Intellibed

[phoenix]

Hi juhasznebakos,

I live in Alabama, so we visited 2 stores you recommended in Pelham. One of them was Ensley Fairfield Mattress . The lady was very knowledgeable. We were looking for 100 % natural latex mattress. She had the Pure Talalay Bliss. She has very good price. Also she has a very good discount twice a year. One of them was last week.

I’m glad you had a chance to try out a few latex mattresses in person.

they could not tell me the ILD of the Talalay latex. I called the company, not the store, several time, and they always were busy. Left messages, but they never called me back.

All the information you need to know is in this article. While the specs that affect the quality and durability of the layers and components are important to know … when you are testing a mattress locally then disclosing “comfort specs” such as ILD/IFD isn’t really necessary or even an important part of transparency because with careful testing your body will tell you much more about whether any specific combination of layers or components or any specific mattress is a good “match” for you in terms of comfort, firmness, and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your own Personal preferences) than knowing the ILD/IFD of the individual layers regardless of what the actual numbers may be. In other words … I would consider ILD/IFD information to be a legitimate part of what many manufacturers consider to be “proprietary” information and it would be completely meaningless and only add to the confusion for most consumers anyway.

I would also keep in mind that ILD is only one of several variables or “specs” that will determine how soft or firm an individual layer or a mattress “as a whole” will feel to different people (see post #4 here). In addition to this the ILD of different materials or different types and blends of latex also aren’t always directly comparable to each other (see post #6 here) so using the ILD of a particular layer or combination of layers as a reliable indication of how firm a mattress may feel to you compared to another mattress with a different combination of layers can sometimes be more misleading than helpful. Many brands/stores are also well aware that many of their customers may just be “showrooming” their mattresses and may be intending to purchase a similar mattress or combinations of layers and components online so they would have no reason to disclose ILD/IFD information to a potential customer.

I also send an e-mail to Mattress TO Go. Jeff Scheuer, the owner very quickly sent an answer

I removed the content of the email from Jeff that you posted here, as I don’t think he would have wanted the private information and insights he shared with you to be posted publicly here. But I will summarize what he spoke about, and it is true that there was a policy instituted last year that stopped allowing retailers to pick up PTB products directly from PTB or their distribution centers and ship them directly to their customers. There were many retailers offering more competitive prices on these PTB products when shipping in this manner, but now this is no longer allowed. There are still retailers offering to ship PTB products, but from their own warehouses, generally at prices quite a bit higher than what was previously available from retailers shipping directly from the factory. Of course, every manufacturer has the right to set their own policies on pricing and distribution. I know that Jeff and quite a few other retailers are upset about not being able to ship PTB to their clients as there were able to previously.

After that I have decided that I will check out the mattress stores that sell on the internet. I checked out your membership list. There are two companies left . One of them is Sleeping Organics from Charleston, and the other one is Sleep EZ. Both look very good, and looks like have everything that I am looking for. Sleeping Organic is more expensive, but if you need to return your products you just need to take the boxes to outside of your door, while Sleeping EZ is less expensive, but you need to take the product to the FedEx store if you want to send it back.

Both Sleeping Organic and SleepEZ are members of this site which means that I think very highly of them and that I believe that they compete well with the best in the industry in terms of their quality, value, service, knowledge, and transparency. They are both extremely knowledgeable about latex and different configurations, and I would not hesitate to recommend them for your consideration. Both companies do have good return policies, and SleepEZ can arrange for FedEx to pick up your return at home for a $4.00 fee per box.

I have read that if you buy just the layers, and they are not glued together than the layers are shifting, and you need to adjust them all the time. Do you have any experience with it? Some says you need to buy the glued mattress, that is complete.

Latex is very “sticky” and has a high coefficient of friction, plus the layers are held together with the mattress encasement, so those layers don’t tend to “travel” too much. Plus having the layers loose allows you the ability to fine-tune and customize.

The other question is: Is it possible to put back the mattresses to the original box, if you need to send them back. I can not vacuum the air out at home?

The products you’re considering don’t use vacuum sealing and are shipped in layers rolled up in a plastic bag. I’d recommend keeping your boxes and plastic until you’re sure that you won’t be returning or exchanging layers.

Has anybody bought mattresses from either of the companies, and what was your experience? There are not a lot of third party reviews on the Sleeping Organic. I found some of Sleeping EZ. It seems to be good.

While other people’s comments about the knowledge and service of a particular business can certainly be very helpful … I would always keep in mind that you are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress and I would be cautious about using anyone else’s suggestions, experiences or reviews on a specific 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. In many if not most cases they can be more misleading than helpful because a mattress that would be a perfect choice for one person or even a larger group of people in terms of comfort, firmness, and PPP may be completely unsuitable for someone else to sleep on (even if they are in a similar weight range). In other words … reviews or other people’s experiences in general 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).

Also Sleeping EZ OEKO Certificate expired, so I will call them and ask them about it.

The certificates are supplied to them by Radium and Talalay Global. Those companies still have their Oeko-Tex certifications, but I’m sure SleepEZ will be happy if you let them know that they need to post the new certificates on their site.

I did write a lot of e-mails to Sleeping Organic, and they always sent back the reply quickly. Also I had very good experience with Spindle, Cozy Pure and My Green Mattress. We had e-mails back and forth.

I’m happy that you’ve received swift replies. I’ll recommend that should you move forward with a purchase, that you have a detailed phone conversation with the manufacturer/retailer before placing your order, as it is the best manner to receive the most accurate and detailed information about choosing the most appropriate mattress for your needs.

Phoenix