First off, I would like to thank this site for the overwhelming wealth of information that is posted here. I am a retired disabled vet living in the Norfolk, VA area. In 27 yrs of marriage, only owned 2 beds. The most recent being a Select comfort mainly since the wife and I have 2 different feels when sleeping. Our current bed was replaced free by Sleep number 2 years ago and we have struggled a bunch. With all my neck and shoulder issues I think they changed their foams. This led me to do research on alternatives and the bedding industry is insane with all the technological gimicky…Hybrid gel, 12 layers, etc…I have never liked regular memory foam and not a spring mattress fan. I stumbled across latex and this has seriously gotten my curiosity up. On the surface, if it is so superior, why haven’t the large mfrs taken this process over? In a way, I think they have using synthetics and partial latex to maximize their profit margins while appealing to those who want latex! My biggest concern is not the price difference of which I have seen from $1800-$4000 in doing my research. I am thankful to have stumbled across CozyPure since I live 20 miles away. The owner Cheryl was not only fantastic but passionate about her product. My approach is to get a bed that will enhance my sleep performance…I honestly do not know what makes Cozypure better than Plushbeds or Savvi rest or any of the others. All of them tout the same thing, superior products but pricing is all over the place and a consumer has to look at that…I cannot bring myself to buy something without ever laying on it first. I have to believe that each mfr’s latex system of same size and density would all lay a little different! Is that a correct assumption?
Are there other places who have actual showrooms within 200 miles of VA?
I think what gives the traditional mattress mfrs somewhat of an edge is some sort of way out in case you do not like a product which I have a hard time seeing in latex?
What do these mainly internet companies with solely latex technology try and compete within stores to push more of their product? I surely do not believe they solely exist to appease to people who are green, eco, environmental type people…I don’t have an issue with them
My biggest concern is not knowing if the internet retailers are legitimate given that anyone can make a claim about anything these days. I don’t want to overpay for some product or trust that a cheaper product is equally as superior as a more expensive one. Could you not simply enhance your experience by putting a 3-4" natural latex topper in your existing setup? Does the core make that much of an impact?
I will continue to research all within this forum because I am severely frustrated with my current setup but I welcome anyone’s advice and thanks in advance! Sorry for the venting…
I think you are correct in your assumptions. The short answer is that it’s more difficult to “differentiate” and they wouldn’t be able to maintain their margins as easily based on “marketing stories” compared to other manufacturers that sell latex mattresses at lower prices than they would charge and because it lasts longer (which reduces turnover and profit).
The largest manufacturers don’t focus on the “best” materials and are much more focused on their marketing efforts and marketing stories to build profit margins along the supply chain and build their market share. Even with more common materials such as polyfoam … they use lower quality less durable materials in their mattresses (even with the polyfoam and memory foam they use) and sell them at higher prices than the materials they use would justify (which is also part of the reason they don’t disclose the quality of the materials in their mattresses).
What makes one mattress purchase (not just the mattress) “better” than another are how each mattress purchase compares to the others you are considering based on all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.
Yes … outside of quality considerations or the “value” of the raw materials in a mattress … PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) can be very different in different designs even if they use very similar materials and PPP is one of the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase. If a mattress is otherwise great quality or has a great price considering the raw materials and components but isn’t suitable for you to sleep on it would have little value to you. Conversely … you can’t “feel” or test for the quality of the materials in a mattress based on your testing (low quality and high quality materials can feel the same or very similar) and if a mattress “feels” great but uses lower quality materials that only maintains it’s comfort and support for a short time (in some cases months to a few years) then it also wouldn’t be good value so knowing the quality and durability of the materials inside a mattress is also an important part of assessing “value”.
There is also more about much of this in the tutorial post here which has all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best possible choices … and know how to avoid the worst ones.
If a manufacturer is transparent and provides the information you need about the quality of the materials in their mattresses (unlike the major brands) then you don’t have to believe anyone’s claims or stories because you can identify any weak links and make meaningful comparisons between mattresses for yourself.
There is more about the functions of the comfort layers, support layers, and transition layers in a mattress and mattress designs and materials in general and more about the factors that affect sleeping quality and durability and how to test a mattress for PPP in the information and links in the tutorial post.
Once you get to step 3 in the tutorial … outside of Cozy Pure some of the better options and possibilities I’m aware of in the Norfolk area are listed in post #2 here.
I really really thank you for taking time to respond. I have read all the links you referenced in detail and think it was very much helpful. I may attempt to find one other somewhat local company to simply compare to CozyPure as I am just not comfortable with buying sight unseen/tested. I appreciate the tutorials talking about the core support and how this all works as a unit. I am still contemplating buying a 3.5 to 4" piece of latex as a topper and removing my existing same amount of inferior padding to my sleep number and see if it makes a difference. Worst case is loss of about $300 and I leave it on the select comfort when I move it or buy a bed with core only and add this to it. I did a search on this forum and did not see a lot about one internet provider (Plushbeds). Very informative and well layed out site and also it appears that IKEA carries a limited amount of product but that could also be just a portion of the foam bedding but at least it is something to lay on and try. Back to more reading…
