Hi MCFW,
[quote]I have read your mattress tutorials, and have searched extensively through your database for information - thanks so much for all of it! My husband and I will be going to Dixie Foam this week to try out their mattresses, and might be going to Charles P Rogers as well, although from reading between the lines, I see that although you rate the mattresses as good quality, it’s not among your favorites.
I know that you recommend mattresses from Scott Jordan Furniture, which like Dixie Foam is a member of this site. My question: the least expensive king sized mattress at SJF is the Stockholm, at $2,620 for a king. I realize after verifying quality, choice and “value” come down to personal preference (the PPP!) but these seem to be among the most expensive mattresses you’re recommending. Are they indeed so much better that they’re “worth” this substantially higher price?[/quote]
While I do recommend the members here “as a group” because I believe that they compete well with the best in the industry in terms of their quality, value, service, knowledge, and transparency … there are also many other sources of good quality/value mattresses as well that aren’t members of this site (at least yet).
I don’t make specific suggestions or recommendations for either a mattress, manufacturers/retailers, or combinations of materials or components because the first “rule” of mattress shopping is to always remember that you are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress and there are too many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences involved that are unique to each person to use a formula or for anyone to be able to predict or make a specific suggestion or recommendation about which mattress or combination of materials and components or which type of mattress would be the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort” or PPP or how a mattress will “feel” to you or compare to another mattress based on specs (either yours or a mattress) or “theory at a distance” that can possibly be more accurate than your own careful testing (hopefully using the testing guidelines in step 4 of the tutorial)or your own personal sleeping experience (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here).
There is also more about the 3 most important parts of “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 suitability, durability, and all the other parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you (including the price of course and the options you have available after a purchase if your choice doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for).
I would keep in mind that the only definition of “better” that is important is based on all the parts of your personal value equation that are important to you so a mattress that would be a “better choice” for one person many be a “worse choice” for someone else regardless of the price of the mattress. While the price of a mattress is certainly one of the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase … there are many other parts to “value” as well and unfortunately there isn’t a “formula” that can be used to assess or “calculate” value because there are so many different variables and criteria involved that are more or less important to different people that may be very different from someone else. The “value” of a mattress purchase is also relative to the other finalists you are considering or to the other mattresses that are available to you in your area or online (if you are also looking at online options). There are many reasons that a mattress that may be “good value” for one person may not be worth considering for someone else.
If you are comparing two mattresses that are in significantly different price ranges then I would make sure that you have compelling and identifiable reasons to choose the one that is in a significantly higher budget range so that you are confident that it would either be a more suitable choice in terms of comfort and PPP and how well you will sleep on it, or that it would be a more durable choice in terms of the quality of the materials and the useful life of the mattress, or that there would be a clear and identifiable benefit to making a higher budget choice based on all the other parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you that would make the higher price “worth it” to you (regardless of whether it would be worth it to someone else).
I certainly wouldn’t choose a higher budget mattress based only on the belief that a higher price somehow makes it any “better” than another mattress that may be just as suitable, just as durable, and that would meet all the parts of your personal value equation that are important to you.
Phoenix