Hi wgoodes,
There is more in post #13 here about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase.
I don’t know all the specifics of each of the mattresses you are considering (see this article) but a mattress is much more than just a commodity that can be evaluated based on just the cost per inch of foam or the price per yard or pound of fabrics or fibers used in the cover (which can also be a significant part of the cost of a mattress). You also haven’t mentioned anything about which one is a better match for you in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) or the exchange or return policies for each of them or any of the other factors that can be an important part of each person’s personal value equation.
Assuming that the second mattress you mentioned has 8" of blended Talalay latex and no other materials (outside of the cover) then it certainly seems to be in a “good value range” based on the materials. You could check the law tag to make sure that it’s latex from top to bottom. The first mattress also seems to be in a fair value range but you haven’t really provided enough information to make any meaningful comparisons with other similar mattresses. You may also find that neither of them may be willing to “bargain” because they may both already be better quality/value choices than most of their “competition”. Assuming that you find out all the specifics that you need with each one to make an informed decision based on all the criteria that are important to you and your own personal preferences for different materials then post #2 here may be helpful if you are down to final choices if there are no clear winners between them.
Phoenix