Should I DIY or go cheap with an eBay assembled mattress receiving a lot of positive feedback?

[phoenix]

Hi iveal,

The first place I would start your research is the mattress shopping tutorial here which has all the basic information, steps, and guidelines you will need to make the best possible choices … and know how and why to avoid the worst ones. Most of your questions will be answered there but I’ll cover some of the highlights in this reply.

Ideally, I want a mattress solution that will last me through the rest of my academic career (~ 8-9 years). I’m not sure if buying a mattress ONCE from a trusted vendor would be cheaper over the long run compared to buying multiple mattresses over 8-9 years from questionable vendors.

This would depend entirely on the quality of the materials inside your mattress and on how well it matched your specific needs and preferences in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences). Some mattresses may last you months and some may last you decades depending on the quality of the materials in a specific mattress. In general terms though … I would look at a budget range that allowed you to choose the best quality/value mattress that you can comfortably afford. There is more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase in post #13 here. there is also more about the many variables that can affect durability and the useful life of a mattress relative to each person in post #2 here and the posts it links to.

Now that I’ve found a more permanent residence, I’m looking to retire the airbed to the closet. I’m torn between purchasing a completely assembled foam mattress from the likes of retailers such as http://memoryfoamandmore.com/memory-foam-mattresses/ or retaining my Brooklyn Bedding 3" topper and combining it with appropriate support layer(s).

I can certainly understand that it can be tempting to use the topper you have and build your own DIY mattress but I would read OPTION 3 in post #15 here first just to make sure you have realistic expectations of success and the trial and error that may be involved. If you have a spirit of adventure and the process itself and what you learn along the way is more important than any cost savings (that you may or may not realize depending on how successfully you choose the rest of your layers and if any of them need to be replaced) then it could certainly be a worthwhile challenge to take on.

I weigh 120 lbs and mostly sleep on my back and occasionally sleep on my side. I’ve tried several Tempur-Pedic mattresses at a local mattress store this past weekend, and I didn’t like the Soft (1 on 1-10 scale), and the Firm (10 on 1-10 scale) was a little too firm. I think I most preferred the Tempur-Pedic “7”.

There are too many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences involved to choose a mattress based on a formula, specs (either yours or a mattress), or “theory at a distance” so when you can’t test a mattress in person then the most reliable way to make a successful online choice is to talk with a knowledgeable and experienced manufacturer or retailer on the phone who has your best interests at heart (and isn’t just interested in selling you anything they can) and has the knowledge and experience to help “talk you through” which of the options they have available has the best chance of being the most suitable choice for you in terms of PPP (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here).

1. Have you heard anything about the retailer “Memory Foam and More” http://memoryfoamandmore.com/memory-foam-mattresses/? They have a lot of positive feedback on eBay (here), but that doesn’t reflect the long-term durability of their product or the knowledge of their customers. I could get a complete mattress from them for around the same price as buying polyfoam support layers from FoamByMail.

I don’t have any specific information about them but I would be very cautious with any ebay provider that is selling “cheap” Chinese memory foam mattresses and is part of what I call the “race to the bottom” (see post #6 here). I would pay little attention to mattress reviews in general (see post #13 here) which will tell you little to nothing about the quality of a mattress or whether a mattress will be suitable for you but I would pay even less attention to ebay reviews which are only about whether a transaction completed successfully.

If you are making an online mattress purchase I would make sure you have a more detailed conversation with them first so you can answer several questions that are important parts of any online purchase.

1: How confident are you that the mattress will be a good match for you in terms of PPP and that you will sleep well on it?

2. If it turns out that the mattress isn’t suitable for you what options do you have to exchange or return it … and what are the costs involved?

3. Are there any weak links in the mattress and does the mattress meet the guidelines in post #4 here about the quality of the materials. In the case of Chinese or other Asian foams are they CertiPur certified?

4. Who manufactures the mattress and does it have a legitimate manufacturer’s warranty?

5. Are you confident that you are buying a new mattress and not a comfort exchange or warranty return or even worse a used mattress?

6. How does the mattress compare to your other finalists based on all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.

When you have answered these questions then you will be in a good position to make meaningful comparisons between your final choices (see post #2 here).

2. Should I continue to use my 3" Brooklyn Bedding topper? I was considering purchasing 5" LUX-HQ for the bottom and 2" HD36-HQ for the middle from FBM if I went this route.

This would depend on whether you were comfortable with the DIY process.

I personally wouldn’t deal with FBM at all. You can read about the reasons why in this post and this post and this post (about their polyfoam and sources) and this post (presumably from a past employee).

3. Do you have any comments on whether my “foam stack” would match my sleeping habits and weight?

Again … there are too many unknowns, variables, and preferences involved to predict this based on “theory at a distance” and the only ways to predict this would be either your own personal testing or a more detailed conversation with a reliable online retailer or manufacturer that was experienced in “matching” their specific mattresses “as a whole” to different body types and sleeping styles (see this post that I linked earlier).

4. I know you feel strongly AGAINST FBM, especially with their latex products. What about their LUX-HQ and HD36-HQ polyfoam? Can you recommend any alternative affordable retailer from which I can purchase polyfoam?

You can see my earlier comments about FBM. If I was buying polyfoam I would either deal with a local foam shop or with some of the online suppliers that are listed in post #4 here.

5. This past summer, I had rolled up my Brooklyn Bedding 3" 5lb memory foam topper and used a couple of bungee cords (here) to keep it rolled up enough to partially fit into some large trash bags (30 gallon). I stored the topper this way for 2 months in a climate-controlled storage locker. Do you know if I’ve damaged the memory foam much?

If you’ve unrolled it and there are no impressions then I would guess that it’s most likely fine.

The tutorial post includes links to the better online manufacturers and retailers I’m aware of and post #4 here also includes some of the manufacturers that make lower budget memory foam and polyfoam mattresses that would be well worth considering if you are in a very low budget range.

Phoenix