Have we hit peak mattress?
May 19, 2016 10:59 AM Subscribe
Need a new mattress? Come on down to Mattress Firm! Or try the one at the other end of the strip mall. And if that doesn't grab you, why not try the one at the end of the block? Maybe the one across the street from that one is more to your liking. Why are there so many mattress stores in the US?
Why there won't be that many mattress stores for that long.
Why there won't be that many mattress stores for that long.
well I for one blame Tom Hanks in "You Have Mail" when he explains to Meg Ryan how his godfather told him that real men "go to mattresses." Now that nobody wants to be real men anymore because of Social Justice Liberals, men are embracing "beta-hood" and not going to mattresses. I did not read the FPP
posted by prize bull octorok at 11:04 AM on May 19, 2016 [61 favorites]
posted by prize bull octorok at 11:04 AM on May 19, 2016 [61 favorites]
There's some physical law that the ease of buying a mattress is inversely proportional to the ease of disposing of a mattress.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 11:05 AM on May 19, 2016 [11 favorites]
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 11:05 AM on May 19, 2016 [11 favorites]
I assumed they were all money laundering fronts.
posted by Faint of Butt at 11:05 AM on May 19, 2016 [14 favorites]
posted by Faint of Butt at 11:05 AM on May 19, 2016 [14 favorites]
The scenario in the post isn't a hypothetical, incidentally. It's literally true in my corner of the Chicago suburbs. There's a Mattress Firm at 9 E. Golf Rd. And another at 64 E. Golf Rd. And another at 100 E. Golf Rd. Directly across the street, there's another, which lists its address as 1225 N. Roselle Rd. The last of these, incidentally, is next door to an American Mattress.
There are seventeen within ten miles of my home. For comparison's sake, in the same range, there are, to my count, sixteen Starbucks.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 11:05 AM on May 19, 2016 [8 favorites]
There are seventeen within ten miles of my home. For comparison's sake, in the same range, there are, to my count, sixteen Starbucks.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 11:05 AM on May 19, 2016 [8 favorites]
Compare to Canada with Christine Magee and her sleep country mattress monopoly
posted by St. Peepsburg at 11:06 AM on May 19, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by St. Peepsburg at 11:06 AM on May 19, 2016 [3 favorites]
@mattbuchanan: sorta wish there were a brick-and-mortar internet furniture store—an emporium of furniture from startups like casper so you could try it all
posted by acidic at 11:06 AM on May 19, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by acidic at 11:06 AM on May 19, 2016 [4 favorites]
There's a warehouse thing I pass every time I leave my neighborhood that's just chock full of mattresses. It's just got a big sign out front that says MATTRESS with a simple pricing system for mattresses based on size. No muss, no fuss, no frills. It's a beacon of simplicity and hope in a world overrun by Big Mattress. I love it.
Ha! I found it on google maps, and the street view picture here couldn't be better. YOU CAN SEE THEM THROUGH THE WINDOWS!
posted by phunniemee at 11:07 AM on May 19, 2016 [10 favorites]
Ha! I found it on google maps, and the street view picture here couldn't be better. YOU CAN SEE THEM THROUGH THE WINDOWS!
posted by phunniemee at 11:07 AM on May 19, 2016 [10 favorites]
The best mattress I ever owned was a $495 futon double thick gorgeous gorgeous thing my ex purchased from his first alimony payment in Pittsburgh. I hate IKEA.
posted by infini at 11:10 AM on May 19, 2016
posted by infini at 11:10 AM on May 19, 2016
What if, we gave excess mattresses to the homeless so they don't have to sleep on the ground.
posted by Apocryphon at 11:10 AM on May 19, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by Apocryphon at 11:10 AM on May 19, 2016 [3 favorites]
I don't know why, but I have always thought that there was something fishy about mattress stores and mattress creation and... I don't know! I guess with the fancy puff-up foam mattresses, we're getting to the point where the "this is engineered with custom-sleeved springs wrapped in wool, surrounding a hydrolic lift of slats covered in goose down" mattress engineering may be going by the wayside, but it has always looked to me like every mattress store is on the verge of going out of business, but they're always THERE.
posted by xingcat at 11:11 AM on May 19, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by xingcat at 11:11 AM on May 19, 2016 [3 favorites]
Kinda like luggage stores.
Best sleep I've ever had was on a single-width futon on top of a standard mattress. Oh god it was good.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 11:12 AM on May 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
Best sleep I've ever had was on a single-width futon on top of a standard mattress. Oh god it was good.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 11:12 AM on May 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
I deem this official Mattress Day on MetaFilter. I need an FPP on futons, pls.
posted by bologna on wry at 11:14 AM on May 19, 2016 [6 favorites]
posted by bologna on wry at 11:14 AM on May 19, 2016 [6 favorites]
Came for the pop economics discussion, pleased to see all the mattress reviews.
We struggle to find one that is soft enough (my husband's pref) but firm enough (mine) and I don't trust those sleep number dealies because the one my mom had crapped out after a few years.
We have settled that we don't like box springs and are good with slats if the mattress can take it. Maybe we'll look into the Costco thing next time. Or Casper.
posted by emjaybee at 11:15 AM on May 19, 2016
We struggle to find one that is soft enough (my husband's pref) but firm enough (mine) and I don't trust those sleep number dealies because the one my mom had crapped out after a few years.
We have settled that we don't like box springs and are good with slats if the mattress can take it. Maybe we'll look into the Costco thing next time. Or Casper.
posted by emjaybee at 11:15 AM on May 19, 2016
I'm thinking about trying one of those snake people mattress companies where you order and they deliver it in some sort of super-compressed form. Why? Because that way I don't have to go to a mattress store.
posted by thelonius at 11:16 AM on May 19, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by thelonius at 11:16 AM on May 19, 2016 [4 favorites]
Back in college, my roommate had a mug from Sleep Train, and for whatever reason we both thought it was the funniest thing imaginable.
posted by Existential Dread at 11:16 AM on May 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Existential Dread at 11:16 AM on May 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
Please tell me about your Casper mattresses. We've had the same mattress and box spring for like 10 years, and it was a hand-me-down to begin with.
posted by soren_lorensen at 11:17 AM on May 19, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by soren_lorensen at 11:17 AM on May 19, 2016 [4 favorites]
Futons, in one hour and 20 mins
posted by infini at 11:20 AM on May 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by infini at 11:20 AM on May 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
My best night's sleep was on a Japanese futon on tatami mats in a ryokan in rural Japan. It was so good I came home and threw away all the fluffy mattress topper featherbed crap that I had been using to turn my bed into a giant pillow. I felt like a new woman!
posted by sallybrown at 11:20 AM on May 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by sallybrown at 11:20 AM on May 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
My wife and I have been seeing ads for Purple mattress, which looks somewhat Casper-like, but maybe a different "technology"? Anyway we're intrigued but not ready to pull the trigger. Regardless, I never want to go to another mattress store again.
posted by jazon at 11:22 AM on May 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by jazon at 11:22 AM on May 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
I can sleep well enough on a really firm mattress, but I looove my futon. It's like sleeping on a dead buffalo, which is a lot more restful than sleeping on a live buffalo, I guess.
posted by maudlin at 11:22 AM on May 19, 2016 [7 favorites]
posted by maudlin at 11:22 AM on May 19, 2016 [7 favorites]
We went from a super firm mattress -- it still shocks me for a few seconds when I lie down on it in the guest room -- to a Casper. My wife definitely prefers the Casper, I'm meh on it -- if we ever have substantial money to burn I think a split mattress, or having two singles smushed together in a custom frame, would really be best for us.
Casper:
- Is soft. Not gooshy crazy soft, but if you like a firm mattress, this ain't it.
- Is funky as hell -- it's fun to get the box and open it and have a mattress sigh into existence from something about the size of a mini-fridge.
- Stains fairly easily; we have some permanent cat barf yellows and a tea spill permanently in there after about a year of use
- Is thick; hard to get some of our more shallow fitted sheets over.
- Works very well in our bed environment (slats, no boxspring)
- Surprisingly heavy once you let it expand out.
- Is in competition with at least two other competitors (all of whom advertise on podcasts); "Leesa" was the other heavily advertised one
- Still makes me a bit nervous with its newness; it's not like this is a tried and tested decades-long company, it's a thing you order from the Internet because you heard about it on this podcast you like
Those are my off-the-cuff thoughts on Casper!
posted by Shepherd at 11:22 AM on May 19, 2016 [10 favorites]
Casper:
- Is soft. Not gooshy crazy soft, but if you like a firm mattress, this ain't it.
- Is funky as hell -- it's fun to get the box and open it and have a mattress sigh into existence from something about the size of a mini-fridge.
