Hi sdmat,
You can see some comments about the type of “fake sales” that happen on holidays in the guidelines here and in post #5 here. I would treat these types of sales as a red flag because good quality/value mattresses are available every day of the year from better retailers or manufacturers that don’t need “fake sales” to create a false sense of urgency.
Probably not (they don’t need fake sales to have good value).
Yes … the trial period for all of the “simplified choice” mattresses (see post #2 here) is real and legitimate and I haven’t heard of any issues with returning a mattress with any of them including Tuft & Needle of course.
There is some good information about the most important parts of the “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 all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you).
The reason for a trial period is so that you can test a mattress in your bedroom instead of a showroom to make sure that it’s a good match for you in terms of comfort and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) and make sure that you will sleep well on it so when you can’t test a mattress in person then a trial period and return/exchange policy is very useful.
Outside of PPP … the most important part of the value of a mattress purchase is durability and the durability and useful life of a mattress depends on its construction and the type and quality of the materials inside it regardless of the name of the manufacturer on the label so I would always make sure that a retailer or manufacturer you are considering is willing and able to provide you with the information listed here so you can compare the materials and components to the quality/durability guidelines to make sure there are no lower quality materials or weak links in a mattress before making any purchase.
In other words … a trial period won’t tell you anything about the quality and durability of the materials in a mattress or how long you will sleep well on the mattress. You can see some comments about the quality and durability of the materials in the Tuft & Needle mattress in the previous link to the “simplified choice” mattresses.
Phoenix