3 ms·

Let me get this straight... Casper starts (or at least, helps start) the bed-in-a-box revolution, and private investors get in early. The moat they had was peo

Let me get this straight... Casper starts (or at least, helps start) the bed-in-a-box revolution, and private investors get in early. The moat they had was people don't buy a bed sight unseen off the internet. They literally burn piles of money to normalize the act (100 day return policy, 0 questions asked, insane marketing spend...) They succeed in normalizing it... But the fact is that any bozo can call a manufacturer and get literally the same product out to your door for the same costs as them. They didn't have any exclusive manufacturing process, as the boom of bed-in-a-box raged on, everyone benefited from economy of scale as this has taken off, not just them. There's no need for a cheap imitation, because what they sell is already the cheap option. And there are very few mattress brands that have loyalty because people don't buy beds for brands. Tempurpedic and Duxiana are the only two manufacturers I can think of that I've ever seen leverage customer loyalty in marketing, and there's a reason for that (they exist at a completely different price point) So now there's hundreds of these companies, and Casper's standing out of all of them is not particularly special. So they go public at a half a billion dollar valuation for a glorified drop shipping operation and leave institutional investors holding the bag? Is there something I'm missing? - https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurendebter/2020/02/05/casper-cofounders-father-among-investors-paper-losses-ipo/#4917114c2a61 https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurendebter/2020/02/05/casper-... Well I guess some of the private investors are taking a bath as well...

dirtyid 7y ago
>Is there something I'm missing? Without expensive marketing campaigns, word of mouth competitors on Amazon can sell the same item for 1/3 of the price, shipped.
- toomuchtodo 7y ago
  We bought a full sized foam mattress from Amazon for under $200; they even let you spread the payments out over several months at no additional charge.
  - dirtyid 7y ago
    Yeah, I got a Zinus from Amazon a few years ago. I thought it was just a generic brand that swooped in to capitalize on the craze, turns out they're a 40 year old Korean company that has specialized in bedding longer than Casper has existed. For some reason, it feels better to buy a mattress from a proven bedding company that adopted new technology than a new tech company that decided to disrupt bedding. Keep in mind Casper has existed less than the lifespan of a typical mattress. Their longevity is still a gamble.
    - toomuchtodo 7y ago
      That's the brand! Love the Zinus, very satisfied with it.
- BoorishBears 7y ago
  Actually yes, I didn't even touch on that, not only do they not need to worry about marketing, they can get cheaper raw materials. Casper prides itself on sourcing foam from the US, but foreign manufacturers are making the exact same foam in the exact same densities The composition of their mattress is not a secret: https://www.sleeplikethedead.com/mattress-reviews-casper.html https://www.sleeplikethedead.com/mattress-reviews-casper.htm... They claim the combination of different foams as differentiation, which is utterly ridiculous because anyone can copy them, none of the densities they use are unique. All the interesting patents in foam and gel are already owned by bigger players (like Serta Simmons... which sued Casper...)
pravda 7y ago
>There's no need for a cheap imitation, because what they sell is already the cheap option. I just looked up their price for a queen-size foam mattress. SIX HUNDRED DOLLARS? SIX HUNDRED DOLLARS! WTF. It's just a hunk of foam.
- perl4ever 7y ago
  I don't want foam. I'm not sure if it's the competition or what, but I wanted to replace a mattress from Ikea that had gradually self-destructed (springs sagged and broke) and found that a regular furniture store was selling regular mattresses under a brand name (Serta or Sealey or something that's been around forever) for like $300 (maybe less, I don't remember exactly). I did not want to spend $600, or $1000, or $2000, and I expected buying a mattress to be like buying from a used car dealership and was surprised it wasn't. I feel like things were different in the early 2010's. And because it wasn't mail order, I was able to take it home the same day.

dirtyid 7y ago

>Is there something I'm missing? Without expensive marketing campaigns, word of mouth competitors on Amazon can sell the same item for 1/3 of the price, shipped.

toomuchtodo 7y ago
We bought a full sized foam mattress from Amazon for under $200; they even let you spread the payments out over several months at no additional charge.
- dirtyid 7y ago
  Yeah, I got a Zinus from Amazon a few years ago. I thought it was just a generic brand that swooped in to capitalize on the craze, turns out they're a 40 year old Korean company that has specialized in bedding longer than Casper has existed. For some reason, it feels better to buy a mattress from a proven bedding company that adopted new technology than a new tech company that decided to disrupt bedding. Keep in mind Casper has existed less than the lifespan of a typical mattress. Their longevity is still a gamble.
  - toomuchtodo 7y ago
    That's the brand! Love the Zinus, very satisfied with it.
BoorishBears 7y ago
Actually yes, I didn't even touch on that, not only do they not need to worry about marketing, they can get cheaper raw materials. Casper prides itself on sourcing foam from the US, but foreign manufacturers are making the exact same foam in the exact same densities The composition of their mattress is not a secret: https://www.sleeplikethedead.com/mattress-reviews-casper.html https://www.sleeplikethedead.com/mattress-reviews-casper.htm... They claim the combination of different foams as differentiation, which is utterly ridiculous because anyone can copy them, none of the densities they use are unique. All the interesting patents in foam and gel are already owned by bigger players (like Serta Simmons... which sued Casper...)

pravda 7y ago

>There's no need for a cheap imitation, because what they sell is already the cheap option. I just looked up their price for a queen-size foam mattress. SIX HUNDRED DOLLARS? SIX HUNDRED DOLLARS! WTF. It's just a hunk of foam.

perl4ever 7y ago
I don't want foam. I'm not sure if it's the competition or what, but I wanted to replace a mattress from Ikea that had gradually self-destructed (springs sagged and broke) and found that a regular furniture store was selling regular mattresses under a brand name (Serta or Sealey or something that's been around forever) for like $300 (maybe less, I don't remember exactly). I did not want to spend $600, or $1000, or $2000, and I expected buying a mattress to be like buying from a used car dealership and was surprised it wasn't. I feel like things were different in the early 2010's. And because it wasn't mail order, I was able to take it home the same day.