- Stains fairly easily; we have some permanent cat barf yellows and a tea spill permanently in there after about a year of use
- Is thick; hard to get some of our more shallow fitted sheets over.
- Works very well in our bed environment (slats, no boxspring)
- Surprisingly heavy once you let it expand out.
- Is in competition with at least two other competitors (all of whom advertise on podcasts); "Leesa" was the other heavily advertised one
- Still makes me a bit nervous with its newness; it's not like this is a tried and tested decades-long company, it's a thing you order from the Internet because you heard about it on this podcast you like
Those are my off-the-cuff thoughts on Casper!
posted by Shepherd at 11:22 AM on May 19, 2016 [10 favorites]
We struggle to find one that is soft enough (my husband's pref) but firm enough (mine) and I don't trust those sleep number dealies because the one my mom had crapped out after a few years.
Two twin mattresses on a king frame?
posted by sparklemotion at 11:24 AM on May 19, 2016
Two twin mattresses on a king frame?
posted by sparklemotion at 11:24 AM on May 19, 2016
Our recent trip to San Francisco was the first time we ever slept on a memory-foam type of mattress, and we loved it. We were walking up to six miles every day in the city and never had a single issue with back pain.
When we got back home, we almost hated to crawl back into our old-school mattress.
But, ye gods, do I hate shopping for mattresses.
posted by Thorzdad at 11:29 AM on May 19, 2016
When we got back home, we almost hated to crawl back into our old-school mattress.
But, ye gods, do I hate shopping for mattresses.
posted by Thorzdad at 11:29 AM on May 19, 2016
In case you cannot listen to the audio clip in the first link, the answer to the question "Why are there so many mattress stores in the US?" is summarized in the story as follows:
1. Internet-proof business. People want to try their mattress before purchasing.
2. Baby boomers are increasingly trading up their mattress for a better/fancier/newer one.
3. Super cheap storefront to run; can get by on very few sales/day to make a handsome profit. Even when another store opens across the street, store #1 usually does not experience a decrease in sales (even sometimes an increase (which is inexplicable to me?)).
posted by bologna on wry at 11:31 AM on May 19, 2016 [4 favorites]
1. Internet-proof business. People want to try their mattress before purchasing.
2. Baby boomers are increasingly trading up their mattress for a better/fancier/newer one.
3. Super cheap storefront to run; can get by on very few sales/day to make a handsome profit. Even when another store opens across the street, store #1 usually does not experience a decrease in sales (even sometimes an increase (which is inexplicable to me?)).
posted by bologna on wry at 11:31 AM on May 19, 2016 [4 favorites]
We struggle to find one that is soft enough (my husband's pref) but firm enough (mine)
You can do what my parents did and buy a mattress that you BOTH hate!
It'll give you something to talk about for years to come.
posted by phunniemee at 11:31 AM on May 19, 2016 [41 favorites]
You can do what my parents did and buy a mattress that you BOTH hate!
It'll give you something to talk about for years to come.
posted by phunniemee at 11:31 AM on May 19, 2016 [41 favorites]
I live in a quickly expanding suburb of Austin, and there are now 4 Mattress Firm locations--two in the same shopping center, 2 in separate shopping centers but directly across the street from each other--in a 1-mile stretch of roadway.
Not mattress stores, mind you, but Mattress Firm locations. People in my neighborhood joke about it, but someone finally went in to one and asked what the deal was. Apparently, Mattress Firm bought a competitor after they'd leased two of these spaces before the shopping strip had been built. That's SO much better 4 stores, but two companies...
It's apparently a very high margin business, and the salespeople work on commission. The cost of a storefront is very low.
The beauty of the mattress industry is that they've trained people to believe that buying a mattress is a complicated process with many different, increasingly expensive options. Therefore, you need a living salesperson to walk you through the process. I'm sure that business schools study this marketing success.
(Disclaimer: We just bought a new mattress online from Tuft & Needle. One mattress of each size, no options at all. I loved the buying experience!!! And it seems a perfectly adequate mattress.)
posted by tippiedog at 11:33 AM on May 19, 2016 [4 favorites]
Not mattress stores, mind you, but Mattress Firm locations. People in my neighborhood joke about it, but someone finally went in to one and asked what the deal was. Apparently, Mattress Firm bought a competitor after they'd leased two of these spaces before the shopping strip had been built. That's SO much better 4 stores, but two companies...
It's apparently a very high margin business, and the salespeople work on commission. The cost of a storefront is very low.
The beauty of the mattress industry is that they've trained people to believe that buying a mattress is a complicated process with many different, increasingly expensive options. Therefore, you need a living salesperson to walk you through the process. I'm sure that business schools study this marketing success.
(Disclaimer: We just bought a new mattress online from Tuft & Needle. One mattress of each size, no options at all. I loved the buying experience!!! And it seems a perfectly adequate mattress.)
posted by tippiedog at 11:33 AM on May 19, 2016 [4 favorites]
It looks like the current equivalent of the Costco mattress I have are the Novaform ones listed on this page in the $700-900 range.
Costco had memory foam mattresses in-warehouse earlier this year, with a $200-off deal; we got a queen for I think $400 and it is a spectacular improvement over our old sprung mattress. (I forget brand and model; probably a cheaper variant of the Novaform ones on the website.)
I would happily never step into a mattress store, or the mattress department of a department store, again; a terrible mixture of obsequiousness and upselling.
The article also doesn't mention the practice of manufacturers making mattress names specific to each retailer, making it impossible to comparison-shop like-for-like between retailers. Bah.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 11:35 AM on May 19, 2016 [4 favorites]
Costco had memory foam mattresses in-warehouse earlier this year, with a $200-off deal; we got a queen for I think $400 and it is a spectacular improvement over our old sprung mattress. (I forget brand and model; probably a cheaper variant of the Novaform ones on the website.)
I would happily never step into a mattress store, or the mattress department of a department store, again; a terrible mixture of obsequiousness and upselling.
The article also doesn't mention the practice of manufacturers making mattress names specific to each retailer, making it impossible to comparison-shop like-for-like between retailers. Bah.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 11:35 AM on May 19, 2016 [4 favorites]
I almost met One Direction when we bought our last mattress. We went to the mall to look in Macy's and there were discarded flyers everywhere advertising autographs by something called One Direction. There was an army of exhausted tween girls standing and sitting around. It looked like the meet-and-greet was almost wrapping up; the line was short. We had no idea who they were (I think this was March or April of 2012, when they had just started to hit it big in the US), but we almost, almost went down and got autographs.
We did not. But we did get a mattress, which is actually a really great mattress and wasn't miserably expensive. It's always nice to come home from vacation and sleep on my own awesome mattress.
posted by uncleozzy at 11:35 AM on May 19, 2016 [4 favorites]
We did not. But we did get a mattress, which is actually a really great mattress and wasn't miserably expensive. It's always nice to come home from vacation and sleep on my own awesome mattress.
posted by uncleozzy at 11:35 AM on May 19, 2016 [4 favorites]
I find it interesting that Tuft and Needle invented the "here's a low cost memory foam mattress the comes to your house in a FedEx box" back in '12, but all anyone is talking about in this thread is Casper.
posted by sideshow at 11:38 AM on May 19, 2016 [6 favorites]
posted by sideshow at 11:38 AM on May 19, 2016 [6 favorites]
Here's the annotated map that I made recently showing the 4 Mattress Firm locations near my house: http://i.imgur.com/aKSy3u0.jpg
posted by tippiedog at 11:39 AM on May 19, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by tippiedog at 11:39 AM on May 19, 2016 [4 favorites]
I bought a nice bed frame, which for some reason I stuck in the category of adult furniture purchases I would feel good about in the long term (a self-fulfilling prophecy of an idea, all hail the placebo effect) and the company I bought it from recommended a certain mattress brand. Maybe it's just a strategic partnership or they get promotional kickbacks, but I figured hey, there's a 30 day return policy (as if anyone is actually going to try to re-roll that sucker back into the box) and bought one.
It is a good mattress. My bed looks nice and I sleep well. Life is good. All hail the mattress.
posted by mikeh at 11:40 AM on May 19, 2016
It is a good mattress. My bed looks nice and I sleep well. Life is good. All hail the mattress.
posted by mikeh at 11:40 AM on May 19, 2016
witchen: As I mentioned above, I think the entire mattress quality/options concept is complete (very successful) marketing invention. Hence the appeal of online companies like Casper and Tuft and Needle, which offer basically one mattress in different sizes.
posted by tippiedog at 11:42 AM on May 19, 2016
posted by tippiedog at 11:42 AM on May 19, 2016
Next time, get the mattress and get 1D to autograph it before you leave the mall.
