I live in a small town near Raleigh NC. Do you have any suggestions as to places to start in the search for a local mattress manufacturer or distributor. There is a local manufacturer called BEMCO mattresses. Do you know of them? Would appreciate any help that would save me some time and give me a reliable place to start.
Hi Ineeda Good Sleep,
I’m not sure what you’ve read since you found the site but just in case you haven’t read it yet … the first place to start your research is the mattress shopping tutorial here which includes all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best possible choice … and perhaps more importantly know how and why to avoid the worst ones.
Two of the most important links in the tutorial that I would especially make sure you’ve read are post #2 here which has more about the different ways to choose a suitable mattress (either locally or online) that is the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your own Personal preferences) that can help you assess and minimize the risks of making a choice that doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for and post #13 here which has more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase 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 all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.
Outside of PPP (which is the most important part of the “value” of a mattress purchase), the next most important part of the value of a mattress purchase is durability which is all about how long you will sleep well on a mattress. This is the part of your research that you can’t see or “feel” and assessing the durability and useful life of a mattress depends on knowing the specifics of its construction and the type and quality/durability of the materials inside it (see this article) regardless of the name of the manufacturer on the label (or how a mattress feels in a showroom or when it is relatively new).
Assuming that the materials in a mattress you are considering are durable enough for your body type and meet the quality/durability guidelines here relative to your weight range … the choice between different types and combinations of materials and components or different types of mattresses are more of a preference and a budget choice than a “better/worse” choice (see this article).
The better options or possibilities I’m aware of in and around the Raleigh/Durham NC area (subject to making sure that any mattress you are considering meets the quality/value guidelines I linked earlier in this reply) are listed in post #6 here.
Bemco is a licensing group and each factory that uses the name builds their own mattress and attaches the Bemco name to it. The quality or value of any of their specific mattresses will depend on whether they are a good match for you in terms of comfort, firmness, and PPP and on the type and quality of the materials that are in it but the better retailers or manufacturers will provide you with this information so you can make more meaningful comparisons with other mattresses you are considering. A forum search on Bemco (you can just click the link) will bring up some more comments and feedback about them as well.
Phoenix
Thank you Phoenix! I have spent many hours reading the articles and absorbing the information. I somehow missed the post concerning good places in my area. I have a great place to start with my calls and questions now. I was aware of the Mattress Factory Outlet not too far from me. I tried to search for information about this company in general in the forum but did not see anything. I did find some reviews (not on this site) witherwhere people either loved the bed or absolutely hated them- really nothing in between. There were several comments where people felt that the bed they received was not the same as the one they tested in the showroom. This seemed to be primarily regarding their orthopedic line. Of course, the main complaint in this case was that they could not return the bed. I don’t know that this concern was directly linked to the local one,. This would certainly be something I would address if I was considering a purchase there. Thank you again for the information. This is a most helpful site.
Thank you for the information. I have spent many hours reading and digesting the information here and I feel much more confident that I will make a better mattress purchase. It is most helpful to have some store recommendations from which to start my search. Thank you.
Hi Ineeda Good Sleep,
I’m looking forward to finding out what you end up deciding … and of course any additional comments or questions you may have along the way that I or any of the more knowledgeable members of the site can help with.
Phoenix