yellow or red if it’s used and sterilized or rebuilt) which will list the materials inside your mattress based on their percentage by weight so you can at least confirm the type of materials that are in it rather than having to go by what you may have been told by a salesperson.

Of course buying a mattress that is sold through a liquidator doesn’t mean that it wasn’t worth purchasing but I would at least confirm which mattress you purchased and the type and quality of the materials inside it.

Phoenix

Thank you for your response.

The mattress tag is in fact white. The filling is as listed.
Latex Foam 55%
Molded Polyurethane 19%
Rubberized curled horse mane hair pad 6%
Blended wool batting (90% wool/ 10% cashmere) 4%
Blended rayon/polyester - Fiber Batting with silk wool 2%
Polyethylene foam 2%

…I got the mattress from Sleepys, the sleepys link pertains to the mattress i bought, the youtube link was something that I thought looked similar.

Do these amount of materials like horse hair seem not enough?

Did you get that little S&F pamphlet on rotation? The three-way rotation I’ve done to my old S&F mattress kept it comfortable for the eleven years I had it. I rotated it every quarter.

Recognize the satin label that’s on the edge of one face of the mattress:

start out with that label beneath your feet
1st spin around so the label is under your pillow
2nd flip the mattress sideways so the label is next to the box springs under your pillow
3rd spin so the label is still on the box springs but under your feet
next quarter put it back where you started from

Hi Sheepcounter,

My comments were based on the price you paid and if you purchased your mattress from Sleepy’s for $600 then it wouldn’t be reasonable to expect that it was new and something certainly isn’t adding up.

“Enough” is relative to whether the materials perform the functions you are looking for “well enough for you” so this is something that I really can’t answer. It would depend on how well the mattress matched your criteria in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) and the other parts of your personal value equation that are important to you.

Phoenix

I did not get a pamphlet on stearns & foster rotations. I don’t understand what you mean by flip the mattress. It has a pillowtop so I don’t think I can flip it sideways. I think I can only rotate it 180 degrees every so often. Please tell me more.

Phoenix…

I really appreciate your help btw. I read online that people often negotiate 50%+ on their mattresses. The reason behind my posts is just trying to find out why my mattress retails for so much. And your responses have helped. Can you tell me a little bit about what mattress you chose and why? You know a great deal and I am always curious what someone knowledgeable would choose. Thank you

Hi Sheepcounter,

You can read a little more on flipping and rotating a mattress in post #2 here. Your mattress is one sided so you can only rotate it.

I would treat these types of fake sales that never end (and only change in details) … as a warning sign. They are typical of the types of stores I would tend to avoid (see the shopping guidelines here). There is more about fake sales in post #5 here and about negotiating in post #6 here. Most of the more common questions that people have when they are shopping for a new mattress are also answered in the mattress shopping tutorial.

The price you paid for your mattress is actually in a fairly low budget range. While the quality of the materials is a big part of the cost of a mattress … most major brands retail for more than their smaller independent competitors that often use the same or better quality materials in lower budget ranges (see post #12 here).

You can see the specifics of my mattress in post #4 here.

Phoenix

Sheep… I see. You know I didn’t realize that the pillowtop regular mattresses were one sided. By flip I meant to stand beside the bed, pick it up by those handles, push them up and over to the far side of the bed, then re-align. Sorry I couldn’t be of help.

Decent grade S&F mattresses run $1500+ these days. My full sized plush equivalent priced over $1700!! That’s when I started looking for alternatives three weeks ago. D@mnned devaluation of the dollar.

Swapgut

Thanks for the tips, I definitely will rotate my mattress every six months! I agree mattresses are really an expensive purchase.

Pheonix

I think it is very cool you have a custom made mattress. Also I am glad your partner appreciates the softness you wanted. My fiancée has grown to appreciate the softness of my mattress. I read over some of your tips. I 100% agree you should avoid mattress salesmen that don’t make you feel comfortable and slash prices too drastically because it gives you a false sense that you are getting a good deal when in fact you are not. I disagree with buying a mattress from a major brand like S&F vs an independent shop. I feel the mattress is of good quality. It also is composed of good components like horse hair (be it only 6%) and is made with hand-tufting which seems like an important build feature. Also having materials like cashmere in the top also make me believe it is of good quality, it is also very heavy - 160 lbs for a queen. Stearns & Fosters are made in the US.

…are the GS Stearns mattresses handmade?

This is what I found online…GS Stearns represents the pinnacle of the Stearns and Foster brand. Immersed in the rich heritage of Stearns and Foster, complete with the best materials from around the world, and finished with modern aesthetics and an amazing feel, the GS Stearns collection truly has it all!

