Looking for new bed - Costco - or Brooklyn Bed?

Mattress Talk General Mattresses Questions
1

Hi,

About 2 years ago (8/2010), I was scheduled for back surgery, so we decided to get a new bed before the surgery. The one we had was over 20 years old, and felt like it was “sinking”, and you could feel the coils when lying on it, so we also thought that we wanted something a little firmer for my recovery.

So we bought a “Springport Firm King” from Costco.

It was ok for maybe a month or so, then we noticed that the bed was developing “valleys” where each of us (my wife and I) slept, and there was a big “hump” in the middle of the bed.

I guess we procrastinated, but in the last couple of months, I’ve noticed that I’ve been waking up with numbness in my arms and hands, and saw a doctor, and then have been having physical therapy.

In speaking with the therapist, I mentioned that for the last 4-5 days, I hadn’t felt as much numbness, and I also haven’t been sleeping in our bed, due to some other stuff going on, and he said that maybe the numbness was being caused by our bed. He said that he had a foam-top type bed awhile ago and had the same problem and bought a new bed.

Last night, we tried one other thing that we’ve been thinking of for awhile, rotating/spinning the bed, and I slept in it last night, and didn’t feel the “valleys” and the “hump”.

So, I’m thinking it might be time to get a new bed that would be somewhat firm, but would not “sink” like the one we have now, and I ran across this forum while researching.

We really like buying from Costco because of their return policy (they’ve already agreed that we can return the one we have, even after 3 years now), if possible, but, in looking at the ones they have in the reviews for each one, it seems like there’s always at least one review that complains about the “valleys”.

I also some some stuff about Brooklyn Bedding, when they were on Amazon, and was impressed, so I’m wondering:

  • Are there ANY beds at costco.com that anyone here would recommend? Also, which ones would you definitely avoid?

  • How are the beds from Brooklyn Bedding? And, which would you recommend per the above? Also, how is their service (do they allow returns)?

Thanks in advance!

Jim

2

I did a chat with “Mario” from Brooklyn Bed, and was told the following (this is for a King):

  • During the 1st 120 days:
    → 1 free comfort layer exchange
    → add’l comfort layer exhanges => pay for shipping, ~$20-$30
    → Can do full return/refund, but must pay for shipping, ~$400+

Comparing that to the Costco return policy, it seems like no comparison (we’ve just gotten ok from Costco to return our 3 year old bed for full refund).

So, now I’m thinking that unless someone might be able to recommend one from Costco, we might need to look elsewhere :(…

So, started looking at Sleepy’s, of which there are tons of B&M locations, with one within several minutes of us, and I was looking at the S&F Cora that they have, so does anyone have comments on that one? From what I can tell, that doesn’t have any foam layer, but does that mean that it won’t have the valleys/hump over time?

Thanks,
Jim

3

Hi ohaya,

You can read m thoughts about buying from Costco (or any of the big box stores) in post #4 here. You are really rolling the dice when you make a purchase from a store that knows little about mattresses or the quality or suitability of what you are buying for your needs and preferences. In most cases the quality/value of most of the Costco mattresses are also not the best available to most people. As you mention though at least you get a “free roll of the dice” when you purchase from them because of their great return policy (although they still need to assess the return to make sure it is reasonable and that there are no stains on the mattress).

To me the quality/durability of a mattress (based on the quality of the materials inside it), the suitability of a mattress, the guidance available from the manufacturer or retailer, and the quality of your sleep, along with your ability to make custom choices, to fine tune or make adjustments to a mattress instead of returning the whole thing and starting all over again, and higher quality and performance materials and better value are more important than a return policy but of course each person’s personal value equation may be very different.

If you do decide to go in this direction then the same information and guidelines that are in post #1 here that apply to any purchase would apply to a Costco purchase as well.

As you will read in the “read first” post … I also wouldn’t walk through the front door of most chain stores and I also wouldn’t consider a major brand mattress where there is no way for you to know the quality of a mattress you are considering (they don’t disclose meaningful information about the quality of the materials in the mattress).

The Stearns & Foster Cora has 4"-5" of lower quality polyfoam in the comfort layers in a one sided mattress depending on the version (see here or here) but they are both the type of materials and construction that I would specifically avoid.

As you can see in mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here, I can only help with how to choose (not the specifics of which specific mattress to choose) and speak to the quality or value of a mattress. There are too many unknowns and variables involved for anyone else to know which mattress would be most suitable for you without either your own personal testing or the experience, knowledge, and guidance of the manufacturer or retailer you are purchasing from who can help you choose between specific mattresses they make or sell based on the “averages” of other people. If you do choose to purchase from Costco, I would only consider the mattresses where you know (or can find out) the quality of every layer in the mattress so you can make sure there are no “weak links” in the mattress (such as the use of thick layers of lower quality polyfoam in the Cora) meaningful quality and value comparisons to other mattresses.

Brooklyn Bedding is one of the manufacturing members of this site which means that I believe they are among the best quality/value in the country. They are also completely knowledgeable and transparent about the design and materials they use in their mattresses, they provide comfort and support options before and after a purchase with many of their mattresses, and you would have all the information you would need to make informed decisions and meaningful comparisons with other mattresses.

Phoenix