I’m assuming it’s always best to get a mattress shipped directly from the manufacturer whenever possible. Having said that, if one DOES purchase a mattress from a Retail Store, how long has that mattress been stacked in the warehouse? I’m sure it depends on how fast that model is selling, but best case/worse case scenario?
cantsleep:
There is no singular answer for your question, as it varies considerably based upon a store’s bankroll, volume, frequency of product replenishment, business model, and storage space, just to name a few things.
The important thing is that the products are properly stored in an appropriate environment (temperature and humidity controlled, clean warehouse/backroom, correct orientation when stored…). I personally wouldn’t have an issue with a 4-5 month old mattress (properly stored) being delivered from a backroom.
The one type of product for which you’d want to have more concern with storage timeframe would be your boxed-bed products. While there is no cut and dried timeframe for the maximum time something is held as compressed and roll-packed, for mattresses containing polyfoam the consensus recommendation I’ve received from manufacturers with whom I’ve spoken seems to be a maximum of 3 months. Of course, higher quality, higher density materials put up with compression better than lower quality, lower density materials. In the past I have received promotional emails from some manufacturers offering large discounts on some of their compressed boxed-bed products, only to find out that these have been sitting in their warehouse for over a year (these would generally be imported products, as many domestic manufacturers tend to be closer to a just-in-time production process).
Many mattress stores receive shipments directly from their factories quite frequently (my vendors visit me at least every two weeks). Their primary interest would be in predicting what would be just enough product on hand for people to acquire in between shipments, as maintaining too much back stock is inefficient and expensive.
Hopefully that information is helpful.