Like other Stearns and Foster mattresses, all luxury mattresses from GS Stearns are created from the skilled craftsmen who are specially-qualified to be involved in the process. Due to the increased detail necessary to create a GS Stearns luxury mattress, it takes twice as long to create one than the average mattress.

Now I know my mattress is not a Hastens or Vi-Spring but is it far off on the quality department? Again I want to thank you and appreciate your feedback.

Hi Sheepcounter,

There is really nothing to agree or disagree with. In terms of quality/durability a mattress is only as good as its construction and the type and quality of the materials inside it. Even if a mattress uses some good quality materials if they are mixed in with lower quality materials then in terms of durability a mattress will only be as good as its weakest link. The information you need to assess the quality of a mattress is listed in this article. Once you have this information then you will be able to assess the quality of the mattress based on real facts rather than just speculation based on the marketing materials of a company. You are believing exactly what they want you to believe which unfortunately is common in the industry when consumers don’t know how to “define” the quality of a mattress even if they do have the information they would need to do so. There was a time where Stearns & Foster was a more legitimate “luxury brand” … now they are just another Tempurpedic/Sealy brand that is just a name. You can read more about the major brands and some of the more recent history in the industry in post #12 here and post #3 here.

The fact is that the major brands have 3 main issues. The first is lack of transparency and they tend to disclose only the better quality materials they use in their mattresses … not the worse ones. The second is that they use lower quality materials than many if not most of their smaller independent competitors that make mattresses in the same price range or lower. The third is that if you are fortunate enough to find out the specifics of what is inside your mattress and it’s one of their better mattresses that don’t have any obvious weak links in their construction … you will find that it is priced significantly more than many other similar mattresses that use the same or better quality materials. The GS uses better quality materials than most Stearns & Foster mattresses but it’s only “good quality/value” relative to the lower reference point of other Stearns & Foster mattresses.

You can see an example of what can happen when you use lower quality materials with one of the forum members experience with their Golden Elegance mattress here and you can see the reason why it failed so quickly in post #2 here.

All mattresses are hand made to some degree (a factory worker puts the layers together and glues them and tape edges the mattress etc). There is probably a little more hand building methods used in their upper end mattresses than some others (such as tufting).

[quote]This is what I found online…GS Stearns represents the pinnacle of the Stearns and Foster brand. Immersed in the rich heritage of Stearns and Foster, complete with the best materials from around the world, and finished with modern aesthetics and an amazing feel, the GS Stearns collection truly has it all!

Like other Stearns and Foster mattresses, all luxury mattresses from GS Stearns are created from the skilled craftsmen who are specially-qualified to be involved in the process. Due to the increased detail necessary to create a GS Stearns luxury mattress, it takes twice as long to create one than the average mattress.[/quote]

This is all meaningless “marketing fluff” without any substance. A mattress that only takes twice as long to build as an “average mattress” is still mostly a mass produced mattress that has a little extra labor involved.

There is absolutely no comparison between a Hastens or Vi-Spring and a Stearns & Foster (top end or otherwise). The first two are legitimately hand crafted or “bench crafted” and the S&F is basically a mass produced mattress with a few extra touches. One can be built by a skilled factory worker (the S&F) … the Hastens and VI-Springs are built by legitimate master craftsmen (or women) that take years to learn their craft.

What you are believing is just another “marketing story”.

Phoenix

:frowning:

Thank you for your help Pheonix…I agree with what you’re saying. This was my first mattress purchase and I thought I got a good deal on a great mattress but I now realize it isn’t as great as I believed it was. I know you mention value being a good match for you in terms of PPP but honestly compared to other mattresses I understand now that the quality is lacking. I will hold on to this mattress for the remainder of my medical residency and when this one gives out I will seek an independent manufacturer and have them construct something to my specific tastes that is of good quality components. I appreciate your help and hope other people find your resources prior to the purchase of their mattresses.

Now onto my next inquiry…pillows!

My fiancee was complaining about ours just minutes ago…please help

Hi Sheepcounter,

The good news about your mattress is that if you only paid $600 (and I don’t know how that would be possible for the mattress you linked if it was new) then at least it would be reasonable value even if it only lasts you for a few years and if it lasts you longer it would be a bonus.

[quote]Now onto my next inquiry…pillows!

My fiancee was complaining about ours just minutes ago…please help [/quote]

The pillow thread here and the information it links to should be helpful :slight_smile:

Phoenix