I had a chance to look at various latex mattresses in different stores that were all recommended on this website. One question that is still nagging me is the striking price difference between mattresses that, at least ostensibly, should be somewhat similarly priced.
Would you guys mind enlightening me as to the difference between, let’s say, Dixie Foam’s latex mattress, which is a 6" talalay priced at around $1150 and would amount to about $1500 with a 3" latex topper, and Shovlin’s Nirvana which is a 6" talalay with a 5" poly foam, which is priced at $2799?
Is there any concrete reason why one would cost twice as much as the other? Better quality? Better materials? I am quite perplexed as both of these stores seem to come highly recommended, so I am not thinking immediately that I am being “gypped off”.
Post #14 here has more about the many reasons for price differences between two manufacturers or retailers which includes the cost of the raw materials (including the type and blend and amount of latex, the cover and quilting, and all the other materials and components in each mattress that can affect the cost), the cost of manufacturing, return and exchange policies that are built into the cost, and all the other factors that lead to the final cost of a mattress and how they may differ between two businesses.
While the “raw material cost” of a mattress can be an important consideration if you are comparing two mattresses that are the same in all the other ways that are that are important … the value of a mattress also involves much more than its raw material cost. There is more in post #13 here about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase.
In terms of PPP, I have pretty much narrowed down my options to the two the I have mentioned above. Now, I have noticed that you usually abstain from giving your vote to one company/type over another, but, with your specific knowledge of these specific two mattresses, and taking into account the price difference, do you think there is a “better purchase” out of these two? I have a slight preference PPP wise to the Shovlin, but the price difference just seems so vast. Any concrete advice from the wise? I would be willing to invest in the Shovlin if I thought that it was substantially better, of course.
Once you are down to final choices (see post #2 here) that are all between “good and good” (which you are) and there are no weak links in any of them (which there aren’t) then which one is the “best value for you” really depends on all the objective, subjective, and intangible parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you. One person may make one choice for reasons that are important to them and others may make a completely different choice and both would be making a choice that is “best for them”.
My goal is always to help each person to eliminate any mattresses that have any obvious weak links and to help each of the members here with “how” to choose but once you are down to your finalists and there are no clear winners between them I never become involved with “what to choose” because I can’t know which one is better for you and that’s always up to the “best judgement” of each person and the “value” you assign to all the tradeoffs that are involved with the many comparisons that are part of every mattress purchase.
Fair enough, Phoenix. Will let you guys know when I decide and have had some experience with the new mattress. Thank you so much for helping out with the whole process!
I’m looking forward to finding out what you end up deciding.
The biggest issue in your choice will be deciding whether the “degree of difference” in terms of sleep quality and PPP and all the other parts of your personal value equation would justify the higher actual or material cost of the Nirvana. These are always “best judgement” choices which can be difficult to assess except in hindsight although neither mattress you are considering would have any weak links in terms of durability.
At the end of the day … when you look back on a mattress purchase a decade or more from now you will remember much more about how well you slept and how long you slept well than you will about the price you paid for a mattress and in either case the cost of a good quality/value mattress spread out over the time you use it would be well worth it and is very reasonable compared to other major purchases or even “regular expenses” that can have a significant effect on your overall wellbeing. Having said that of course … the price is usually paid up front and not over time so it would also be a significant factor in any mattress purchase … particularly if the design or materials of two mattresses are similar.
A forum search on “Shovlin Nirvana” will also bring up more comments and feedback about the Nirvana as well and a forum search on Dixiefoam latex will also bring up more feedback about them as well.