Help picking a mattress, no local or independent sellers near by

Mattress Talk 1) Mattress Selection Process
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Hi! I recently moved to DC and want to get a new mattress. My current one is actually still pretty good, but it is all the way across the country and will be likely months until I would ship it over. It is also 13 years old, but still totally functional and I am happy with it so worst case scenario I just get it back eventually.

Fair warning, it is a “big chain” S brand (Serta, innerspring with a cooling I believe latex topper) that I have been perfectly happy with. No sagging, no issues at all despite its advanced age. I was thinking of just grabbing a similar mattress, but the warnings on this site really seem to disparage getting a mattress from a national chain.

Here is one major issue, there aren’t really any independent retailers in my area except for one place about 45 min away.(SleePare, They focus on brands like Bear, Brooklyn Bedding, Casper, etc…) There is a Saarta in the city that I visited, along with a MattressFirm and MattressWherehouse (I know, chains!)

For background, I am mid 40s male, 5’11 165 lb. Typically front OR side sleeper, never sleep on my back (weirdly I can’t fall asleep on my back). No real back pain, joint pains etc, tend to sleep hot.

I am really loathe to buy a mattress “untested”, ie an online store, even it it comes very recommended.

So far I have preferred the firmer comfort layers. I tried the Saarta firm memory foam and didn’t hate it, also their inner spring one and the firm one maybe felt just a touch too firm.

I also didn’t mind the sealy posturopedic I tried, but now am scared of buying one of those big name brands!

I think this weekend I will go out to the store I mentioned above but any thoughts/suggestions? I am trying to keep the price < 2k. I spent about 1.3k on my previous mattress but this was in 2012 and like I said overall pretty happy with it. Part of me thinks I should just get something similar to my previous bed, like a Saarta spring, especially as they have a 365 day return policy for only 99 dollars so I am not really out much if I decide after a few months it isn’t the right one.

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We ship nationwide mattressmakers.com [email protected]

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Hey kylemore.

Welcome to our Mattress Forum. :slight_smile:

We don’t inherently have anything against the S-brands (Serta, Sealy, Simmons, etc.) especially if what you’ve been sleeping on works for your comfort, support, and budget, then that’s what matters most.

The main reason we often caution people is that the big brands can make it harder to know exactly what’s inside the mattress, which makes comparing quality and durability between models tricky. But if you’ve had great experiences with yours and it’s held up well for 13 years, that’s actually a pretty solid track record.

Since you’re planning to test in person (which is always smart), we’d just recommend reviewing our Mattress Shopping Tutorial and Mattress Testing Guidelines before you go.

It’s also worth taking a gander at our article on how to pick a quality retailer/outlet.

NikkiTMU

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Hi @kylemore, I’m in the same area as you and just went through this so feel your frustration! We’re pretty saturated with the mass market options here. This post from 2011 about local places isn’t too up to date but some links are still valid, so you could review and see if anything up your alley is still operating.

I found visiting SleePare useful in understanding what types of things we like and don’t like in a mattress overall, as they do have a good variety of different types of mattresses to try, even if mostly focused on high marketing bed in box brands. Their salespeople aren’t at all helpful in getting you info in the TMU shopping guide, but the showroom does have some reasonable options from Brooklyn Bedding and I’d say Winkbed also–if you contact their customer service, they seem prepared to share densities and coil counts and such. But try broadly to really gain the knowledge of your own preferences.

I also visited Saatva, and if you’re thinking about latex you could look at Naturepedic up in Rockville (although they are coy about specs and pretty $$$, so we didn’t go with them, but the visit was very useful in establishing our preferences). I wish Warehouse Showrooms in Alexandria (which otherwise focuses on well-crafted solid wood furniture) would partner with some of the small VA makers like CozyPure instead of just selling the S-brands. I didn’t try them, but local VA maker and TMU member Winndom has products at a retailer in Warrenton (still a long drive but doable in a day).

Like you we were loathe to buy without trying, but we did end up purchasing out of state and having the mattress shipped to us. Following the TMU guide helped us really understand our needs and preferences and brought us to a very narrow set of what we really were in the market for. And combined with some sort of comfort adjustment/return guarantee (and desire for better pricing) we felt confident enough to buy online after all that. We felt at the end of the day that a full night’s sleep is the real test of the mattress more than the 20 minutes in the store.

I wasn’t up for the road trip to Fredericksburg or Richmond but it’s an option for some other choices if you have car access. Pottstown PA could also be an overnight road trip (~4hrs drive) to TMU member Magic Sleeper, who was one of our finalists. Might be worth the trouble if you’re really in a bind and feel more strongly than we ended up about showroom trials. (But only after doing all the TMU steps locally to really understand your own preferences first!)

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Hello Kylemore,
Have you looked at DIYMattress.com (a MUG Trusted Member). You can create a mattress with pocket coils, latex, and organic quilted cover in queen size for $899. This mattress will compare to mattresses in stores or online at $1500 to $3000. Their customer service will help you dial in your comfort. You even have the ability to change the comfort within 30 days.
Just a reminder- when your’re searching for your mattress, don’t forget how important the foundation is. At Mattress Foundations, we specialize in the Terra Foundation- the strongest, most reliable base made in the USA. Also we specialize in foundations designed for Inclined Sleeping. We look forward to the opportunity to serve you.
Jeff Wolfe

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Hello Kylemore,
Have you looked at DIYMattress.com (a MUG Trusted Member). You can create a mattress with pocket coils, latex, and organic quilted cover in queen size for $899. This mattress will compare to mattresses in stores or online at $1500 to $3000. Their customer service will help you dial in your comfort. You even have the ability to change the comfort within 30 days.
Just a reminder- when your’re searching for your mattress, don’t forget how important the foundation is. At Mattress Foundations, we specialize in the Terra Foundation- the strongest, most reliable base made in the USA. Also we specialize in foundations designed for Inclined Sleeping. We look forward to the opportunity to serve you.
Jeff Wolfe

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