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We bought a Tuft and Needle mattress three years ago, and it's been fantastic. A few other friends have bought mattresses online and all been very happy. If it

We bought a Tuft and Needle mattress three years ago, and it's been fantastic. A few other friends have bought mattresses online and all been very happy. If it's all a marketing ploy, as the article implies, then there's a lot of happy people benefiting. ;)

hkmurakami 9y ago
If it's a marketing ploy, then traditional brick and mortar mattress companies were also marketing ploys (which they may have been!!). In either case I agree, consumers are pretty happy now.
- so33 9y ago
  I have always viewed traditional mattress companies as very sketchy. I can't find a more authoritative source than Vox that corroborates my view, but here it is: https://www.vox.com/2015/3/5/8151607/mattress-buying-tips-savings https://www.vox.com/2015/3/5/8151607/mattress-buying-tips-sa... Notably, mattress stores participate in the classic tactic of price inflation, as well as taking the same model of mattress and giving it a different name, making it much more difficult to comparison shop: >For example, the popular Simmons Beautyrest line has different brand names at different stores. The "Beautyrest Recharge Allie" at Macy's is called the "Beautyrest Recharge Devonwood Luxury" at Sears, the "Recharge Signature Select Hartfield" at Mattress Firm, and the "Beautyrest Recharge Lyric Luxury" at US-Mattress.com. If customers don't realize these are names for the same mattress, it's harder for them to bargain effectively. Then again, maybe these online mattress companies are doing the same thing too, just one step removed. At least there's no pushy sales staff when I order a bed in a box.
dopeboy 9y ago
Same. Easily the best mattress I've had. Had to give it up when I moved into a smaller place.
shimon 9y ago
Of course it's a marketing ploy! Mattresses are a great example of an area where the marketing ploys are really an inescapable part of the perception of value. If you think you're buying a great, innovative mattress design, you'll probably continue to believe that unless it's quite bad. They've just switched us from feeling like we can pick the right mattress through trying a dozen in a store to reading online reviews. Both are biased, but everyone needs some way to feel confident about a big purchase.
- brownbat 9y ago
  We were certain we had split opinions on a softer and a firmer mattress in the store. We bought one for the master and one for the guest room just in case we changed our minds. I think we switched them at least once, but honestly can't remember how many times, and can no longer tell which one I "really" like. Through this process I learned... I don't actually have mattress preferences, short of it not being a bunch of rocks. I'm sure some people actually have preferences, but I wonder if this is an area, like vodka, where you can make people feel strongly like they have preferences between two things that are barely distinct, if at all. https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2018/02/23/588346329/episode-826-the-vodka-proof https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2018/02/23/588346329/epis...
rconti 9y ago
The question is, how are all of those 'happy people' benefiting? Could you not have purchased a mattress from a brick and mortar store? It seems it would be relevant to cite the advantages. I can't help but feel like the entire podcasting industry was funded by businesses that are 'cutting out the middleman' as if this is a novel concept. Frankly, the mattress-in-a-box companies are nowhere near the worst offenders in this regard!
- iambateman 9y ago
  I paid 60% less than a lot of friends, so I’m $1200 happy.
  - rconti 9y ago
    Ouch. Maybe more people fall for the ultra-premium than I thought. The total cost of our mom-and-pop mattress store 'big name' mattress was half that difference you cite. I think I'd have a hard time spending way more than we spent and just HOPING I like the way it feels when it arrives. I can definitely see the value of the ability for customers to actually REVIEW the options, though.

hkmurakami 9y ago

If it's a marketing ploy, then traditional brick and mortar mattress companies were also marketing ploys (which they may have been!!). In either case I agree, consumers are pretty happy now.

so33 9y ago
I have always viewed traditional mattress companies as very sketchy. I can't find a more authoritative source than Vox that corroborates my view, but here it is: https://www.vox.com/2015/3/5/8151607/mattress-buying-tips-savings https://www.vox.com/2015/3/5/8151607/mattress-buying-tips-sa... Notably, mattress stores participate in the classic tactic of price inflation, as well as taking the same model of mattress and giving it a different name, making it much more difficult to comparison shop: >For example, the popular Simmons Beautyrest line has different brand names at different stores. The "Beautyrest Recharge Allie" at Macy's is called the "Beautyrest Recharge Devonwood Luxury" at Sears, the "Recharge Signature Select Hartfield" at Mattress Firm, and the "Beautyrest Recharge Lyric Luxury" at US-Mattress.com. If customers don't realize these are names for the same mattress, it's harder for them to bargain effectively. Then again, maybe these online mattress companies are doing the same thing too, just one step removed. At least there's no pushy sales staff when I order a bed in a box.

dopeboy 9y ago

Same. Easily the best mattress I've had. Had to give it up when I moved into a smaller place.

shimon 9y ago

Of course it's a marketing ploy! Mattresses are a great example of an area where the marketing ploys are really an inescapable part of the perception of value. If you think you're buying a great, innovative mattress design, you'll probably continue to believe that unless it's quite bad. They've just switched us from feeling like we can pick the right mattress through trying a dozen in a store to reading online reviews. Both are biased, but everyone needs some way to feel confident about a big purchase.

brownbat 9y ago
We were certain we had split opinions on a softer and a firmer mattress in the store. We bought one for the master and one for the guest room just in case we changed our minds. I think we switched them at least once, but honestly can't remember how many times, and can no longer tell which one I "really" like. Through this process I learned... I don't actually have mattress preferences, short of it not being a bunch of rocks. I'm sure some people actually have preferences, but I wonder if this is an area, like vodka, where you can make people feel strongly like they have preferences between two things that are barely distinct, if at all. https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2018/02/23/588346329/episode-826-the-vodka-proof https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2018/02/23/588346329/epis...

rconti 9y ago

The question is, how are all of those 'happy people' benefiting? Could you not have purchased a mattress from a brick and mortar store? It seems it would be relevant to cite the advantages. I can't help but feel like the entire podcasting industry was funded by businesses that are 'cutting out the middleman' as if this is a novel concept. Frankly, the mattress-in-a-box companies are nowhere near the worst offenders in this regard!

iambateman 9y ago
I paid 60% less than a lot of friends, so I’m $1200 happy.
- rconti 9y ago
  Ouch. Maybe more people fall for the ultra-premium than I thought. The total cost of our mom-and-pop mattress store 'big name' mattress was half that difference you cite. I think I'd have a hard time spending way more than we spent and just HOPING I like the way it feels when it arrives. I can definitely see the value of the ability for customers to actually REVIEW the options, though.