I’ve noticed this with several mainstream mattress brands (Sealy, Serta, Stearns and Foster, etc.). When you order one of these mattresses from a mattress retailer, the product they deliver is always somehow inferior the floor model I’ve noticed this with multiple mainstream brands from multiple retailers. The mattress is always harder, softer, less conforming, or somehow different from the demo and it never breaks in like the floor sample. They vary from being substantially less comfortable to downright unbearable, yet the ones in the store always feel like they’re supposed to feel. The ones they deliver always feel like they’re missing something, i.e. cushioning, support foam, coils, etc. Has anyone else had this same experience?
I’ve noticed the same thing. Maybe the floor models are a “beefed up version”?
Hi BirchBarlow and bobg31,
I welcome you both to the Mattress Forum! 
There will be an initial break in and adjustment period with any new mattress over the course of the first 30 - 90 days or so (see post #3 here ), but this will be less with higher quality and more durable materials than it will for lower quality materials. I would also keep in mind that most floor models have already been broken in to some degree so a new mattress may be a little firmer than the floor model until it breaks in as well.
The brands you mentioned tend to use lower quality materials in their comfort layers, and these will break-in and change in comfort faster in the mattress showroom, so consumers may notice more of a difference between the floor models they tested and their new mattress. Additionally, any mattress at home is using a mattress pads and a fitted sheet, and may also be placed upon a frame that is different from what was used in the mattress showroom, and this can also alter overall comfort.
Many stores are guilty of keeping their floor models past what I would normally term as being “representative” of what a new mattress will feel like, as replacing floor models is expensive. This differs from the slight change in feel that you will experience with every mattress produced in a current line-up, as there will always be slight variations in the pour/feel of the foams used. Sometimes a manufacturer will make a running change in a specification of a mattress, and if this is the case the retailer should change out their floor model. But in general, model specification changes are made when whole new line-ups are introduced.
This would generally not be the case, as retailers and manufacturers would be committing fraud and subject to lawsuits and a large amount of negative publicity. However, while you wouldn’t think it to be the case, as Jeff Scheuer from Mattress To Go noted previously on this very topic, he has seen other stores who reserve the right to substitute a product that they claim to be “similar” to the one that you ordered, and they will often include this in their standard boilerplate legal disclaimers on the back of their invoices. This has never made sense to me, as when you are shopping for a mattress you are taking the time to find an item that best suits your individual needs. So, I would always make sure that you are receiving the exact same item that you sampled in any showroom.
One thing that I will mention is that many mattress companies ask that retailers place their floor model orders separate from their general lineup orders. This is done not only for special badging that may appear on the item, but also to make sure that the quality of assembly and look of the mattress is as nice as possible. While not using different componentry, the quality of assembly can also have a bit of a difference in the change of the feel of a product.
But in general, the difference in the feel of any new mattress versus a showroom model is due to the “broken-in” state of the showroom model that has lost much of its “false firmness”, and the change in bed frame and addition of the mattress pad and sheets used at home.
Phoenix
Every once in a while I’ll have a client with a concern that they haven’t received the same bed that they ordered, or it feels “totally different” from the showroom model. On the inspections I’ve performed, I’ve never found one item that varied much from the showroom model, and any difference was either from the item still being in an unbroken-in state, or from the mattress pad being used. I even had a client once complain of a lump in her new mattress, and upon inspection I found a pillow placed between the mattress and the foundation! I know it’s difficult for consumers to remember exactly what a mattress felt like after having tested different items. I’m fortunate that I deal with vendors who do not make unannounced running changes to their lines.
With that being said, I am aware in my own region of businesses who sell items off of floor models that are at least two generations outdated, stores that substitute without telling the consumer, and mattress licensees who will substitute different foam layers if they run short of stock and not tell the retailer. While this isn’t the norm within the industry, it does emphasize the importance of the reputation of any retailer with whom you decide to do business.
