Are expensive mattresses worth the extra cost?
Customer Question
What is the difference between a cheap bed and an expensive bed?
These differences, however, are very different from what mattress manufacturers and sellers emphasize in their marketing and advertising.
- The Kluft mattress shown above retails for about $30,000.
The $30,000 mattress shown above is not ten times better than a $3000 mattress.
- A $3000 mattress is not three times better than a $1000 mattress.
There are many excellent $1000 mattresses available that can provide a very comfortable and restful sleep for most individuals. There are good quality mattresses that cost even less.
$2000 mattresses are usually superior to mattresses that cost half as much. But that extra $1000 you are spending generally breaks down like this:
- Quality improvements: $250
- Cosmetic improvements: $250
- Additional profit : $500
Spending $3000 or $5000 on a mattress results in a similar breakdown of the additional costs.
- Most of the increased price paid for high end mattresses is for cosmetic improvements and increased profits.
More expensive mattresses are usually more comfortable for most people.
- Any mattress that costs $5000 or more should be extremely comfortable for just about everyone and should last a very long time.
There is also an important psychological factor at work here. Most people “feel” that a mattress is more comfortable when they have spent a lot of money for it.
Important note: The quality of a mattress is always related to its actual selling price, not the “comparable value” price that it was supposedly marked down from.
- A mattress that is marked: Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail price $2999 on sale for $999 is a $1000 mattress. It is not a $3000 mattress.
- A mattress that is marked down from $9999 to $2999 is a $3000 mattress. It is not a $10,000 mattress.
For a detailed article about phony mattress marketing tactics check out:
Are Mattresses Offered at 50% - 75% Off Discounts Really Bargains?
The $30,000 Kluft mattress shown above includes expensive exotic materials and hand crafted construction.
- These features do cost substantially more than mass produced mattresses made with conventional materials.
- When compared with a $5000 mattress, however, the increased comfort may be more psychological than physical.
Disclosure:
Long ago I was a mattress buyer for a major furniture retail chain. Over a 4 year period, I purchased approximately $20 million of mattresses.
Ask the Furniture Expert