Hi defman,
Thanks for taking the time to share your experiences on the forum.
It’s unfortunate that you made an initial choice that is not ideal for you but of course this is part of the risk of an online purchase where comfort level choices are based on the “averages” of other people and you haven’t tested a mattress in person (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here) and where “averages” may not apply to any specific person. The good news though is that you chose a mattress where you can change the comfort level after a purchase without the expense of returning the whole mattress.
Your post also is a chance to highlight the difference between the quality and value of a mattress (which is based on the materials in the mattress) and how a mattress “feels” for any specific person and the risk involved in using reviews of a mattress as a way of making a comfort choice. What people feel on a mattress is very subjective and varies with body type, sleeping positions, and individual perceptions. You can tell the quality and value of a mattress and make meaningful “value” comparisons by knowing what is inside it and reviews can be good for showing the the knowledge and service of a company you are dealing with but they are not a great way to choose a mattress because what is too firm for one person can be too soft for the next and vice versa (there is more about mattress reviews in post #13 here).
I certainly agree with this and 5-10 minutes on a mattress in a showroom testing for subjective “comfort” can have lower odds of making a suitable choice than random chance along (see this study). Your odds of success for choosing the most suitable mattress are much higher if you follow the more specific and objective testing guidelines linked in post #1 here when you are testing a mattress locally.
You don’t have to re-package the entire mattress … only the comfort layer which can be exchanged. I would strongly encourage you to talk to Chuck so you can find out the specifics of their layer exchange policy which is designed to reduce the risk of an online purchase where a customer makes a wrong comfort choice. This is part of the “value” of the mattress you purchased because unlike a “finished” mattress where you have few options after a purchase if you make a mistake in the comfort level you choose … you still have good options to fine tune the feel and performance of the mattress.
Post #2 here has more information about both the break in period of a new mattress and the adjustment period as well and also some suggestions for a mattress that is too firm (which it sounds like may be the case for you) although you have the ability to change a layer which isn’t one of the options listed because most mattresses don’t have this feature. Again though the first suggestion is a more detailed conversation with Dreamfoam so they can let you know your options and help you know which one has the best odds of success for you so that you can take advantage of the foresight you had in buying a mattress where the comfort layer can be exchanged for another one that is either firmer or softer at a very reasonable cost.
Phoenix