But then I wouldn't be able to use sheets. I'd want to sleep as close as possible to the 1D-ness.
posted by uncleozzy at 11:42 AM on May 19, 2016 [3 favorites]
But then I wouldn't be able to use sheets. I'd want to sleep as close as possible to the 1D-ness.
posted by uncleozzy at 11:42 AM on May 19, 2016 [3 favorites]
You know what gets my goat? The non-reversible trend in mattresses. It's like your getting half the mattress for twice the money. I got the floor model from Original Mattress Factory (i think, maybe it was something different). Anyway, it was $400 which is still too damn much, but it was a regular old school mattress that you could flip over at least.
posted by museum of fire ants at 11:43 AM on May 19, 2016 [5 favorites]
posted by museum of fire ants at 11:43 AM on May 19, 2016 [5 favorites]
We have a queen firm mattress with a pillow top and both of us are pretty sore in the mornings. I have long term back pain and it's ... ok. Been wanting to move to a king, but are struggling with what to get. We are both side sleepers so it seems like *softer* might be better. But what if it's not!? And foam ones are too hot! Maybe! Ugh ... this is why there are mattress stores. It's a huge decision, basically like buying a car that you are gonna drive 6-8 hours a day.
posted by freecellwizard at 11:43 AM on May 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by freecellwizard at 11:43 AM on May 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
We like our Caspar a lot. EOM.
posted by sandettie light vessel automatic at 11:43 AM on May 19, 2016
posted by sandettie light vessel automatic at 11:43 AM on May 19, 2016
My neighbors just went through the new-mattress-purchase rigmarole, and three things I found interesting as someone who has not purchased a new mattress in a lot of years are:
1) The prices are pretty much fixed by the mattress manufacturers. So, Mattress Firm on corner 1 is not going to undercut Mattress Firm a half mile down.
2) Manufacturers create specific models for specific stores.
3) The stores will inundate you with a shit ton of ridiculous mattress-tech-speak, which serves really well to frustrate you to the point of exhaustion, so fuck it, just give me that one I just laid down on.
posted by bologna on wry at 11:44 AM on May 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
1) The prices are pretty much fixed by the mattress manufacturers. So, Mattress Firm on corner 1 is not going to undercut Mattress Firm a half mile down.
2) Manufacturers create specific models for specific stores.
3) The stores will inundate you with a shit ton of ridiculous mattress-tech-speak, which serves really well to frustrate you to the point of exhaustion, so fuck it, just give me that one I just laid down on.
posted by bologna on wry at 11:44 AM on May 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
I want to love memory foam. Soooo comfy... until I wake up roasting.
posted by joycehealy at 11:46 AM on May 19, 2016 [5 favorites]
posted by joycehealy at 11:46 AM on May 19, 2016 [5 favorites]
The reason we went with Caspar, or at least were firm on it needing to be an internet mattress thing, is that the last time I was in a mattress dealership, the sales people were so unctuous and aggressive that I vowed never to do that again. THANK YOU, MATTRESS DISRUPTORS.
posted by sandettie light vessel automatic at 11:47 AM on May 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by sandettie light vessel automatic at 11:47 AM on May 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
Sweethome: Why Startup Mattresses Cost Less
"Selling rectangles of cotton, springs, and foam is a killer business model."posted by glonous keming at 11:49 AM on May 19, 2016 [4 favorites]
Today's Globe and Mail actually has a piece about the 'hipster mattress':
New York-based Casper had buzz from the beginning, helped along by celebrity investors Ashton Kutcher and Leonardo DiCaprio. It launched in 2014 with a one-style-fits-all mattress in a slick sailor-striped box that has made cameos on celebrity Instagram accounts, including Kylie Jenner’s as well as that of indie darling, Girls [sic...oh no, yeah she was in a couple of episodes last season] actress Gillian Jacobs.
posted by Flashman at 11:51 AM on May 19, 2016
New York-based Casper had buzz from the beginning, helped along by celebrity investors Ashton Kutcher and Leonardo DiCaprio. It launched in 2014 with a one-style-fits-all mattress in a slick sailor-striped box that has made cameos on celebrity Instagram accounts, including Kylie Jenner’s as well as that of indie darling, Girls [sic...oh no, yeah she was in a couple of episodes last season] actress Gillian Jacobs.
posted by Flashman at 11:51 AM on May 19, 2016
I have the same question about cell phone stores. (And I work for a cell phone service provider.) Sure, everyone has one, but how often do you replace your phone?
posted by madcaptenor at 11:52 AM on May 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by madcaptenor at 11:52 AM on May 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
The more urgent question is: Why do people dispose of mattresses under highway overpasses?
posted by archimago at 11:58 AM on May 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by archimago at 11:58 AM on May 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
Our current mattress was from Amazon (a Lucid 14" memory foam mattress) and is amazing. The previous one was a futon from Woot, which was decent for its price. The one before that was a futon from a local mattress store, and it was terrible after about day 8.
The last recliner we bought was from Amazon and is terrific. The previous one -- the reason why we needed a new recliner in the first place -- was from a local furniture store, and broke shortly after the end of its short warranty.
The lesson I'm getting here: buy furniture online. Where creepy salespeople don't follow you around when you tell them you're just looking and don't need help, and the prices are better, and you can read peoples' reviews.
posted by Foosnark at 11:58 AM on May 19, 2016
The last recliner we bought was from Amazon and is terrific. The previous one -- the reason why we needed a new recliner in the first place -- was from a local furniture store, and broke shortly after the end of its short warranty.
The lesson I'm getting here: buy furniture online. Where creepy salespeople don't follow you around when you tell them you're just looking and don't need help, and the prices are better, and you can read peoples' reviews.
posted by Foosnark at 11:58 AM on May 19, 2016
I have the same question about cell phone stores. (And I work for a cell phone service provider.) Sure, everyone has one, but how often do you replace your phone?
Well, a lot more frequently than I replace my mattress, that's for sure.
* carefully places her phone back into its bag
posted by bologna on wry at 12:03 PM on May 19, 2016 [3 favorites]
Well, a lot more frequently than I replace my mattress, that's for sure.
* carefully places her phone back into its bag
posted by bologna on wry at 12:03 PM on May 19, 2016 [3 favorites]
more urgent question is: Why do people dispose of mattresses under highway overpasses?
Because it costs in the neighborhood of $80 to get rid of them legitimately.
posted by m@f at 12:05 PM on May 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
Because it costs in the neighborhood of $80 to get rid of them legitimately.
posted by m@f at 12:05 PM on May 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
You might be affluent and able to afford a hipster internet mattress that costs the best part of a month's wages
I think they cost less than the marked-up prices in the stores.
posted by thelonius at 12:07 PM on May 19, 2016 [14 favorites]
I think they cost less than the marked-up prices in the stores.
posted by thelonius at 12:07 PM on May 19, 2016 [14 favorites]
Yeah but why under the overpass and not just on the side of the road?
posted by museum of fire ants at 12:08 PM on May 19, 2016
posted by museum of fire ants at 12:08 PM on May 19, 2016
Yeah but why under the overpass and not just on the side of the road?
Maybe they're dragged there by homeless folks?
posted by Thorzdad at 12:11 PM on May 19, 2016 [3 favorites]
Maybe they're dragged there by homeless folks?
posted by Thorzdad at 12:11 PM on May 19, 2016 [3 favorites]
That makes sense. They are tossed anywhere and then dragged out of the rain where they can be used.
posted by museum of fire ants at 12:14 PM on May 19, 2016
posted by museum of fire ants at 12:14 PM on May 19, 2016
maybe underpasses create mattresses through some abiogenetic process we don't understand yet
posted by prize bull octorok at 12:19 PM on May 19, 2016 [25 favorites]
posted by prize bull octorok at 12:19 PM on May 19, 2016 [25 favorites]
I wouldn't pay more than a couple hundred for a mattress (I can sleep on the mattress equivalent of day-old office coffee, basically, so my current mattress is often compared by my friends to an inflatable raft) but I would pay more than a couple hundred for some people to come with a van and take my old mattress away. There, you can have my business idea for free.
posted by blnkfrnk at 12:20 PM on May 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by blnkfrnk at 12:20 PM on May 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
maybe underpasses create mattresses through some abiogenetic process we don't understand yet
I vote for this explanation
posted by bologna on wry at 12:20 PM on May 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
I vote for this explanation
posted by bologna on wry at 12:20 PM on May 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
maybe the reason there's so many mattress stores is because they haul away your old one for free
posted by prize bull octorok at 12:21 PM on May 19, 2016 [5 favorites]
posted by prize bull octorok at 12:21 PM on May 19, 2016 [5 favorites]
The article also doesn't mention the practice of manufacturers making mattress names specific to each retailer, making it impossible to comparison-shop like-for-like between retailers. Bah.
The Mattress Nerd publishes conversion charts that sort through the worst of this.
