Looking For The Best Deal On Your New Mattress

Read these quotes and tell me if you've heard them before. "This is the lowest price you'll ever find on this mattress." "You won't find this mattress anywhere else at this price." "This is the only day we'll be able to offer this mattress for this price." I'd venture to guess you've heard them all at one time or another when shopping for a new mattress. Separating the facts from fiction takes some determination, and also some knowledge about the workings of the industry.

Comparison shopping for mattresses sometimes seems like comparing apples to oranges. That's the way the stores want it. At store "A" you really likes the Allison model mattress, but no matter how hard you try, you can't seem to find the Allison anywhere else in town.

Manufacturers create this problem intentionally by creating a different model for every store they sell to. For instance they'll create 5 different mattress models, but they'll change the fabric and call them by different names. In that way, each store will have an exclusive model. The Allison you liked at store "A" may be a level three Sealy mattress with a blue fabric cover. The Sedona at store "B" is also a level three Sealy mattress, and it will have a yellow fabric cover. And at store "C", the level 3 Sealy mattress is called the Elite and has a pink fabric.

It is meant to be confusing. Retailers don't want you comparing apples to apples. All three of the mattresses we just talked about are comparable, but they don't want you to know that. And simply sitting down on one for 30 seconds won't help you figure it out. So your best plan of action is to figure out ahead of time what features you want, then look for the best price on the mattress with those features.

Here's another confusing trick used by mattress retailers - running sale after sale. If you feel pressured to buy your mattress today, it's because they want it that way. They know that if you don't buy from them right away, more than likely you will not be back. Since they don't want you to comparison shop, they'll tell you that the sale is over tomorrow and midnight, then you'll have to pay full price.

And does anyone ever really pay full price for a new mattress? The majority of retailers have an inflated retail price. This enables them to run seemingly perpetual sales. That makes you feel pressured to make a hasty decision. The truth is that the sale price is often the actual retail price. Don't feel pressured to buy too fast. Chances are good that if you wait, the sale will still be going on with another name next week.

A good mattress is an investment. Take some time and compare features not model names. And don't be pressured into thinking that the one day sale offered by the commission salesman or woman won't be available tomorrow. If they can sell it to you for that price today, they'll no doubt be able to match that price tomorrow or next week.