Hi rupert,
I’m not sure I’m clear on your question but the “feel” of “raw latex” if you take the layer by itself will depend on the type of latex and on its ILD. A pillowtop is a type of mattress construction that can use any type of material the mattress manufacturer may choose rather than a specific material. Latexco makes and sells latex but not “pillowtops” (which is a type of mattress construction not a type of layer).
If you mean a type of latex that is fabricated in a certain way (such as being convoluted like this, with sculpted ridges or channels like this or having “bumps” or “pillows” on the surface such as this or like this … then these will be softer than the same type and ILD of latex that uses a solid layer of the type of latex in the same ILD (whether they were in a pillowtop or any other layer or type of mattress construction) because there is less material to compress until you reach the solid part of the layer.
Jamison has a retail outlet finder here and then a few phone calls can let you know which models each retailer carries.
Shipping varies widely between different online retailers and manufacturers and is of course part of the purchase price of a mattress that needs to be taken into account. Return or exchange costs of either layers or a mattress can also vary widely depending on the retailer or manufacturer (from free to minimal cost to much higher costs) and all of this is part of each person’s personal value equation (see post #46 here which is also linked in many other posts on the forum) which would play a role in which mattress they buy and which retailer or manufacturer they choose to work with. I don’t have a “concern” about this as much as I would hope people take any differences into account so that they are comparing all the different benefits, risks, and options between different mattresses and merchants that they are considering.
I think that you will find that most better manufacturers or retailers will be very upfront with this issue even though their policies and how they pay for shipping may vary widely. Some include it in the price of a mattress and others add it as an extra. Every “benefit” of a mattress though is part of what a consumer pays for and part of its “value”.
In addition to the sources listed in the Nashville list (some of which do make all latex mattresses) … you may also want to call any of the retailers that are listed on the Pure Latex Bliss retail finder or on the Natura retail finder as both of these also make all latex mattresses.
Phoenix