Are expensive mattresses worth the extra cost?

Are expensive mattresses worth the extra cost?

Customer Question

What is the difference between a cheap bed and an expensive bed?

There are important differences between cheap and expensive mattresses.

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.

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