There's a Mattress Firm near-ish us that has the lights on and a big neon "OPEN" sign on at bizarre hours (like 2am on a Sunday). Is there a market for selling mattresses to insomniacs?
posted by jedicus at 12:22 PM on May 19, 2016 [4 favorites]
The Mattress Nerd publishes conversion charts that sort through the worst of this.
There's a Mattress Firm near-ish us that has the lights on and a big neon "OPEN" sign on at bizarre hours (like 2am on a Sunday). Is there a market for selling mattresses to insomniacs?
posted by jedicus at 12:22 PM on May 19, 2016 [4 favorites]
Sanitation in my town will take literally anything you can drag out to the curb, no questions asked, but I still don't really want my neighbors to see my old, gross mattress. We definitely let the delivery guys take our old mattress last time.
posted by uncleozzy at 12:24 PM on May 19, 2016
posted by uncleozzy at 12:24 PM on May 19, 2016
Seems like there's another reason for the multiplicity of Mattress Firms, hidden in a few lines from both articles:
Anyway, the last time I bought a mattress, I drove all the way to Cincinnati to go to Original Mattress Factory, because they build springy, double-sided, cotton-batting mattresses like Sealy used to, while everyone else now makes foam-padded bricks.
posted by Harvey Kilobit at 12:27 PM on May 19, 2016 [3 favorites]
Article #1: "It seems like [Mattress Firm's] whole philosophy is to put 'X' amount of stores around our stores," says Michael Kenna, president of American Mattress, which has more than 100 stores.That reads less like "booming business," and more like "sharks circling prey," akin to the big-box bookstores' strategy of building near indie competitors and offering unsustainably low prices.
Article #2: You won't do badly in west suburban Geneva, where Mattress Firm, Walter E. Smithe and American Mattress all stand side by side on a busy stretch of Randall Road. How convenient: rival mattress merchants sharing the same parking lot.... But this sector may not be robust for long. The two biggest chains -- Mattress Firm and Sleepy's -- merged last month in a $780 million deal. Real estate sources say Houston-based Mattress Firm is planning to close 60 to 80 of its 230 post-merger locations in metro Chicago within the next year to maximize profit.
Anyway, the last time I bought a mattress, I drove all the way to Cincinnati to go to Original Mattress Factory, because they build springy, double-sided, cotton-batting mattresses like Sealy used to, while everyone else now makes foam-padded bricks.
posted by Harvey Kilobit at 12:27 PM on May 19, 2016 [3 favorites]
I got a higher-end futon mattress about 7 years ago on the recommendation of a friend. It's not memory foam, it's just foam in some kind of complicated layering. I think we got the second-firmest one the store offered. I've been quite happy with it, although it starting to show it's age now.
posted by vibratory manner of working at 12:29 PM on May 19, 2016
posted by vibratory manner of working at 12:29 PM on May 19, 2016
I just dropped by to say that I've never found a mattress anywhere I love as much as my Comfortaire, a mattress few have ever heard of, and which I discovered by lying on it at a now defunct vendor's booth at an annual state fair (and then lucking into a helluva deal on it.)
As for why pay for a mattress . . . few things are as wonderful as a sound night's sleep.
posted by bearwife at 12:30 PM on May 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
As for why pay for a mattress . . . few things are as wonderful as a sound night's sleep.
posted by bearwife at 12:30 PM on May 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
Ugh. My spouse and I slept on terrible, uncomfortable mattresses for YEARS and complained to each other almost daily about how bad our mattress was before finally one day we snapped and went to the nearest mattress store and paid $2000 (I still cringe when I think about all that money) on a Simmons Beautyrest pillowtop queen mattress because that was, from what I could figure from five minutes of internet research, our best bet. The very first night I lay down on it I was like, nope, this is completely not the mattress we laid down on in the mattress store, it sagged in the middle, it was awful. But a combination of busyness and depression and not wanting to think about it, along with I guess some hope that we'd get used to it, made us miss the return window.
We suffered with it for a year or two before I came across a recommendation for a cheap memory foam mattress here on Ask that was available from Amazon and I ordered it that night.
Five years later, I still love that cheap memory foam mattress, and I'm still mad that I spent so much money on that crappy mattress store piece of shit.
posted by rabbitrabbit at 12:30 PM on May 19, 2016 [6 favorites]
We suffered with it for a year or two before I came across a recommendation for a cheap memory foam mattress here on Ask that was available from Amazon and I ordered it that night.
Five years later, I still love that cheap memory foam mattress, and I'm still mad that I spent so much money on that crappy mattress store piece of shit.
posted by rabbitrabbit at 12:30 PM on May 19, 2016 [6 favorites]
Well, the market is going soft ...
posted by Chitownfats at 12:41 PM on May 19, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by Chitownfats at 12:41 PM on May 19, 2016 [3 favorites]
There are seventeen within ten miles of my home. For comparison's sake, in the same range, there are, to my count, sixteen Starbucks.
Perhaps the ease of purchasing triple shots all day contributes to the lack of perceived comfort in the mattresses. It's hard to sleep when you're completely wired on caffeine.
My pet peeves are the inability to turn the bloody mattress over, and the lack of handles. Remember handles? You grabbed the handle and moved it. Now you have to try and grab the damn thing by the edges as it slips out of your hands at the most awkward moment possible.
posted by BlueHorse at 12:58 PM on May 19, 2016 [11 favorites]
Perhaps the ease of purchasing triple shots all day contributes to the lack of perceived comfort in the mattresses. It's hard to sleep when you're completely wired on caffeine.
My pet peeves are the inability to turn the bloody mattress over, and the lack of handles. Remember handles? You grabbed the handle and moved it. Now you have to try and grab the damn thing by the edges as it slips out of your hands at the most awkward moment possible.
posted by BlueHorse at 12:58 PM on May 19, 2016 [11 favorites]
I live in a quickly expanding suburb of Austin, and there are now 4 Mattress Firm locations--two in the same shopping center, 2 in separate shopping centers but directly across the street from each other--in a 1-mile stretch of roadway.
I wonder if we live in the same Austin suburb, or if this exists in more than one rapidly expanding austin suburb?
posted by RustyBrooks at 12:59 PM on May 19, 2016
I wonder if we live in the same Austin suburb, or if this exists in more than one rapidly expanding austin suburb?
posted by RustyBrooks at 12:59 PM on May 19, 2016
I refuse to buy a Casper on principle, because of their obnoxious advertising, and creepy pyramid-scheme sales program.
Seems like the same shit, but run by white guys inCalifornia NYC, which somehow makes it better.
also, holy shit. I made that comment as a glib remark, but what is going on with their hiring process? I don't think you could staff an office in NYC with that little diversity if you tried. Also, why do they need a small army of web developers, but seemingly don't employ anybody who knows how to design or build a mattress?
posted by schmod at 1:07 PM on May 19, 2016 [3 favorites]
Seems like the same shit, but run by white guys in
also, holy shit. I made that comment as a glib remark, but what is going on with their hiring process? I don't think you could staff an office in NYC with that little diversity if you tried. Also, why do they need a small army of web developers, but seemingly don't employ anybody who knows how to design or build a mattress?
posted by schmod at 1:07 PM on May 19, 2016 [3 favorites]
For the record, we've been sleeping on our Tuft & Needle for 6 months now and would give it an A+. It's on the firmer side (which we wanted), arrived within a few days of ordering, and was super fun to watch inflate from its vacuum packed shipping state. No off-gassing that we could smell, if that's important to you.
posted by quaking fajita at 1:15 PM on May 19, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by quaking fajita at 1:15 PM on May 19, 2016 [3 favorites]
I know I'm speaking from privilege, not having any back pains that require any kind of specific mattress, but ...Why on EARTH would I pay $700+ for something else?
I'd pay twice that if I knew for sure I could get out of bed in the morning standing straight up, and not be walking around hunched over like I'm twice my age.
Back pain is fucking terrible.
posted by Squeak Attack at 1:15 PM on May 19, 2016 [4 favorites]
I'd pay twice that if I knew for sure I could get out of bed in the morning standing straight up, and not be walking around hunched over like I'm twice my age.
Back pain is fucking terrible.
posted by Squeak Attack at 1:15 PM on May 19, 2016 [4 favorites]
Surprisingly Awesome on mattresses. TL;DL: Basically just spend $800-1500 and you're good. More than that is past the point of diminishing returns. You are obviously way past that point if you buy the $95,000 mattress of kings, but Consumer Reports concludes that the differences between most mattresses on the market are actually pretty small, and you should probably ask them to reduce the price by a few hundred bucks because they will (low overhead, highish margin business).
posted by axiom at 1:18 PM on May 19, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by axiom at 1:18 PM on May 19, 2016 [3 favorites]
When we moved in together, we were sleeping on some no-name mattress I had bought out of desperation right after graduation. It had sagged in the middle and we were constantly rolling in to each other in the night. After a few years (!), we finally decided to upgrade to an Adult Bed, and bought a frame from a local furniture maker. Turned out they made foam mattresses in-house, too, so we got the mattress from them. It's been super comfortable and held up to a ton of abuse from pets and ourselves.
