Just wanted to briefly share an exchange w/an online mattress retailer, us-mattress. The chat guy was REALLY nice, and I asked him what type and density of foam was used in the edge encasement portion of a particular Simmons model. (for insight into my own situation, as it is the only portion of mattress that doesn’t hurt) .
He said it was polyfoam, but did not know the actual lbs per cubic ft. I said, where can I find out this information? He said, it is “Proprietary Information” and Simmons does not release it. Really! Surprise, surprise! So as I have learned from you Phoenix, there is no way to make an informed decision about the durability and longevity without that sort of information!!! Are all the “S” brands so secretive? No wonder consumers get shafted!
Is US Mattress typically reputable? Given my current struggle with a Simmons I bought at Sleepys, I was considering buying a Sealy Posturepedic via USM that has a softness rating of 9 (and that Sealy has verified is part of the “line” closest to the one I used to have). But if they are just as shady as everyone else, I’m not even going to bother…
While the “S” brands are among the least transparent when it comes to disclosing the quality/density of the materials in their mattresses … they certainly aren’t the only ones that don’t disclose what I would consider to be essential information that is necessary to make an informed purchase choice (see this article for my transparency “ratings” of the top 15 manufacturers).
While some information can legitimately be considered to be proprietary to a manufacturer … there are many manufacturers that claim that the information you would need to make an informed choice is also somehow “proprietary” but I certainly wouldn’t agree. You can read a little more about “so called” proprietary materials and using this as a justification for not disclosing what I would consider to be essential information here and here and here.
While US Mattress themselves may be reputable … they can only provide you with the information that they are able to find out from the manufacturers that they carry.
There is more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase in post #13 here that can help you make more meaningful comparisons between mattresses but outside of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences), a mattress is only as good as its construction and the quality and durability of the materials inside it regardless of the name of the manufacturer on the label and I would avoid all the major brands and any mattress where you aren’t able to find out the specifics of the materials inside the mattress so you can identify any lower quality materials or “weak links” in the mattress (see this article for the information you would need) and make more meaningful comparisons with other mattresses you are considering.
The first place I would start your research is the mattress shopping tutorial here which includes all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that you will need to make the best possible choice … and perhaps more importantly know how and why to avoid the worst ones.
Hi Suzan,
well honestly I have no idea if US mattress is reputable or not; I’ve never purchased from them. Seems challenging buying online without trying out a mattress first!
From what I can gather reading the info on this web site, it’s better to stay away from the major S brands, (but then again I had a Serta up until recently that was great, so who can say?)
One factor is that it’s hard to get the major brands to give up their materials specifications, so it’s just harder to know if you’re getting quality materials for the price & how long the bed will last. Plus, the beds are mostly one-sided now but the prices are still pricey, so how can that be cost-effective?
But that’s just my 2 cents
Good luck getting another bed–I am hoping to find one soon; gotta get rid of this awful Simmons.
