What is the markup on mattresses?

[Ann-Marie]

We are shopping for a new mattress. We went to Sleepy's today. I wanted to look at the Serta memory foam mattress. The sales rep was very persistent in having me look at something else. I finally got a price on the something else, but she avoided giving me a price on what I really wanted a price on. I got the feeling that her commission was going to be much more on the something else mattress than the one I was interested in. I finally told her I would be back. We left and AGAIN gave up looking for a new mattress. These sales people just don't get it. The more you push me, the less likely I will buy from you.

 

[Cathyb]

Was told this

We are shopping for a new mattress. We went to Sleepy's today. I wanted to look at the Serta memory foam mattress. The sales rep was very persistent in having me look at something else. I finally got a price on the something else, but she avoided giving me a price on what I really wanted a price on. I got the feeling that her commission was going to be much more on the something else mattress than the one I was interested in. I finally told her I would be back. We left and AGAIN gave up looking for a new mattress. These sales people just don't get it. The more you push me, the less likely I will buy from you.

I was told once that the selling price is 4x cost -- but I have no valid proof.

 

[John Cummings]

We bought our last mattress on-line from US-Mattress.com. I did a lot of research before buying. We bought an expensive king sized mattress set. US-Mattress has excellent prices and their service is excellent. They delivered and installed plus removed our old one. I called them on the phone and was able to negotiate a lower price. Here is the link to their web site.

US-Mattress for Sealy, Stearns & Foster, Simmons or Serta Mattress Sets

We also bought some bedding sets from them as well. There was no sales tax which saved us a lot.

 

[rickandcindy23]

I actually worked for World of Sleep in Denver, which used to be a big chain here. I worked in the inventory department of the warehouse, and I ordered all of the beds. The Serta, Spring Air, Simmons, King Koil, Stearns and Foster, all of the big names, were marked up at least double, sometimes triple, but not 4X. It was still a "discount" store.

World of Sleep would regularly have sales that people thought were at cost, and that was a joke to all who knew the truth. When they had a sale and marked something at 30% off, it was always the most marked up products they discounted to that extent.

My friend in the office ordered all of the wood furniture, and most of it was marked 3-4X. Seriously, Hooker furniture was one brand we carried, which was great quality, and the nightstands had a cost of like $24 (this was a long time ago), and they would sell that nightstand for $99 and sell a lot of them. Unbelievably high mark-up on some of that great furniture. I have a difficult time buying furniture, knowing what the mark-up is.

 

[glypnirsgirl]

I sold furniture for about 2 years. It was one of my favorite jobs. I had calculated, piecing information together, that the mark up was 2.5X - so right at what Cindy's experience was.

Special incentives are very common for mattress sales. I bet you have run into a salesperson that directs customers to the mattresses on which they are receiving special incentives (SPIFs).

Or they may just be poor salespeople and not listening to you.

elaine

 

[Elan]

I posted awhile back about constructing my own high-end memory foam mattress (King) for about $450. The thread is here:

http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=123728&highlight=Mattress

 

[pgnewarkboy]

Unless you can buy wholesale the markup is meaningless to the consumer. X percent off of a list price is also meaningless. The only way to buy if you need or want something is to do a price comparison on the exact same item. Sometimes that is extremely difficult because of all the different model numbers for items that seem to be the same.

 

[Tia]

When we shopped 3 years ago we could not find the same mattress model #'s in any of the brand names at our local stores. They make it hard to comparison shop imo.

 

[hvacrsteve]

All they can get! I just purchased a new set from Havertys that was discontinued, it was latex, we love it!
I got it for 30% of the original price!
I got a good deal!

 

[pgnewarkboy]

When we shopped 3 years ago we could not find the same mattress model #'s in any of the brand names at our local stores. They make it hard to comparison shop imo.

I agree. It is definitely a tactic to throw consumers off the trail of a good deal.

 

[stevedmatt]

My mattress story...

I visited Sleepy's about 18 months ago. I found a mattress I liked and asked for a price. The sales agent called his district manager on the phone and they had a 15 minute (no exaggeration) conversation about the price of a mattress. Other strange things were said like "yes he's with his wife". When I asked to speak with the district manager, the salesman refused. This led to me leaving and firing some expletives loud enough for the other customers to hear. He then hollered a number that was $200 below the $2000 list price out as I was walking out the door. More expletives from me.....

I then called their 1-800 number and within 5 minutes was given a price of $1200. I told the agent I would call him back. He said buy it now, or lose the price.......

I finally called Costco. Bought a mattress sight unseen for $1200. They have a 1 year satisfaction guarantee. After 11 months and many bad nights sleep, they came and picked it up, less than a week ago. The driver who picked it up had a very nice conversation with me. He said as long as there are no stains or tears, Costco will take it back for a full refund. He then said they would just destroy the mattress as it was illegal (in my state) to resell it. Scary that it isn't in all states. He also told me that most mattresses are a 5-600% markup!

The story goes on, but thankfully I have a mattress I really like now. Hopefully it stays that way for a while.