So I guess what I'm saying is we bought a local, artisinally-made mattress. Please don't hate me.
posted by backseatpilot at 1:21 PM on May 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
So I guess what I'm saying is we bought a local, artisinally-made mattress. Please don't hate me.
posted by backseatpilot at 1:21 PM on May 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
Too many mattress stores is one of my pet peeves! There seem to be as many around here as there are Walgreens. I figure they can only be so prolific if the mark-up is outrageous. I will delve into the articles, but my rationale was that the bedbug problems caused a boom in mattress sales.
posted by annsunny at 1:22 PM on May 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by annsunny at 1:22 PM on May 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
There is a mattress store about three blocks from me (and I think five more in a twenty block radius). The store near me has changed hands four different times in the last five years. Each time, its become a different kind of mattress store. Its like they're thinking "OK, the last mattress store didn't work here, but its a good location for a mattress store, so it must be they just didn't do a good job running it." I've seen huge discount banners, mascots outside waving flags, and even one of those wiggly men things outside of it to get more attention to the store. None of this seems to work and I imagine that the spot will continue to be turned into different mattress stores for the rest of time.
posted by Joey Michaels at 1:24 PM on May 19, 2016
posted by Joey Michaels at 1:24 PM on May 19, 2016
So what it looks like is that this happened because you all stopped buying waterbeds.
fuckers
posted by Naberius at 1:36 PM on May 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
fuckers
posted by Naberius at 1:36 PM on May 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
A "sleep train" store just opened on broadway, in capitol hill, in Seattle. This is basically the equivalent to williamsburg or the mission, for Seattle. And Seattle is getting That Expensive really fast, and has honestly caught up with williamsburg rent wise for residential. And that's not even talking commercial, the $/square foot is HEINOUS for commercial.
A bunch of people were weirded out, but i was the most weirded out in the sense of how the fuck does that make economic sense.
And then i realized that weird company had taken over several way way older mattress stores.
Are they reserving storefront space for when weed is nationally legalized? I don't get it. How the fuck do you pay rent on these super duper prime locations with lots of square footage selling a couple mattresses a month and still pay your staff? huh?
posted by emptythought at 1:40 PM on May 19, 2016 [3 favorites]
A bunch of people were weirded out, but i was the most weirded out in the sense of how the fuck does that make economic sense.
And then i realized that weird company had taken over several way way older mattress stores.
Are they reserving storefront space for when weed is nationally legalized? I don't get it. How the fuck do you pay rent on these super duper prime locations with lots of square footage selling a couple mattresses a month and still pay your staff? huh?
posted by emptythought at 1:40 PM on May 19, 2016 [3 favorites]
Didn't Philip Seymour Hoffman operate his sex-chat business out of a mattress store in Punch Drunk Love?
posted by blueberry at 1:50 PM on May 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by blueberry at 1:50 PM on May 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
> ...run by white guys...
Well, when I hear the name "Casper," this is what I think of...must be what they think of too.
posted by noneuclidean at 1:52 PM on May 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
Well, when I hear the name "Casper," this is what I think of...must be what they think of too.
posted by noneuclidean at 1:52 PM on May 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
Casper has a "Science Editor"? What?
posted by OwlBoy at 1:55 PM on May 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by OwlBoy at 1:55 PM on May 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
They also have a VP of Confetti
posted by noneuclidean at 1:59 PM on May 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by noneuclidean at 1:59 PM on May 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
We suffered with it for a year or two before I came across a recommendation for a cheap memory foam mattress here on Ask that was available from Amazon and I ordered it that night.
I posted one of those threads, and bought that exact mattress. It's pretty rad. I am considering a latex topper for it though as they are supposed to help provide a little bounce, which might make for some better in-bed exercise.
posted by Mister Fabulous at 2:10 PM on May 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
I posted one of those threads, and bought that exact mattress. It's pretty rad. I am considering a latex topper for it though as they are supposed to help provide a little bounce, which might make for some better in-bed exercise.
posted by Mister Fabulous at 2:10 PM on May 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
sorta wish there were a brick-and-mortar internet furniture store—an emporium of furniture from startups like casper so you could try it all
As Seen On TV As Heard Before Revolutions
Anyone here ever listen to The Ink Panthers Show? I couldn't retell it if I tried, but the story of Tony and the mattress may have been one of the funniest things I've ever experienced.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 2:21 PM on May 19, 2016
Anyone here ever listen to The Ink Panthers Show? I couldn't retell it if I tried, but the story of Tony and the mattress may have been one of the funniest things I've ever experienced.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 2:21 PM on May 19, 2016
Compare to Canada with Christine Magee and her sleep country mattress monopoly
posted by St. Peepsburg at 2:06 PM on May 19 [3 favorites −] Favorite added! [!]
If you're in the Toronto area, you could always head on down to Lastman's Bad Boy. Who's better? Nooooooooooobody!
posted by Fizz at 2:44 PM on May 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by St. Peepsburg at 2:06 PM on May 19 [3 favorites −] Favorite added! [!]
If you're in the Toronto area, you could always head on down to Lastman's Bad Boy. Who's better? Nooooooooooobody!
posted by Fizz at 2:44 PM on May 19, 2016 [2 favorites]
And now I have a playlist of mattress store jingles running through my head.
🎶It's not too late to sleep like a baby! Your ticket to a better night's sleep! Buy a bed get a bear! Shhhhh! why buy a mattress anywhere else? DING!🎶
posted by vespabelle at 2:50 PM on May 19, 2016
🎶It's not too late to sleep like a baby! Your ticket to a better night's sleep! Buy a bed get a bear! Shhhhh! why buy a mattress anywhere else? DING!🎶
posted by vespabelle at 2:50 PM on May 19, 2016
I recently bought a Slumber 1 from Walmart.com, full for $175 delivered. It's a combination foam-spring deal which doesn't take 24 hours to expand or noticeably outgas. The springs are individually encased and it is one of the most comfortable mattresses I've ever slept on. It does need a box spring or flat surface to rest on, as it's way too flexible to rest directly on slats.
Even if it only lasts a few years -- and its hard to see how it would ever really wear out the way it's made -- I'm way ahead of the mattress game. I bought a cheap pair of bolt cutters ($20) to snip the old mattress skeleton into garbage can sized pieces to get rid of it. I don't think I will ever be back to the mattress store.
posted by Bringer Tom at 3:10 PM on May 19, 2016
Even if it only lasts a few years -- and its hard to see how it would ever really wear out the way it's made -- I'm way ahead of the mattress game. I bought a cheap pair of bolt cutters ($20) to snip the old mattress skeleton into garbage can sized pieces to get rid of it. I don't think I will ever be back to the mattress store.
posted by Bringer Tom at 3:10 PM on May 19, 2016
I have never heard of Casper until this thread. There are certainly mattress stores a-plenty around the Greater Boston metro area, but I suspect that Jordan's Furniture, which made their reputation on mattresses and cheesy commercials, dominates the area.
We bought a new mattress in late 2014 (not from Jordan's, as it happens, or any of those various mattress retailers either). We ended up with a brand-name memory foam and have loved it without reservation from Day One. I don't mind sleeping warm, but my wife cannot abide it and she has never complained even once about being too hot since we got it.
posted by briank at 3:25 PM on May 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
We bought a new mattress in late 2014 (not from Jordan's, as it happens, or any of those various mattress retailers either). We ended up with a brand-name memory foam and have loved it without reservation from Day One. I don't mind sleeping warm, but my wife cannot abide it and she has never complained even once about being too hot since we got it.
posted by briank at 3:25 PM on May 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
Even when another store opens across the street, store #1 usually does not experience a decrease in sales (even sometimes an increase (which is inexplicable to me?)).
I think this is because that location becomes known as the place to go to shop for mattresses, so traffic picks up enough to benefit both stores, and people will visit both to comparison shop since they are nearby. Same reason there's always a Home Depot within four blocks of a Lowe's, and there used to be an Office Max near every Office Depot until they merged.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 3:47 PM on May 19, 2016 [4 favorites]
I think this is because that location becomes known as the place to go to shop for mattresses, so traffic picks up enough to benefit both stores, and people will visit both to comparison shop since they are nearby. Same reason there's always a Home Depot within four blocks of a Lowe's, and there used to be an Office Max near every Office Depot until they merged.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 3:47 PM on May 19, 2016 [4 favorites]
Rustybrooks: I wonder if we live in the same Austin suburb, or if this exists in more than one rapidly expanding austin suburb?
