The Best Place to Buy a Mattress & 7 In-Store Myths

Let’s face it – buying a new mattress at a brick and mortar store can feel awkward. Sleeping is an inherently private experience, after all.

But there you are, laying down amidst a showroom full of customers and salespeople. Perhaps awkwardly tugging on your clothes, trying not to get footprints on the bed or think of all those who tested the bed before you.

Uncomfortable as it might seem, it also seems counterintuitive not to at least test-drive (or in this case, test sleep) an investment where you spend one-third of your life.

However, research shows that personally testing mattresses doesn’t always lead to the best selection. In fact, some of the most popular mattress brands are online because they provide longer sleep trials that allow you to test out the mattress in the comfort of your own home.

Throughout this article, we cover some of the most common myths associated with mattress shopping. Plus, we explain what to look for if you do opt for the in-store shopping experience.

The Best Place to Buy a Mattress In-Store & Online: Amerisleep

While the myths listed below will help you better understand the mattress shopping experience, it is also important to note that not all mattress retail stores are created equally. Amerisleep has reinvented the mattress shopping experience with unique interactive displays, informative videos, and expert sales staff.

Plus, they provide “dream suites” where shoppers can take a short nap on any of their advanced mattresses. These private rooms are equipped with light dimmers, an overhead display with a loop of soothing images, and a sunrise alarm to encourage naturally waking. “Dream suites” help customers get a better idea of the comfort and support of the mattress away from sales associates and other shoppers.

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Amerisleep’s staff of sleep specialists take the stress out of shopping for a new mattress. Each associate is trained in many aspects of sleep health and can help you determine the right firmness for your body type and sleep style. After discussing your sleep habits and overall health, they will recommend one of their luxury mattresses and explain how it is designed to foster better sleep.

There are three types of mattresses to choose from at Amerisleep, from their classic memory foam mattresses to their newer latex and hybrid mattresses. Material type can affect how a mattress feels under the body, as can other considerations like synthetic sensitivity or wool or latex allergies.

These mattresses also come in the seven standard mattress sizes, spanning twin, twin XL, full, queen, king, California king, and split king options.

With Amerisleep’s 100-night, risk-free trial period, free delivery, and free removal, there is zero risk to you whether you are shopping at one of their retail locations or their website. If you are not happy with the mattress after the first 3 months of use, they will work with you to provide a full refund.

When shopping with Amerisleep, you can bundle your mattress with one of their adjustable bases and save up to $1500. They also offer high-quality bedding and mattress accessories to make your sleep space even more comfortable.

In addition to their online offerings, Amerisleep has recently explained their retail stores and now have twelve locations across Arizona, California, Texas, Utah, Colorado, and Oregon. The following is a complete list of their stores.

• Gilbert, Arizona – SanTan Village
• Glendale, Arizona – Arrowhead Towne Center
• Scottsdale, Arizona – Optima Camelview
• Tuscon, Arizona – La Encantada
• Denver, Colorado – Cherry Creek North
• Lone Tree, Colorado – Park Meadows
• Portland, Oregon – Washington Square
• Austin, Texas – Domain Northside
• Fort Worth, Texas – the Shops at Clearfork
• Friendswood, Texas – Baybrook Mall
• Houston, Texas – the Galleria
• Katy, Texas – LaCenterra at Cinco Ranch

See our best places to buy a mattress guide for more about top mattress brands and the types of mattresses they offer.

7 Myths About Buying a New Mattress

So, why are so many of today’s best mattress brands founded online? Well for one, traditional mattress stores hold a slew of tricks up their sleeves to make sure you walk out of there having purchased something. Below, we outline some of these tricks and several common myths surrounding mattress shopping.

Myth #1: You Need To Try Out a Mattress Before You Buy

The Truth: Selecting the best option in a showroom setting is no more likely to get you comfortable than buying online

Common recommendations state that you should spend at least 20 minutes lying on each mattress you are considering.

Even if you narrow down your selection to a specific price range and firmness, you could still face an ample selection to personally test. Let’s say, for example, one store offers six models, and another store five. At 20 minutes per mattress, you’ll spend four hours relaxing under the glaring fluorescent lights. Not to mention all the while you’ll be fending off pushy salespeople. Does this sound like your ideal Saturday?

More than likely, customers shortcut test time, and spend 20 minutes total with all mattresses. Even if you diligently wait out the full duration, studies show that you are still pretty terrible at picking out the best bed in a showroom setting.

The independent, non-profit research group, RTI let participants select their top choice of seven beds in a showroom setting (think like all Mattress Firm locations), then gave them each one to try for one month. The participants did not know which bed they initially chose, and the mattresses arrived in a random order.

Participants maintained sleep quality journals and underwent electronic monitoring. The study found that people selected the bed after the study they ultimately rated best at the beginning only 38% of the time.

