Hi Charlesjc,
Here are a couple of points that may be worth considering …
First if a mattress is being sold without a warranty … the odds are high that it is either a comfort return or a defective mattress in some way and I personally wouldn’t consider it. At the very least I wouldn’t pay more than 50% of it’s "best value"price I could find elsewhere and even that would depend on the materials in the mattress.
Second … assessing the “value” of a mattress based on its regular selling price which in the case of major brands are highly inflated is one of the worst ways of determining value in a mattress.
Third … how certain are you that the Elation will match your specific needs and preferences in terms of PPP (Pressure relief, Posture and alignment, and Personal preferences). A mattress that has 7" of memory foam that is in the 4 lb range is a very risky construction for most people in terms of alignment … especially when the 4 lb memory foam softens over time.
The only way to know the relative quality/value of any mattress is to know the details of all the layers so you can make meaningful comparisons to other similar mattresses. Do you know the specific details of what is in the Elation?
In terms of quality and value … the 13" gel memory foam uses higher quality materials in the most important comfort layers (a combination of 4 and 5 lb memory foams) which are the most important layers in terms of quality and durability (and the risk of foam softening which can lead to the loss of comfort and support) and sells for about 2/3 the price compared to a mattress that has no warranty and may be used.
For me there is no comparison in terms of “value” and there is no doubt which direction I would be leaning out of the two options you are considering (or vs many other better quality/value options for memory foam mattresses as well) … but of course each person may have their own personal value equation which may be very different from mine or other people and only you can decide on the risks you are willing to take and on what are the most important parts of value for you.
Phoenix