It could be any Austin suburb, but I live in Pflugerville, and I was referring to the MF storefronts along Hwy 685.
posted by tippiedog at 4:28 PM on May 19, 2016
It could be any Austin suburb, but I live in Pflugerville, and I was referring to the MF storefronts along Hwy 685.
posted by tippiedog at 4:28 PM on May 19, 2016
Apologies for the WaPo link, but here's a story I read about the life of mattress salespeople on Memorial Day weekend. Click.
posted by bendy at 4:53 PM on May 19, 2016
posted by bendy at 4:53 PM on May 19, 2016
There are so many mattress stores in Inner-Loop Houston that some people have turned to calling Montrose "The Mattrose". (Westheimer Road at Montrose Blvd. is mattress store Ground Zero.)
You can even get T-shirts.
posted by Ranucci at 5:20 PM on May 19, 2016
You can even get T-shirts.
posted by Ranucci at 5:20 PM on May 19, 2016
In land use economics, the term describing how some types of stores do better when they cluster together, thereby facilitating (or appearing to facilitate) comparison shopping is Agglomeration Benefits. See: auto malls, shoe stores in shopping centers and also mattress stores. Re mattress stores, the name of the chain doesn't necessarily register, but the impression that there are many alternatives close together does. And Joe and Jane Shopper have no idea when the same entity owns multiple store chains, of course.
posted by carmicha at 5:52 PM on May 19, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by carmicha at 5:52 PM on May 19, 2016 [3 favorites]
So, who on the internet will sell me a firm, as in actually firm, foam mattress at a reasonable price, which won't get to hot in the summer and which won't develop a dent in the middle after a year or so of sleeping on it? This seems like the place to ask…
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 6:41 PM on May 19, 2016
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 6:41 PM on May 19, 2016
Try latex instead of memory foam? Sleeps less hot, doesn't dent, no off-gassing. Looking myself for a good source, though.
posted by Squeak Attack at 6:54 PM on May 19, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by Squeak Attack at 6:54 PM on May 19, 2016 [3 favorites]
AoANLA I am really happy with the Slumber 1 I linked above. The same Chinese company also ships memory foam mattresses and probably that same mattress under other brands. I like a firm mattress but the individual coil springs give in a way that conforms to my body without being mushy. And of course you can't beat the price. Oh, and it sleeps cool too, since it's mostly a thin layer of foam over the spring layer which is of course all air once the mattress expands.
posted by Bringer Tom at 6:54 PM on May 19, 2016
posted by Bringer Tom at 6:54 PM on May 19, 2016
We've got a 2" memory foam topper from Costco on top of "firm" 6" foam matress from the local foam store. A nice mix of squishy ditributive foam that elminates pressure points without being so so soft you sink into it.
emjaybee: "We struggle to find one that is soft enough (my husband's pref) but firm enough (mine) and I don't trust those sleep number dealies because the one my mom had crapped out after a few years.
"
If a foam mattress works for you you can get a foam place to glue two different firmness foams together down the middle. It's a really common thing to do.
posted by Mitheral at 6:58 PM on May 19, 2016
emjaybee: "We struggle to find one that is soft enough (my husband's pref) but firm enough (mine) and I don't trust those sleep number dealies because the one my mom had crapped out after a few years.
"
If a foam mattress works for you you can get a foam place to glue two different firmness foams together down the middle. It's a really common thing to do.
posted by Mitheral at 6:58 PM on May 19, 2016
It could be any Austin suburb, but I live in Pflugerville, and I was referring to the MF storefronts along Hwy 685.
Heh, yeah, that's what I thought. That's where we live also (nearish to the HEB on Pecan St)
posted by RustyBrooks at 7:13 PM on May 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
Heh, yeah, that's what I thought. That's where we live also (nearish to the HEB on Pecan St)
posted by RustyBrooks at 7:13 PM on May 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
Pater Aletheias: "I think this is because that location becomes known as the place to go to shop for mattresses, so traffic picks up enough to benefit both stores, and people will visit both to comparison shop since they are nearby."
Yup. I bought my guitar on a street with around 30 guitar and musical instrument shops, way across town. You could think "why would someone build a guitar store there, surrounded by so much competition?", but the fact of the matter is I took a train all the way across town to buy my guitar, and the area is always packed with other people who have taken trains across town to buy their musical instruments there.
posted by Bugbread at 7:15 PM on May 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
Yup. I bought my guitar on a street with around 30 guitar and musical instrument shops, way across town. You could think "why would someone build a guitar store there, surrounded by so much competition?", but the fact of the matter is I took a train all the way across town to buy my guitar, and the area is always packed with other people who have taken trains across town to buy their musical instruments there.
posted by Bugbread at 7:15 PM on May 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
Are they reserving storefront space for when weed is nationally legalized? I don't get it. How the fuck do you pay rent on these super duper prime locations with lots of square footage selling a couple mattresses a month and still pay your staff? huh?
The margins are 80 percent of a huge number. If you sell one 400 dollar mattress a day, you're still bringing in $64k a year.
posted by pwnguin at 10:06 PM on May 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
The margins are 80 percent of a huge number. If you sell one 400 dollar mattress a day, you're still bringing in $64k a year.
posted by pwnguin at 10:06 PM on May 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
Bugbread, next time you go, do you think you could get everyone to jam with you on their new instruments?
posted by blnkfrnk at 5:20 AM on May 20, 2016
posted by blnkfrnk at 5:20 AM on May 20, 2016
A decade or two ago, furniture stores in the Netherlands decided to group themselves into separate mall-like conglomerates, to entice people to do "a day of shopping" and hoping to attract people who would otherwise not be bothered to drive a distance just to visit a single store.
As a result, somebody recently did the math on them and found out that for all of them to make a profit, a country with a population of 58 million people would be required to do their shopping with them, given normal furniture wear and tear and replacement. The Netherlands currently has a bit over 17 million.
posted by DreamerFi at 5:42 AM on May 20, 2016
As a result, somebody recently did the math on them and found out that for all of them to make a profit, a country with a population of 58 million people would be required to do their shopping with them, given normal furniture wear and tear and replacement. The Netherlands currently has a bit over 17 million.
posted by DreamerFi at 5:42 AM on May 20, 2016
blnkfrnk: "Bugbread, next time you go, do you think you could get everyone to jam with you on their new instruments?"
It would be like getting everyone in a Guitar Center to play a tune together. Cat herding.
DreamerFi: "As a result, somebody recently did the math on them and found out that for all of them to make a profit, a country with a population of 58 million people would be required to do their shopping with them, given normal furniture wear and tear and replacement. The Netherlands currently has a bit over 17 million."
Yeah, conglomeration can sometimes work, but it is definitely not a guaranteed thing. The musical instrument street has, I'm guessing, 30 instrument shops, but each of those shops easily gets more daily business than my local guitar shop, so it works out for them. I could easily see that approach failing in other industries.
Now that I think of it, in a certain sense, that's how Chinatowns et al work.
posted by Bugbread at 6:57 AM on May 20, 2016
It would be like getting everyone in a Guitar Center to play a tune together. Cat herding.
DreamerFi: "As a result, somebody recently did the math on them and found out that for all of them to make a profit, a country with a population of 58 million people would be required to do their shopping with them, given normal furniture wear and tear and replacement. The Netherlands currently has a bit over 17 million."
Yeah, conglomeration can sometimes work, but it is definitely not a guaranteed thing. The musical instrument street has, I'm guessing, 30 instrument shops, but each of those shops easily gets more daily business than my local guitar shop, so it works out for them. I could easily see that approach failing in other industries.
Now that I think of it, in a certain sense, that's how Chinatowns et al work.
posted by Bugbread at 6:57 AM on May 20, 2016
Anyone have any experience with Helix Sleep? I'm intrigued by their personalized-for-you shtick; I like a pretty firm mattress, and given comments such as shepherd's above, I suspect a Casper would be too soft for me, but I'm wondering how well Helix works in practice.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 10:39 AM on May 20, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 10:39 AM on May 20, 2016 [1 favorite]
I am a side sleeper with trochanteric bursitis, and our 18 year old pillowtop inner spring mattress was wrecking my life. There have been several days in the past couple months where I said "fuck it" and got up at 4:15 AM (after going to bed after 1 AM because I dreaded the pain of lying down so badly) and just walked around outside for three hours in an effort to get my metabolism moving enough to make it through the day.
After one of these, I went to our local Sleep Noun store -- honestly I couldn't tell you which one it was -- and said "I have a terrible mattress and we need to buy a new mattress but we can't buy one until our tax return comes in but when that happens I want to just buy the fucking mattress, so can I please lie down on all of your mattresses and find out which one doesn't make me hurt?" The guy said "sure" and proceeded to be WAY more salesy than I really would have preferred, but within normal parameters for salesiness at least.