In a perfect world, it would be better to test a new mattress in the privacy of your own home for several weeks. If the showroom does not offer an in-home trial period, plenty of online dealers do so, with hassle-free refunds and exchanges. Mattress Firm and others may offer just a couple of weeks, and charge return fees.

Myth #2: Salespeople Are There to Help You Make Good Decisions

The Truth: Salespeople are there to help themselves make mattress sales

Sorry to say, but some salespeople do not have your best interest in mind when helping you shop for a mattress. Their job is to make a sale. Even if they aren’t working on commission, there are quotas to meet, overstocked mattresses to push, and non-commission bonuses to earn.

Some salespeople are helpful and genuinely interested in helping you find the best option – as long as it is in their store.

Do you find high-pressure sales tactics uncomfortable when trying to make a rational decision?  Salespeople tend to be smooth talkers. You may not realize you’ve been duped until it is too late. Or, perhaps you just want to get out of there and rush the decision.

If you feel sales pressure, your best bet is always walking out of the store. When you are ready to make a decision on your terms, there will still be a mattress for sale there. Or use their high-pressure sales tactics to get yourself a bargain. Set your own price and walk away if it exceeds your budget. Online sellers tend to have less markup, but may offer additional perks, too.

Myth #3: It’s Easy to Cross-Comparison Shop Between Stores

The Truth: Welcome to the world of exclusivity agreements and mattress shop turf wars

Often, mattress manufacturers create exclusivity deals with each store. This may involve changing the name of the series and minor features for different stores. For example, the Serta Perfect Sleeper will have different names at all Mattress Firm locations.

The reason for this ‘personalized line’? So that each retailer protects its own turf, setting prices that not easily compared between stores. They keep markups high and aren’t forced to beat each other’s prices.

Good for business, but a frustrating practice for customers looking to find the best deal on a bed they like. The fracturing of model names even makes it hard to cross-compare online customer reviews.

One tip to help you uncover the truth: most mattress manufacturers make only one firmness model per line. Comparing coil counts/densities and the thickness and types of padding layers also help.

If you are currently looking for a mattress deal, don’t forget to check our guides about the best mattress sales throughout the year:

• Presidents Day Mattress Sales
• Sleep Week Deals and Mattress Sales
• Memorial Day Mattress Sales
• 4th of July Mattress Sales
• Labor Day Mattress Sales
• Columbus Day Mattress Sales
• Black Friday Mattress Sales
• Cyber Monday Mattress Sales

Myth #4: Advances In Mattress Technology Warrants Higher Prices

The Truth: In-store mark-ups can be as high as 200%

Mattresses priced in excess of $3000 prove pretty common these days. So do all of the advances in sleep science require this enormous price tag? Not usually.

Mattress Firm and department stores like Macy’s pay high overhead costs of running their business. This includes a commercial location with high visibility, utilities, and staff. The manufacturer (i.e. Serta, Simmons) also needs its cut. These costs pass onto the consumers at markups anywhere from 15% – 200% or more.

Conduct some online research to make sure the price reconciles with the value.  If the product appears to have a high markup, ask for a reduced price.

Another thing worth noting? People report the highest satisfaction in the middle price range (beds between $1000-$2000). Expensive brands aren’t using magic materials. Typically, they bring the same quality as more reasonably priced peers when you look under the fancy covers and branding. Online direct-to-consumer brands like Amerisleep, Tuft & Needle, and Purple tend to outdo traditional store brands consistently in customer reviews.

Myth #5: Mattress Stores Tell You All You Need to Know About a Bed

The Truth: Sales jargon is readily available. Facts are not

This myth is also known as the ‘Mystery Component Scam.’ Listen to your salesperson speak, and see if you tell the jargon from the helpful, tangible, comparable, and measurable items.

Manufacturers like to use trademark names for mattress components that make them sound amazing. Things like Exquisite-lush™ foam (ok, that one’s made up, but we bet you can spot the sales jargon!) are a trade name, not a product descriptor.

Instead, ask about foam density and thickness of the support and comfort layers. Ask if the material is plant or petroleum-based. Ask about the fire-retardant materials. Make your salesperson provide you with useful information.

But, what makes it a bit tricky is that there is no objective measure on what makes the perfect mattress (hint: it doesn’t exist – we all like different things). It’s not like a car where you can compare MPG, size, features, etc.  Are more springs better than fewer? How thick should your memory foam mattress be?

Researching online beforehand might help you crack the code. The better educated you are about your purchase, the more it will help your chances of choosing a good quality bed.

Myth #6: New Mattresses Feel the Same as the In-Store Model

The Truth: It might feel like a different mattress for several months

The mattress that you fell in love with in the store may feel very different once you get it home. Why depends on a few key factors: individuality, break-in period, temperature, and airflow.

