Hi Ruthie,
While I’ve talked with them a few times (mostly their customer service people) about other things … it’s never been the topic of our conversations and they haven’t asked me about becoming a member. They may not even know they are mentioned here.
I think that all of them are good options and represent good value (whichis why they are on the list of memory foam sources). When you have eliminated all the worst options and there are no clear “winners” then the only way to decide between them and make a final choice that is best for you would be based on your conversations and all the objective, subjective, and intangible factors that are most important to you.
You can read more about matching one mattress to another in post #9 here but if a manufacturer has free return shipping then I would assume that they are fairly confident that the similarities are close enough that they won’t be risking a loss on a free return if their customer doesn’t agree that they they are very close in terms of feel and performance.
You can read about the factors involved in durability and the useful life of a mattress in post #4 here. In general terms memory foam is more durable in higher densities until you reach about 6 lbs or so at which point the increased durability benefits of higher density memory foam is less.
When you are looking at an online choice that you can’t test in person then a more detailed conversation with the retailer or manufacturer is essential to find out which mattresses that may be available locally may be a close match to one of their models or how their mattress may feel for different people.
I would also make sure if you do go in this direction that you check the weight of the 8 lb topper just to make sure that it really is 8 lbs (see this thread which is the reason for the suggestion) NOTE ADDED: they are now using 6 lb memory foam in their mattresses
If you are considering an online mattress that matches one of the Tempurpedic line (such as the Cloud Luxe) then I would use the testing guidelines in the tutorial post to test the equivalent Tempurpedic. In the case of memory foam I would make sure that your testing is at least 20 - 30 minutes or longer (after you are fully relaxed) so that the memory foam has time to warm up with your body temperature. If your careful and objective testing indicates that the Cloud Luxe is a good match for you then an online mattress that was a good match for it would probably be a good choice. A few minutes is not nearly long enough to test a memory foam mattress (or any mattress) with a degree of accuracy that would be a good predictor for your sleeping experience at home. Testing for comfort alone or for the “showroom feel” of a mattress has lower odds of success than random chance alone (see this study). How well you test a mattress is one of the most important parts or a successful purchase.
I’m certainly happy to help with “how” to choose but what to choose it really up to your best judgement and preferences. In terms of quality and value none of your choices would be a mistake.
Phoenix