It didn't take long for me to figure out that I needed a memory foam mattress and not an innerspring one. The guy kept helpfully talking up all the differences between all the different mattresses until he said "OK, you go ahead and lie there for a bit, I'm going to go check and see if we have any sales coming up. If we have one coming up in the next six weeks or so, we can give you that deal early."
You see what's coming, right? I fell sound asleep on that mattress. SOUND asleep. The guy came back and woke me gently and said, "We can deliver that mattress to you today if you want." Blearily I asked, "How much does it cost?" He said "That's the Platinum Ruby Bald Eagle Head Fabrege Egg Koh-I-Noor series. In a California King size, it's $7,900."
I bought a memory foam pillow to thank him for his time ($100, and worth every fucking penny), went home, and ordered a Novaform pure foam mattress from Costco. With tax, it was $1200; we could have gotten one for $800 but the reviews suggested this model would be better for me. It arrived 6 days later in a 140 pound box the size of a 30 gallon garbage can, and once I wrestled the fucker onto my high platform bed and got it out of the box and opened the vacuum seal package, it was fully puffed up and ready to go in 10 minutes. No outgassing, no odor. I fell asleep fully clothed on it at 8:30 PM -- this was this past Tuesday -- and woke up at 7 AM feeling like a new person. Every night this week, I have gone to sleep feeling like I was cradled in the arms of Morpheus himself, and have woken up bright-eyed and without pain.
In conclusion, Costco mattresses are the shit. Plus if you have the Executive membership, you get 2.5% of the purchase price back at the end of the year.
posted by KathrynT at 12:28 PM on May 20, 2016 [26 favorites]
After one of these, I went to our local Sleep Noun store -- honestly I couldn't tell you which one it was -- and said "I have a terrible mattress and we need to buy a new mattress but we can't buy one until our tax return comes in but when that happens I want to just buy the fucking mattress, so can I please lie down on all of your mattresses and find out which one doesn't make me hurt?" The guy said "sure" and proceeded to be WAY more salesy than I really would have preferred, but within normal parameters for salesiness at least.
It didn't take long for me to figure out that I needed a memory foam mattress and not an innerspring one. The guy kept helpfully talking up all the differences between all the different mattresses until he said "OK, you go ahead and lie there for a bit, I'm going to go check and see if we have any sales coming up. If we have one coming up in the next six weeks or so, we can give you that deal early."
You see what's coming, right? I fell sound asleep on that mattress. SOUND asleep. The guy came back and woke me gently and said, "We can deliver that mattress to you today if you want." Blearily I asked, "How much does it cost?" He said "That's the Platinum Ruby Bald Eagle Head Fabrege Egg Koh-I-Noor series. In a California King size, it's $7,900."
I bought a memory foam pillow to thank him for his time ($100, and worth every fucking penny), went home, and ordered a Novaform pure foam mattress from Costco. With tax, it was $1200; we could have gotten one for $800 but the reviews suggested this model would be better for me. It arrived 6 days later in a 140 pound box the size of a 30 gallon garbage can, and once I wrestled the fucker onto my high platform bed and got it out of the box and opened the vacuum seal package, it was fully puffed up and ready to go in 10 minutes. No outgassing, no odor. I fell asleep fully clothed on it at 8:30 PM -- this was this past Tuesday -- and woke up at 7 AM feeling like a new person. Every night this week, I have gone to sleep feeling like I was cradled in the arms of Morpheus himself, and have woken up bright-eyed and without pain.
In conclusion, Costco mattresses are the shit. Plus if you have the Executive membership, you get 2.5% of the purchase price back at the end of the year.
posted by KathrynT at 12:28 PM on May 20, 2016 [26 favorites]
So, who on the internet will sell me a firm, as in actually firm, foam mattress at a reasonable price, which won't get to hot in the summer and which won't develop a dent in the middle after a year or so of sleeping on it? This seems like the place to ask…
I can't say enough nice things about my tuft and needle mattress. Multiple people have commented that it "seemed too firm".
Yea, exactly, that's what i wanted.
I bought one for my dad, who is known to sleep on the floor in hotel rooms because he hates mushy beds. He loves it too.
If you want it to literally be firm enough that if you sleep on your side you'll wake up with a sore shoulder, then this is the one you're looking for. I freaking love it.
A few years ago i had the firmest ikea mattress and loved that. It was too thin though, and i couldn't figure out if they even sold a thicker version. It never "dented", although i did relent and throw a thin topper on it because a former partner found it too uncomfortable. It also suffered from the "not enough structural integrity for slats" problem. Super comfortable on a solid surface or the floor, mediocre or worse on slats. I junked it instead of creating some kind of platform. Even a piece of plywood would have worked great though.
Which brings up another trick: I have my current mattress on a solid platform frame. My dad briefly had his on a slat frame and wasn't a huge fan. The solid platform REALLY helps it stay firm, and imo prevents "the dent" as well since the mattress cant pooch through the slats.
In conclusion, Costco mattresses are the shit. Plus if you have the Executive membership, you get 2.5% of the purchase price back at the end of the year.
I know several people who SWEAR by these, and if they ever need a new bed for any reason they just buy another one. My mom has some $12310993904 memory foam mattress, and i honestly can't tell the difference. If memory foam is your jam, then i don't see the point in buying anything but the costco one.
It's sort of like monoprice for cords, or most trader joes brand products. The quality is the same, it just costs less.
I can also vouch for their pillows being better than either the cheapie or fancy tempur pedic/etc. Those are either way way too skinny(unless you're like, a very petite lady) or thick enough for a bear. The costco ones are the goldilocks thickness if you're an Average Sized Dude. They also cost like, half to a third as much.
posted by emptythought at 1:57 PM on May 20, 2016 [1 favorite]
I can't say enough nice things about my tuft and needle mattress. Multiple people have commented that it "seemed too firm".
Yea, exactly, that's what i wanted.
I bought one for my dad, who is known to sleep on the floor in hotel rooms because he hates mushy beds. He loves it too.
If you want it to literally be firm enough that if you sleep on your side you'll wake up with a sore shoulder, then this is the one you're looking for. I freaking love it.
A few years ago i had the firmest ikea mattress and loved that. It was too thin though, and i couldn't figure out if they even sold a thicker version. It never "dented", although i did relent and throw a thin topper on it because a former partner found it too uncomfortable. It also suffered from the "not enough structural integrity for slats" problem. Super comfortable on a solid surface or the floor, mediocre or worse on slats. I junked it instead of creating some kind of platform. Even a piece of plywood would have worked great though.
Which brings up another trick: I have my current mattress on a solid platform frame. My dad briefly had his on a slat frame and wasn't a huge fan. The solid platform REALLY helps it stay firm, and imo prevents "the dent" as well since the mattress cant pooch through the slats.
In conclusion, Costco mattresses are the shit. Plus if you have the Executive membership, you get 2.5% of the purchase price back at the end of the year.
I know several people who SWEAR by these, and if they ever need a new bed for any reason they just buy another one. My mom has some $12310993904 memory foam mattress, and i honestly can't tell the difference. If memory foam is your jam, then i don't see the point in buying anything but the costco one.
It's sort of like monoprice for cords, or most trader joes brand products. The quality is the same, it just costs less.
I can also vouch for their pillows being better than either the cheapie or fancy tempur pedic/etc. Those are either way way too skinny(unless you're like, a very petite lady) or thick enough for a bear. The costco ones are the goldilocks thickness if you're an Average Sized Dude. They also cost like, half to a third as much.
posted by emptythought at 1:57 PM on May 20, 2016 [1 favorite]
I'm a little late to the game here, but my family owned a chain of mattress/waterbed/furniture stores when I was growing up. At the age of 14 I was pressed in to duty as a salesperson, and got plenty of unintended insight into adult relationships and implied sexuality as I helped singles and couples decide on their bedding needs.
For better or worse, our stores actually made the mattresses in a small factory in each one of the stores. People liked that, even if it meant the bed probably cost a little more than one made in a large factory and shipped to the store (without any noticeable improvement in quality over one made far away in a larger factory).
I continued to work in the stores in college, long after my family sold the stores. I actually developed a niche referral stream of customers among same-sex couples (this was the mid-to-late Eighties), because I didn't give one pun-intended f*ck what people did on their bed, as long as they bought it from me.
Those days were long ago. But some advice to mattress buyers today: Go with foam, but don't get the "memory foam"(even the gel-infused crap) unless you want to sweat off five pounds of water weight every night.
Instead, get a latex rubber mattress (good reviews here). They cost more than innerspring or memory foam, and they're a pain to move up or down staircases (especially the king size latex mattresses).
