Currently looking for good memory foam mattress. Considering icomfort prodigy. Also considering buying icomfort of ebay at discount with no warranty. I need suggestions. I sleep on my side. Have lower back pain. 6’2" 195lbs. Please advise. Greenville SC. I have looked at the 5 sites you recommend. The beds on these sites cost as much the name brand beds. I have a hard time spending 3k on a bed much less a bed I cannot see or feel first.
Hi Max,
The first place to start is always post #1 here. This will give you all the information, guidelines, and steps that will help you make the best possible choices.
A mattress is only as good as the type and quality of the construction and materials inside it and if you If you are making apples to apples comparisons then this is rarely the case. The major brands (such as the ones you have mentioned) make meaningful comparisons almost impossible because they usually don’t disclose the quality of the materials in their mattresses. If you are making comparisons based on things like mattress thickness or based only on the type of materials without regard to quality then these types of comparisons are not really meaningful because it’s the quality of the materials in the mattress that makes the difference in cost and value … not just the type or the thickness of the mattress. This is part of learning how to bypass the “normal” practices of the industry that use these kind of assumptions to mislead consumers.
I don’t blame you on both counts. I think that every consumer would have the same kind of difficulty if they were looking at a $3000 mattress. The key is always to ask yourself why you are considering a mattress that is $3000 where there are usually much lower cost choices available that would be perfectly suitable and to also ask yourself if there is either a way to reasonably predict what the mattress will feel like based on your own testing or what your options are if you make a mistake and make an unsuitable choice (either locally or online). This is all part of knowing what I call your personal value equation and which parts of a mattress purchase are most important to you and the benefits, risks, and tradeoffs involved with each option you have.
I think you’ve seen this but for the sake of others that are reading this thread … the better options and possibilities I’m aware of in the Greenville, SC area are listed in post #2 here.
Phoenix
Thanks for your insight. I agree with what you are saying and that a lot of the cost of the name brand is due to advertising i.e. Bose speakers (definitely not the best). I have found a local dealer who is trying to sell me a foam mattress by Amerigel. The mattress is a fraction of the cost of others $1300.00 with no sleep trial and a 15 year warranty. However I cannot find any specs on the mattress. The mattress feels good to lay on in the showroom as due others. The problem is that I don’t lay on mattresses i sleep on them. So it is really not possible to determine if I will like the mattress and this scares me since there is no sleep trial. Sales person explains that the other mattresses cost more because they calculate the sleep trial warranty into their price. I don’t know if you might have any resources on the brand Amerigel. We are looking for a well constructed mattress (king) and would like not to spend more than 1500.00 including box springs but can and will spend 2,000.00 if we see what we feel is a quality foam mattress. I respect your opinion and look forward to any suggestions.
thanks,
HiMax,
You can see the criteria I use for memory foam mattresses in post #10 here.
Unfortunately you can’t “feel” the quality of the materials in a mattress and both very low quality andhigh quality materials can feel the same in a showroom. the difference is that low quality materials soften and degrade much faster and don’t keep the feel and performance that was the reason you bought it for nearly as long. The loss of comfort and support is the main reason people need to replace a mattress and this isn’t covered by any warranty. A warranty has nothing to do with the quality of a mattress or how long it will last for you.
$1300 could be way overpriced if the materials are poor quality or it could be good value if the materials are good quality. I would never consider a mattress where you have absolutely no idea what you are buying thugh. To use an analogy … you could be buying a particle board piece of furniture with nice veneer and paying real wood prices. Both will have the same function and performance but one won’t be as durable or have the same “value” as the other.
Advertising is the cost that most people mention and while it’s certainly a significant amount, it is only one of the reasons for higher prices and lower quality materials with major manufacturers. Others include debt servicing ratios, longer supply chains, and payments to shareholders or investors and their demands for constantly increasing profits and margins (see post #12 here).
The brand doesn’t matter … it’s always the ability to be able to find out the quality of the materials in the mattress that makes it possible to determine its quality and value. Of course the other benefits that may be important to you (such as a sleep trial) are also part of what you pay for. I don’t know who makes the Amerigel mattresses but there is an Amerigel that makes wound dressings and Amerisoft also used to make gel products for medical uses called Amerigel (they no longer seem to be in business) and Amerigel also seems to be referenced on the Southerland website but I don’t know if any of these make the mattresses you are looking at.
Phoenix
Hi I was wondering if you ever bought those amerigel mattresses by southernland . We are also looking at those and could only find the specs for it on one site . It’s the only one in our budget but I’m scared to get it because they have only been around for one year .
Hi Janie,
I would be very cautious about buying any mattress where you haven’t confirmed the specifics of the materials inside it so you can make sure that there are no weak links in the mattress and make more meaningful comparisons with other mattresses. You can see the quality/durability guidelines I would suggest using as a reference in post #4 here.
Phoenix