Not all mattresses are created equally. Even the exact same model from the exact same brand may vary a bit due to manufacturing processes.

The top comfort layers hold all the bells and whistles. They keep the mattress feeling comfortable when you initially lay on it. Lower-quality material in this layer has the potential to break down more rapidly and become uncomfortable. You won’t feel this difference in the store but over time, likely after the return period ends, sags and a lack of support might become a problem.

When you receive your new mattresses, it likely will feel harder than the one you felt in the showroom. Many customers test the showroom model often over a span of months, letting it break in and softening it up a little. Your new bed will become softer and more pliable over time, but you may have to wait a few months.

The firmness also depends on temperature, especially with traditional memory foam. If you notice that the mattress showroom feels warmer than your house, the mattress may feel softer than it will at home.

The moral of the story: Testing the mattress at home over the course of a few months proves best. Look for a retailer that gives a minimum of 30 days to return or exchange with minimal fees.

Myth # 7: If You Don’t Like Your Mattress, You Can Return It

The Truth: If you can return it, but it will be a hassle, and it won’t be free

Be sure to ask about the return policy before committing to a purchase. Do they offer exchanges or store credit only? Are there pick up and restocking fees? Are there any specific requirements tied to the return? For example, if the mattress must return in a re-sellable condition, that means ‘unused’.

Since they can’t sell your used mattress, retailers will try hard to make you keep it. This means making return policies short, more inconvenient, and costly.

Brands that sell primarily online typically offer a generous sleep trial, lasting up to 100-nights, to give you more time to determine whether or not the mattress is right for you.

Frequently Asked Questions

What store has the best prices on mattresses?

If you’re shopping for a good mattress deal, you might want to try looking online rather than at a local store. Online mattress companies have fewer overhead costs and don’t sell through a middleman that will mark up the price for greater profit. Most online mattress retailers offer promo codes and other discounts to pass their savings onto you.

Lower prices and other benefits of online shopping, such as home delivery on mail order mattresses, leave sleepers flocking to online mattress shops as some of the best places to buy a new mattress.

Is it okay to buy a floor model mattress?

It’s not uncommon for a mattress store to sell their floor models at a discounted price as they clear out old stock. A floor model mattress can be a good way to obtain a high-quality mattress at a bargain price. They’re often no more than gently used, as customers tend to only lie on them for a few minutes at a time.

Still, it’s smart to exercise caution and examine a floor model mattress thoroughly before you purchase it. You should also double-check if your mattress will include a return policy or a full warranty. If the bed lacks either of these, it might not be as great a deal as it seems.

If you choose a floor model mattress, it’s a smart idea to encase the mattress in a bedbug-proof mattress protector before you bring it home. Leave the mattress protector on for a full year before you take it off, to ensure anything that might have traveled home in your mattress has died off.

Is it weird to buy a used mattress?

Buying a used mattress isn’t the best of ideas. Usually, you don’t know the full history of the bed, which can expose you to bed bugs, mold spores, and other nasty pests and allergens. Ask yourself if you want to sleep on a mattress when you don’t know where it’s been or what it’s been through.

There’s also the fact that a mattress warranty is usually void when ownership is transferred to someone else, so you’ll have little to no recourse if something is wrong with your bed.

Is it better to buy a mattress online or in stores?

There are a lot of benefits to buying a mattress online, such as lower prices and lengthy sleep trials. It’s also easier to comparison shop since you can just since between window tabs instead of drive around to a bunch of mattress stores. However, you usually have to wait at least a few days for a new mattress to arrive, so if you need a bed immediately it might be better to see what your local mattress store has.

How do I know if my mattress needs to be replaced?

If your mattress is more than a few years old, you might want to ask yourself if you’re still sleeping comfortably. Consistently waking up tired or with aches and pains after a full night’s rest can mean that your mattress isn’t as supportive as it once was. There might be obvious signs that it’s lost it shape, such as lumps or sagging.

Do you suspect your mattress has gone bad? Then try spending a night or two in a hotel room or on your couch. If your sleep improves, it might signify that the problem is your mattress.

Protect Yourself!

Now that you are more informed about the honest truth of mattress stores, here’s what you can do to protect yourself:

First, ensure that you buy from reputable dealers with verifiable track records on both their company and products. Check their rating with the Better Business Bureau. It may surprise you to know that one of the most well-known stores rated an F! Look up different review sources to get a broad picture.

Inform yourself before entering the store. This will help you push through sales jargon. Leave the store if they are too pushy.

Look into buying a bed online also. It’s a psychological leap of faith to forgo the ‘try before you buy’ mentality, but studies have shown it is difficult to make a good mattress selection in a showroom. Most online mattress companies offer hassle-free in-home trials of up to 3 months in lieu of the showroom experience, so you have time to decide if the bed really is perfect for you.

Share any stories to share or questions on mattress stores or buying a new bed below!