But you should get about ten years of use out of a decent one. Even if you spend $2,000, that works out to about fifty cents a night--don't you think your health and happiness are worth that low cost?*
*Once a mattress salesperson, always a mattress salesperson
posted by Kibbutz at 12:53 PM on May 22, 2016 [3 favorites]
For better or worse, our stores actually made the mattresses in a small factory in each one of the stores. People liked that, even if it meant the bed probably cost a little more than one made in a large factory and shipped to the store (without any noticeable improvement in quality over one made far away in a larger factory).
I continued to work in the stores in college, long after my family sold the stores. I actually developed a niche referral stream of customers among same-sex couples (this was the mid-to-late Eighties), because I didn't give one pun-intended f*ck what people did on their bed, as long as they bought it from me.
Those days were long ago. But some advice to mattress buyers today: Go with foam, but don't get the "memory foam"(even the gel-infused crap) unless you want to sweat off five pounds of water weight every night.
Instead, get a latex rubber mattress (good reviews here). They cost more than innerspring or memory foam, and they're a pain to move up or down staircases (especially the king size latex mattresses).
But you should get about ten years of use out of a decent one. Even if you spend $2,000, that works out to about fifty cents a night--don't you think your health and happiness are worth that low cost?*
*Once a mattress salesperson, always a mattress salesperson
posted by Kibbutz at 12:53 PM on May 22, 2016 [3 favorites]
DevilsAdvocate, I got a Helix because I wanted foam with latex and springs for, um, bounce, and was also intrigued by the "customizing" aspect. Both me and my partner are pleased, but I realized that I have absolutely no way of knowing whether it was actually customized because I have literally nothing to compare it to, except my previous, busted-ass, "traditional" spring mattress. I like that there are options for different types for different sides, so I guess there must be a difference based on their ability to glue options together...
It doesn't sleep noticeably hot, it isn't a super squish (I tweaked my answers to get the squishiest option because I am a goddamn princess, but my firm-mattress preferring sleep buddy is very happy with it) but is still comfortable...the only concern is that one of the springs on the side of the bed where the heavier person sleeps (...and more vigorous sleepytime activities tend to occur) is maybe pushing out sideways weirdly? Not into anyone's back or anything, so who knows if that's gonna be a long term issue. It's better than other mattresses I've owned though, and the price was good. Also, like everyone has mentioned, the unboxing is awesome. Didn't smell funny either.
posted by zinful at 4:04 PM on May 22, 2016 [1 favorite]
It doesn't sleep noticeably hot, it isn't a super squish (I tweaked my answers to get the squishiest option because I am a goddamn princess, but my firm-mattress preferring sleep buddy is very happy with it) but is still comfortable...the only concern is that one of the springs on the side of the bed where the heavier person sleeps (...and more vigorous sleepytime activities tend to occur) is maybe pushing out sideways weirdly? Not into anyone's back or anything, so who knows if that's gonna be a long term issue. It's better than other mattresses I've owned though, and the price was good. Also, like everyone has mentioned, the unboxing is awesome. Didn't smell funny either.
posted by zinful at 4:04 PM on May 22, 2016 [1 favorite]
zinful: "the side of the bed where the heavier person sleeps"
Okay, so maybe this is the key to the mystery for me. I read these threads on MeFi about mattresses and I just get this big question mark above my head. I get that there are folks with bad backs, but I can't imagine that there are so many people with bad backs. And Kibbutz upthread praised a mattress for providing ten years of use.
In contrast, I bought a mattress when I bought my bed, ten years ago. Ten years later, it feels the same as when I bought it. I have kinda assumed that I'd probably have this mattress for the rest of my life. At absolute worst, another ten years. So I'm always wondering "what is going on in the US that people have so many problems with mattresses and need to replace them so often?" Until zinful's comment I hadn't considered the weight difference. It would totally explain things, but is it the actual cause, or is there some other explanation?
posted by Bugbread at 4:26 PM on May 22, 2016 [1 favorite]
Okay, so maybe this is the key to the mystery for me. I read these threads on MeFi about mattresses and I just get this big question mark above my head. I get that there are folks with bad backs, but I can't imagine that there are so many people with bad backs. And Kibbutz upthread praised a mattress for providing ten years of use.
In contrast, I bought a mattress when I bought my bed, ten years ago. Ten years later, it feels the same as when I bought it. I have kinda assumed that I'd probably have this mattress for the rest of my life. At absolute worst, another ten years. So I'm always wondering "what is going on in the US that people have so many problems with mattresses and need to replace them so often?" Until zinful's comment I hadn't considered the weight difference. It would totally explain things, but is it the actual cause, or is there some other explanation?
posted by Bugbread at 4:26 PM on May 22, 2016 [1 favorite]
Late to the mattress party, but here's a screenshot of the Mattress Firm situation near my workplace in Austin. The crow-flies distance between the two farthest points is 1.5 miles.
Then I can go south one highway exit to Anderson Lane, and going west from that exit, towards my house, I'll drive past (a) a Mattress Firm (formerly Sleep Experts); (b) a Mattress Firm Clearance (formerly Mattress Pro Supercenter); (c) another Mattress Firm Clearance; and finally (d) another Mattress Firm — all before I've traveled one mile.
We bought from a local mattress store nearby because fuck Mattress Firm.
posted by savetheclocktower at 1:03 PM on May 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
Then I can go south one highway exit to Anderson Lane, and going west from that exit, towards my house, I'll drive past (a) a Mattress Firm (formerly Sleep Experts); (b) a Mattress Firm Clearance (formerly Mattress Pro Supercenter); (c) another Mattress Firm Clearance; and finally (d) another Mattress Firm — all before I've traveled one mile.
We bought from a local mattress store nearby because fuck Mattress Firm.
posted by savetheclocktower at 1:03 PM on May 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
and discovered that mattresses had grown to ridiculous heights plus only had padding on one side
The mattress I recently retired was 8 inches thick and lasted 15 years with regular turning. It was a conventional spring design and it never got really uncomfortable but developed some depressions and lumps.
My new mattress-in-a-box is also 8 inches thick but can't be flipped. It is easily the most comfortable mattress I've ever slept on, and that including some fairly high class hotel rooms; like the most expensive mattresses of yesteryear it's a spring coil design with the coils not connected horizontally. Back in the day the coils would have been expensively hand-sewn into sleeves. Nowadays they mould foam around them.
My purchase appears to be one of a number of offereings from Zinus / Sleep Revolution, all made in the same factory in China. For $175 I'll be quite happy if this mattress lasts ten years and quite surprised if it doesn't. It is a puzzlement that all but the cheapest sheet sets advertize that the fitted sheet will fit mattresses 18 or even 24 inches thick. WTF?
The Bed in a Box does need to inherit a box spring or a flat surface as it can't rest directly on slats. If I ever find myself in a box-springless situation I will go for the plywood solution.
posted by Bringer Tom at 6:21 PM on May 23, 2016
The mattress I recently retired was 8 inches thick and lasted 15 years with regular turning. It was a conventional spring design and it never got really uncomfortable but developed some depressions and lumps.
My new mattress-in-a-box is also 8 inches thick but can't be flipped. It is easily the most comfortable mattress I've ever slept on, and that including some fairly high class hotel rooms; like the most expensive mattresses of yesteryear it's a spring coil design with the coils not connected horizontally. Back in the day the coils would have been expensively hand-sewn into sleeves. Nowadays they mould foam around them.
My purchase appears to be one of a number of offereings from Zinus / Sleep Revolution, all made in the same factory in China. For $175 I'll be quite happy if this mattress lasts ten years and quite surprised if it doesn't. It is a puzzlement that all but the cheapest sheet sets advertize that the fitted sheet will fit mattresses 18 or even 24 inches thick. WTF?
The Bed in a Box does need to inherit a box spring or a flat surface as it can't rest directly on slats. If I ever find myself in a box-springless situation I will go for the plywood solution.
posted by Bringer Tom at 6:21 PM on May 23, 2016
Bugbread, my very unscientific observation has been that my mattresses lasted much longer before I started habitually sleeping 2-to-a-bed, and the uneven distribution of weight really killed my last one only after my partner went up to about 30lb heavier than I am. Now, that uneven weight distribution may have just highlighted the sorry state of Previous Mattress, but even still all Previous Mattresses lasted longer when it was just me.
I think it's because I naturally starfish-sleep when alone, and am much more likely to exclusively sleep in the bed, so there's no lumpy spots in particular.
posted by zinful at 8:59 PM on May 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
I think it's because I naturally starfish-sleep when alone, and am much more likely to exclusively sleep in the bed, so there's no lumpy spots in particular.
posted by zinful at 8:59 PM on May 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
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The Caspers are awesome. Guests rave about them every time.
Death to the mattress store.
posted by trackofalljades at 11:03 AM on May 19, 2016 [5 favorites]