I am in the market for a 100% natural latex bed wrapped in organic materials. I have multiple nearby retailers from which to purchase a mattress of this type and have found several models that seem to fit the bill.
My main question at this point is: Can I haggle the price of these mattresses at all? I know that prices on more conventional mattresses can be negotiated, but I am wondering if this also applies to buying an organic/natural latex mattress. One bargaining point I see is that I have multiple local options (i.e., why should I buy at X if I can get a similar mattress at Y or Z?). I can also mention buying online. One store has fees for delivery and old mattress disposal. I certainly do not want to pay that.
In your experience, can the prices of these latex mattresses be negotiated?
Two thoughts:
One - The smaller the company the more they have say in their payment options. For example, we’re a small home business that consists of only two owners and no employees (though we contract out work) and we will accept bartered goods and services in place of money. Of course, it only works if we want the items or services, but if they prove to be useful items, we have reduced costs.
Two - When buying organic/natural latex, you’re buying a product that is going to last at least twice as long as a standard spring mattress. The going number is 20-30 years until they harden too much. As natural latex ages, it loses its antioxidant and then starts to be affected its surroundings and slowly hardening. First it’s the edges, then all the surfaces and slowly in toward the center. On my parents’ molded latex pillows, the surface was yellow by 20 years, but wasn’t crispy yet. So, the lifespan of the product should be taken in consideration when comparing prices.
This will depend on the retailer or manufacturer and how much “wiggle room” they have in their margins. In the case of the better manufacturers or retailers they will tend to sell their mattresses at their best price every day of the year and won’t negotiate their prices (perhaps with occasional sales for legitimate reasons with smaller discounts). If negotiation plays a role in the price you pay then it usually means that their regular prices are higher than they should be. You can read more about “fake sale prices” in post #5 here and there is more about negotiating in post #6 here.
I would also keep in mind that the price of a mattress is only part of the “value” of a mattress purchase and that each person may have criteria that are important parts of their personal value equation that are just as important … or in many cases even more important than the price.
Great, thank you for the insight diynaturalbedding and Phoenix. I guess it can’t hurt to try.
Another thought I have been having is: where is the latex foam actually being produced? That is, is the raw, liquid, latex being shipped to the US and then made via the dunlop or talalay process into foam? Or rather, is the latex foam produced overseas and then shipped to the US?
Secondly, in my research I have come across companies such as Latex International and discovered that their latex is used by several mattress manufacturers. Are most of the natural latex beds made by US and Canadian mattress manufacturers sourcing their latex from only a handful (or fewer) companies? If so, are there really vast differences between different mattress brands in terms of latex quality? Do mattress manufacturers make their own latex?
If the process and proprietary extra ingredients (wish I knew more about these) are known in the industry, shouldn’t we expect similar quality for all natural dunlop and talalay latex “brands”?
The latex itself is normally grown in plantations that are about 10 degrees north or south of the equator … mostly in SE Asia. You can see the top producers of raw rubber here and Sri Lanka also produces a lot of the natural rubber that is used in Dunlop latex cores that are seen in North America.
Most of the molded Dunlop cores are produced in the same countries and then shipped to North America. There are two factories in the US that produce continuous pour Dunlop latex in the US (Latexco and Mountaintop). Talalay is produced in the US by Latex International and in Holland by Radium who import the raw materials (either natural or synthetic latex).
All the Talalay (including 100% natural Talalay) would be from either Latex International or from Radium. There are about 5 or so main sources for most of the molded Dunlop cores you would see in North America along with the two manufacturers who produce continuous pour Dunlop (only one of which makes 100% natural Dunlop).
The brand name on a mattress means very little and a mattress is only as good as its construction and the materials inside it. There can be a significant difference in transparency between manufaturers and the quality of the materials that different manufacturers use inside their mattresses yes which is one of the reasons I suggest avoiding the major brands. In the case of latex … all latex is a good quality material but there can be a significant difference between different types and blends of latex both in terms of feel and performance and in terms of cost. There is more about the different types and blends of latex in this article and in post #6 here.
For the most part no except one of the latex manufacturers (Mountaintop foam) is owed by Tempursealy INC (the parent company of Tempurpedic and Sealy) and Pure Latex Bliss is owned by Latex International.
If the type and blend (natural rubber and synthetic rubber) of the latex is the same it will be relatively similar in terms of quality between manufacturers although they each have differences in how they compound and manufacture their latex (and the compounding formula they each use is proprietary and a closely guarded secret) so there will be some differences between them as well.