Hi cgibsong002,
That’s much to broad a question to answer with any degree of specificity because “top of the line” is just a marketing term with no specific meaning. Some so called “top of the line” mattresses that sell for $3000 or even higher use some low quality materials that would be a weak link in the mattress in terms of durability that I would never consider while other “mid range” or even some relatively “low budget” mattresses use high quality and durable materials that would be well worth considering even though they are in much lower budget ranges. I tend to look at the “value” of a mattress purchase rather than just price because the price of a mattress won’t tell you anything about whether a mattress would be suitable for you to sleep on or the quality and durability of the materials inside it.
There isn’t a “formula” that can be used to assess or “calculate” the value of a mattress because there are so many different variables and criteria involved that can affect the price of a mattress that can each be more or less important to some people and not to others who may have completely different criteria or definitions of “value”. The “value” of a mattress purchase is also relative to how a mattress compares to the other finalists you are considering or to other mattresses that are available to you in your area (or online if you are also considering online options) based on all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.
There is also more information about the 3 most important parts of “value” of a mattress purchase in post #13 here which can help you make more meaningful quality/value comparisons between mattresses in terms of suitability (how well you will sleep), durability (how long you will sleep well), and the overall value of a mattress compared to your other finalists based on suitability, durability, and all the other parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you (including the price of course and the options you have available after a purchase if your choice doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for).
Having said that … there is some very general information about mattress budgets and price ranges in this article that may be helpful but these are very generic and aren’t a reliable way to assess the “value” of any specific mattress.
There are certainly some very good quality/value mattresses available in the $500 - $1000 price range (queen size) that for many people may be just as suitable and just as durable as much more costly mattresses although they may not contain as much of the more premium specialty materials or components that are more costly.
If you are looking at online options then the mattress shopping tutorial also includes several links to lists of the better online options I’m aware of (in the optional online step) that include many different types and categories of mattresses in a wide range of budgets and firmness levels that would be well worth considering.
If you let me know your city or zip code I’d also be happy to let you know about the better options or possibilities I’m aware of in your area as well (although I would certainly pursue your warranty claim regardless of whether you decide to purchase a different mattress).
In most cases the major brands don’t disclose the quality/density of the foam layers in their mattresses so you generally won’t be able to find the specifics that you need to make an informed choice. I would treat “unknown” quality/density the same as lower quality/density materials because in most cases manufacturers that do use higher quality/density materials will want you to know and will be transparent about their materials. The Jordans website is the only one I’m aware of that lists the specs of all their Simmons mattresses but the materials would be the same or similar to Simmons mattresses that are sold across the country that are in the same model lineup (such as the Black line, the Recharge line, the World Class line, or the Hybrid line etc) except they would use different combinations or thicknesses of the same materials.
All the major brands (such as Sealy/Stearns & Foster, Simmons, and Serta) tend to use lower quality materials in their mattresses than most of their smaller competitors that will tend to soften or break down prematurely relative to the price you pay and I would generally suggest avoiding all of them completely (and the major retailers that focus on them such as Sleepys) along with any mattress where you aren’t able to find out the type and quality/durability of the materials inside it (see the guidelines here along with post #3 here and post #12 here and post #404 here).
I’m guessing that you mean “Consumer Reports” rather than “Consumer Affairs” and you can see my comments about their mattress ratings and recommendations in post #2 here and in this topic. While they may be a good source of information about more “objective” purchases … as you can see I would consider them to be an unreliable source of information or guidance about purchasing a mattress and they are somewhat nonsensical and meaningless. My thoughts are also shared by most of the more knowledgeable people in the industry (see post #5 here for an example).
While other people’s comments about the knowledge and service of a particular business can certainly be very helpful … I would also be very cautious about about using other people’s experiences or reviews on a 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 and in many if not most cases they can be more misleading than helpful because any mattress that would be a perfect choice for one person or even a larger group of people may be completely unsuitable for someone else to sleep on (even if they are in a similar weight range) and reviews in general certainly 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).
I can’t speak to how any mattress will “feel” for someone else in terms of firmness, “comfort”, or PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your personal preferences) because this is too subjective and relative to different body types, sleeping positions, and individual preferences, sensitivities, and circumstances … outside of “comfort” and PPP the most important part of the value of a mattress purchase is durability which is all about how long you will sleep well on a mattress. This is the part of your research that you can’t “feel” and assessing the durability and useful life of a mattress always depends on knowing the type and quality of the materials inside it regardless of the name of the manufacturer on the label or how a mattress feels in a showroom or when it is relatively new so I would always make sure that you can find out the information listed here so you can compare the materials and components to the quality/durability guidelines here to make sure that there are no lower quality materials or weak links that would be a cause for concern or compromise the durability and useful life of a mattress you are considering before making any purchase.
Phoenix