I know this doesn’t really expand much upon Phoenix’s reply, but my ears were burning, so I know someone mentioned my name on the Mattress Forum!:cheer:
Thanks for the warm welcome
In my experience, the opposite seems to be the case. The mattress they deliver typically feels less supportive and less stable than the floor sample, and the more it softens and breaks in, the worse it feels.
Agreed, but it seems like mattress manufacturers and retailers are allowed to get away with murder with much of their practices.
In any other industry that would constitute fraud and the manufacturer would be subject to punitive action.
Again that sounds like fraud. Imagine if people went to buy a car, and the vehicle they received was assembled through different processes and with different components that the vehicle they test drove. The company would be subject to class action.
All that being said, I wonder if a way around this issue would be to request that the mattress retailer place an order for a floor sample, as if they were replacing their floor sample.
Hi BirchBarlow,
If that has been your experience of your new mattresses feeling softer than in the showroom, and I’m not sure how many mattresses would be in the sample of your experiences, that would be odd and certainly not at all the norm. Foams soften with use and showroom models will have lost some of that initial stiffness in the foams and coverings. If you receive something that you think is very different from what you tried on the floor (specifically softer), you should check your law tags on your mattress to make sure that the product that was delivered is the same item that you ordered and matches the floor sample you tried in name and percentages of components.
That’s painting with much too large of a brush, in my opinion, but consumer education, and this site in particular, is very important. As a consumer it is your responsibility to learn what is inside of a mattress and then make sure that any business you’re patronizing has the policy to ship you the actual item that you tried on the floor. If you visit a store and their floor models looks like they’ve been out for a long time, look at the law tag and see how current that model might be. If you can’t get complete answers from a retailer, I’ll suggest you look elsewhere. Mattress manufacturers aren’t in the business of showing certain configurations to retailers and then delivering different items. It’s incumbent upon the retailer to show the current product on the floor (most do), and then the consumer’s responsibility to make sure nothing will be substituted. Again, most businesses deliver the same item as was ordered, but if as a consumer you don’t do your due diligence ahead of time, you’ll never be completely sure.
Fraud would be if a certain specification was represented and then a different specification was purposely delivered - for example, a mattress was listed as having 4" of Talalay latex and the manufacturer purposely substituted polyfoam for 2" of the latex without informing the consumer. With a hand-built item, a manufacturer taking extra time and making sure the product appears cosmetically as nice as possible, is normal. I think my choice of words wasn’t the most accurate, as “quality of assembly” could be interpreted as steps being skipped on the non-floor model line of mattresses, when I was referring specifically to the look of the welting (tape edges). I’m sorry – I didn’t mean to be confusing.
If a business was negligent in showing a certain item and then delivering another (as Jeff mentioned), you’d definitely want to request the exact item that you sampled in the showroom to be delivered, or request a refund. If the retailer refused to comply and delver what you actually ordered, then I would recommend contacting your state’s consumer protection agency.
Some stores will sell you their floor models if they’re at the point of getting ready to turn them out. But ordering a specific model as a floor sample, as it is more expensive to produce with the extra badging or embroidery, is not something that a retailer would normally do. Again, the differences here would be cosmetic, not ones of different componentry.
In rereading this thread, I want to point out for anyone combing through these comments that I’m speaking in general about the importance of a consumer becoming knowledgeable about a product, and the practices being discussed here are certainly not the norm within the industry. Most retailers are honest and provide what is ordered. But it’s always important to be prepared and educated when shopping for any item, as well as learn of the reputation of any business you’re patronizing.
Phoenix
I just read Phoenix’s comments and I have to admit I should add some more specificity to them, as I don’t want to appear as if I am “fear mongering” or being too disparaging. There are over 100 mattress retailers in my geographic region, so the ones I’ve mentioned in the past are a minority of what’s out there. Also, the stores I referenced who allow substitutions also apply this policy to their furniture - not just mattresses. This doesn’t make it right, but I wanted to be more complete in my commentary.
I can’t agree more that knowledge is power.