I am having very little luck with getting the full specs from salespeople on the mattresses available here locally. I have the name given to the mattress by the store, but when I go to that manufacturer website, there is no such animal. How do I match the name the store gave with the same mattress on the web so I can get more spec info? Plus, I may have discovered that store ā1ā names mattress āAā one way, and the same mattress at store ā2ā is called something else !! Sheesh !!
Hi Missoula Nights,
The first place I would start your research is the mattress shopping tutorial here which has all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best possible choice ā¦ and perhaps more importantly know how and why to avoid the worst ones.
These are two of the most common challenges in the industry (lack of transparency and the same mattresses having many different names) and both are often indications that you are shopping at stores that I would tend to avoid in the first place.
Many larger retailers that carry mattresses made by major manufacturers insist that the mattresses they carry have a different name than the same mattress sold by other retailers (sometimes they just have a different cover or other more cosmetic differences) so that consumers canāt make meaningful price comparisons for the same mattress which of course means that they donāt have to match the prices of other retailers that are carrying what is basically the same mattress. Of course none of these are listed on the manufacturers website because that would defeat the purpose of their naming conventions in the first place. The only way to make meaningful comparisons with these mattresses are by comparing the materials and components inside the mattress and if they are the same then the mattress is the same as well. Of course the same retailers often donāt tell you the specifics of what is inside their mattresses either so even this may be impossible. The simplest way to avoid this type of frustration is to just avoid any manufacturer or retailer who either canāt or wonāt provide you with the information that you need to make an informed choice (see the guidelines here).
There is more about the most important parts of the āvalueā of a mattress purchase in post #13 here that can help you make more meaningful comparisons between mattresses.
When you get to step 3 in the mattress shopping tutorial if you let me know your city or zip code Iād be happy to let you know about any of the better options or possibilities Iām aware of in your area where your odds are higher of being able to find out the information that you need about a mattress you are considering (see this article).
Phoenix
HI and thanks for your immediate response !
I live in Missoula Montana - zip code 59801 ( or 02,03,04,06,07,08). Another large enough town close by that I would be willing to travel there to shop is Hamilton MT.
I have already read pretty much every section of your site AND have watched a number of Mattās 'Beducation" videos - he mentions mattress underground in at least one of them!
I have been to 5 of the 7 main stores here that sell mattresses and I feel like I actually know more about mattresses and all the things that go along with them than the salespeople here do ! I have specifically asked to be given specs at 3 of the 5 and none could come up with anything of much use - they all practice the frustrating sales techniques that you and Matt warn about except one - Full House Furniture. I have not found that much difference in the feel of the mattresses between the top 3 or 4 mattresses I have tried out, so because he was the one that told me about your site, I am leaning towards giving him my business. But he also was not able to give me much in the way of specs. Compared to the showrooms at The Living Room, Denver Mattress, etc, he obviously has lower overhead and so his prices are lower by at least $100 in generalā¦but of course I still do not know what I am comparing because of the lack of details about what is on the inside !
The oneās he has that I am interested in I believe are Serta and he calls them " Five Star Mattress Pro Comfort Collection - Fox Creek Plush or the Five Star Mattress True Luxury Collection Palmersfield Plush.
The details I DO have say:
Palmersfield: - Advanced 744 Pocketed Coil, foam encased for edge support, 1" āGentle Supportā Foam, 1 3/8" Convoluted Foam, 1" āGentle Supportā Foam
Fox Creek: - Advanced 532 āMira-Coilā Continuous Wire Innerspring, foam encased for edge support, 1" āGentle Supportā Foam, 2" āGentle Supportā Foam.
Now you know pretty much everything I know - is there anything you can add? Thanks again ~
Hi Missoula Nights,
Given your username ā¦ I probably should have guessed where you were from 
The better options and possibilities Iām aware of in your area (subject to the guidelines here) are listed in post #5 here.
Unfortunately this is far too common and almost everyone that has spent more than an hour or so on the site will generally know more meaningful information about mattresses and mattress materials than most of the salespeople in the mainstream industry that sell them.
I would avoid any mattress where you arenāt able to find out the type and quality of the materials inside it (see this article) and a mattress like this that has over 3" of āunknown quality materialsā that are most likely lower quality polyfoam on top of the innerspring would almost certainly be a weak link in the mattress (see this article). This would be a very āhigh riskā purchase.
Itās much more likely that you will be able to find out the information you need about the type and quality of the materials with some of the other manufacturers they carry and Denver Mattress is also transparent about the type and quality of the materials in their mattresses as well (or at least the ones that they manufacture).
Phoenix