I’m shopping for a latex mattress right now and based on what I’ve read on this forum I’ve narrowed my choices down to the Sleep EZ 9000 and the Sleep on Latex 9". They are both 9" natural latex mattresses and use the same cover materials (cotton with wool) so as far as I can tell they should be comparable.
Sleep on Latex is $550 (55%) cheaper than Sleep EZ, and what I’m trying to figure out is why exactly it’s so much cheaper. Here are the reasons I’ve compiled by scouring their websites:
Sleep on Latex offers a 30 day return. Sleep EZ offers a 90 day.
Sleep on Latex is a “finished” mattress, meaning it’s non-adjustable, while with Sleep EZ you can adjust the layers.
Sleep EZ offers free pillows and sheets with any mattress.
One other thing that confuses me is that Sleep on Latex uses only Dunlop latex, while Sleep EZ lets you choose between Dunlop and Talalay. However, there seems to be no price difference for Sleep EZ between using Dunlop and Talalay, which seems strange because Talalay costs more.
All these differences here still do not add up to a 55% higher price in my head, but I’m not an expert so I don’t know what else to look for. Is there something I’m missing here?
While price is certainly important of course … the “value” of a mattress purchase is what is most important and price is just one of many factors that can affect the “value” of a mattress purchase. There isn’t a “formula” that can be used to assess or “calculate” the value of a mattress because there are so many different variables and criteria involved that can affect the price of a mattress that can each be more or less important to some people and not to others who may have completely different criteria or definitions of “value”. The “value” of a mattress purchase is also relative to how a mattress compares to the other finalists you are considering or to other mattresses that are available to you in your area (or online if you are also considering online options). There are many reasons that a mattress that may be “good value” for one person or in one area of the country may not be good value for someone else that has very different needs and preferences or that lives in a different area.
There is more about the 3 most important parts of the “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).
There is also more about the many variables that can be involved in how any manufacturer or retailer prices their mattresses in post #14 here but of course there is no real answer to this because the internal financials that show how a manufacturer calculates their prices are proprietary and this isn’t information that a manufacturer would share with the public so from a consumer perspective it’s really a matter of knowing how to make meaningful comparisons between mattresses based on the materials inside them and all the other criteria that are most important to you (one of which is price of course).
You mentioned some of the differences between them that can affect the price and as you mentioned one of the differences includes that the SleepEZ Organic Select give you a choice between 100% natural Talalay or 100% natural Dunlop in each of the layers and since 100% natural Talalay is more costly (as you mentioned) and because almost everyone that chooses this mattress would likely choose the Talalay this would be reflected in their price.
Just as an example of a more “apples to apples” comparison … this 7" 100% natural Dunlop latex mattress is made by LatexMattressFactory which is owned by the founder of SleepEZ and is made in the same factory and it is very similar to the 7" 100% natural Dunlop mattress here offered by SleepOnLatex and they are closely comparable in price.
Both of the mattresses you are considering would certainly make great quality/value choices and once you have narrowed down your options to a list of finalists that are all choices between “good and good” (which you have) and you have confirmed that none of them have any lower quality materials or “weak links” in their design (which they don’t) and if at this point there are no clear winners between them (which is usually a good indication that you have done some good research) then you are in the fortunate position that any of them would likely be a suitable choice and post #2 here can help you make a final choice based on your more detailed conversations with each of them, your confidence about PPP and the suitability of each one, their prices, the options you have after a purchase to fine tune the mattress or exchange or return the mattress or individual layers, any additional extras that are part of each purchase, and on “informed best judgement” based on all the other objective, subjective, and intangible parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.
Thank you so much Phoenix. I really appreciate the insight regarding LatexMattressFactory. After checking out the link you posted for their 7", I looked at Sleep EZ’s 7" for a comparison and found that it’s only $1095. This pricing is actually fairly competitive considering they offer the free pillows/sheets, a 90 day return policy, and customizable mattress layers.
I asked their customer support line the following question: why, is it, that for a queen sized mattress
Going from 7" - 9" is $1095 vs $1575 ($480 difference)
Going from 9" - 13" is $1575 vs $1850 ($275 difference)
7 - 9 is 2 extra inches of latex, and 9 - 13 is , 4, so the price differences don’t seem to make sense.
I could not get a satisfactory answer, and since I want a 9" mattress, I’ve decided to give Sleep on Latex a 30 day trial. I don’t live anywhere close to either of these manufacturer’s showrooms, so I will have to test for PPP when they arrive. I’m skeptical about their exclusive use of Dunlop latex, but at $1000 for a 9" all natural latex mattress I figured it’s at least worth a try.
Thanks for letting us know what you ended up deciding … and congratulations on your new mattress
[quote]I asked their customer support line the following question: why, is it, that for a queen sized mattress
Going from 7" - 9" is $1095 vs $1575 ($480 difference)
Going from 9" - 13" is $1575 vs $1850 ($275 difference)[/quote]
Again … these aren’t apples to apples comparisons that would be particularly meaningful because there is much more involved in the price of a mattress other than just a difference in thickness but a manufacturer wouldn’t normally supply all the proprietary information that is involved in how they price each of their mattresses anyway and from a customer perspective it just “is what it is”. In other words a consumer’s “job” would be to assess which mattress is their best “value” choice based on their own unique criteria and all the parts of their personal value equation that are most important to them.
Having said that … you certainly made a great quality/value choice and I’m looking forward to your comments and feedback once you’ve received it and have had the chance to sleep on it for a bit.
