Hi BigCTM,
Unfortunately your experience is part of a small percentage of online purchases that never quite seem to get things quite right.
I think it’s always tempting to try to find similar quality but better “commodity value” in an online mattress purchase but in some cases it may also be too easy to minimize the risk involved in finding better value online when all the different parts of a mattress purchase are taken into account…
When you are comparing a Jamison all latex mattress for example with a mattress that is available online … one may not be better quality (they may both be using the same materials) and the main difference may be in design … and of course price. In some cases … differences in design and layering (not materials) can lead to a significant difference in PPP (Pressure relief, Posture and alignment, and Personal preferences). Sometimes even seemingly minor variations can make a big difference for some people and circumstances. The suitability of a mattress is often a part of value that is difficult to quantify or “add in” to your value equation and is easy to overlook the extra “risk” of an online purchase.
In most cases … the “basic” recommendation of an online manufacturer will be great for (using an arbitrary number to make a point) 75% - 80% of consumers. These are the ones where their first choice is their last one and they are happy from the beginning. Out of the 20% - 25% or so that are left … most of these will be able to make fine tuning adjustments that get them close to their ideal in terms of PPP (Pressure relief, Posture and alignment, and Personal preferences). The more fine tuning options there are available in a design … this more likely this is to happen. Beyond this though there will always be a small percentage where for whatever reason the possibilities for adjusting or fine tuning a mattress they have purchased may not be enough to get them into their “ideal range” of PPP. This may be because it needs a change in layers that are not available, a change in layer thickness when this isn’t possible, or other reasons that are part of lower probabilities that wouldn’t make a difference for most people but does for a smaller percentage of people. These are the cases where fine tuning can be much more difficult than simply re-arranging layers or a layer or core exchange and are often the people where “nothing seems to work”. In a rare few of these cases … starting over again with a different design or in a different direction may be the only possibility. Unfortunately nothing works for 100% of people.
Of course it’s never fun when you are in this small minority but the reality is that sometimes it happens. I know there are a few people that I’ve tried to help in the past where there has been no combination of latex layering that seemed to completely satisfy their needs and preferences or come close enough and it’s as frustrating to all concerned as it is to the people themselves because of course the goal of everyone is to find the ideal layering that lets them forget about mattresses for at least the next decade. It can sometimes seems that online purchases are so successful for so many people that it’s easy to forget the risk involved.
So when you are starting over again … the steps involved are the same as any new mattress search and are listed in post #1 here. The difference now of course is that you have some experience behind you in terms of the “feel” of a mattress that doesn’t seem to work for you as well as a mattress that does (the Jamison). It may also be helpful if you could find out the layering of the Jamison that you did well with to use as a guideline.
The better options and choices I’m aware of in the Memphis area are listed in post #2 here and these are the places I would begin. With some careful research and testing … you should be able to find some good quality and value available locally.
Phoenix