Hi tonycrv1,
I’m sorry to hear that the mattress you chose didn’t work out as well as you hoped for but their suggestion to purchase a topper is a good one. You purchased a good quality and durable mattress (unlike most of the mainstream major brand mattresses made in the industry). It’s not all that unusual to choose a mattress that is too firm and needs some fine tuning.
If the only issue with a mattress is that it is too firm and there are no soft spots or sagging in the mattress then a good quality topper can certainly be an effective way to add some additional softness, “comfort” and pressure relief to your sleeping system but the only way to know for certain whether a specific mattress/topper combination is a good “match” for both of you in terms of comfort, firmness, and PPP is based on your own careful testing or personal experience on the combination. If you can’t test the combination in person then there will always be always some risk and uncertainty involved in adding a topper because the specifics of the mattress itself along with your own body type, sleeping position, and preferences can affect which specific topper would be a suitable choice on any specific mattress.
There is more information about choosing a topper and a link to the better online sources I’m aware of in post #2 here and the topper guidelines it links to which along with a conversation with a reliable and knowledgeable supplier (that can provide you with good information about how their toppers compare to each other or to other toppers they are familiar with that are available on the market) can help you use your sleeping experience as a reference point and guideline to help you choose the type, thickness, and firmness for a topper that has the least possible risk and the best chance for success.
Because of the uncertainty that can be involved with purchasing a topper where you can’t test the combination in person … a good exchange/return policy can also reduce the risk of an online topper purchase so I would make sure you are comfortable with the options you have available after a purchase and any costs involved just in case the topper you choose doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for.
If a mattress/topper combination turns out to be a good “match” for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, and PPP then having a separate topper also has the advantage of being able to replace just the topper without replacing the entire mattress if it softens or breaks down before the upper layers in the mattress (which is very likely because the upper layers of a sleeping system tend to soften or break down before the deeper layers) or if your needs or preferences change over time.
They make high quality two sided mattresses and I can’t think of any reason to take a good manufacturer that is highly regarded and has been making mattresses for over 100 years off the list because one of their customers made a mistake and purchased the wrong mattress. If I was to use whether a customer purchased the wrong mattress as a criteria for being on the forum lists then there wouldn’t be any retailers or manufacturers left on any of the lists because every retailer or manufacturer has some customers that don’t make a suitable choice in terms of comfort, firmness, and PPP and the suitability of a mattress has nothing to do with the quality and durability of the mattress.
Phoenix