Why is there Always a Mattress Sale?

Many department stores and retailers live and die by promoting a “sale-abration,” or “rock-bottom deals.” These large-scale sales are often reserved for the holiday season and the months leading up to them, but as the economy continues to slip; the “s” word is becoming more and more prevalent. Often times these sales allow consumers to spend less and get more. But when does a sale lose its effectiveness? The answer is when there is always a sale, or when there is never a time when something isn’t on sale. Welcome to how a majority of the mattress industry operates.

Bedding Blowout! Cheap Sleep! Mattress Mania! These are all phrases that are not in our vocabulary. Half-price sales or deep discounts should send up a red flag for consumers looking to purchase a quality bed or mattress. More often than not, this is just a tactic to get consumers in the door in an effort to sell them a much higher priced product.

Just as with most purchases there are reasons why one product is more expensive than another - quality of materials, craftsmanship and comfort just to name a few. Most of us will spend close to 3000 hours a year in our bed, so saving a few hundred dollars for the sake of comfort may not be the best decision in the long run.

Consumers typically buy from two mindsets, need and want. Needs are vital to our survival and wants allow us to experience places, feelings, tastes, and most importantly, emotions that are new to us. Most us need a car, but do we need one that goes from 0-60 in 5 seconds? The answer is maybe we do. A sporty, fast car turns heads and gives an impression of status – it creates an emotion for the driver and evokes an emotion from those on the street. It is a purchased based on emotion and then rationalized with logic – this is the mentality of “the sale.”

Sales allow consumers to rationalize purchases. Consumers often say that they saved $500 on a recent purchase, but in reality they spent $4,000 to get that “savings.” When it comes to buying a quality bed or mattress, savings does not equate to comfort. We get countless calls each week at our factory from people trying to cut through the red tape, confusing sales rhetoric, and apples to oranges comparisons that they have become accustomed to. For many, this is a large purchase and one that will be with them for many years, so we offer them our advice, and highlight the main point in bed buying; no one knows comfort like you know comfort.

Here are a few tips if you are in the market for a new bed or mattress:
· Do your homework before you pull out your checkbook.
· If you have questions about a particular brand or product, call the factory where it is made and ask to speak with someone who makes the bed, not just a salesperson.
· You can only spend so much time lying on a bed in a showroom – make sure there is a return policy if you are not satisfied with your purchase.
· If you have an ailment that affects your sleep, a standard mattress may not be the best option.
· Sales are never as good as they sound. Approach the bed buying process like you are making an investment, one that will continue to pay dividends and offer a restful night’s sleep for years to come.

How times have changed

It was a bit of a reflective day after two different items came to my attention, seemingly unrelated, but upon further thought, closely connected. The first was a mattress ad from 50 years ago that…yes, was emblazoned with the word “SALE” across the top. It touted a product that sold for the low price of $39.95 for the set, but it was comparable to the high-priced models that retailed for $59.95. To put this in perspective for those who have not been around for 50 years, we made less money, but items cost less as well. Gas was 23 cents a gallon; you could mail a letter for 3 cents and buy a six-pack of beer for a dollar. The average income was about $4,400 and you could buy a new car for $1,700.

While this took me back on a walk down memory lane, I was startled to see the next item – well, more than a bit startled. Being in the mattress industry, I know that people still to this day put their savings under their mattress. The cost of the bed, plus the cash underneath can make for some extremely expensive beds. However, imagine having to make a choice between buying a new Mercedes or a bed? A foreign bed manufacturer recently unveiled a bed – a queen set that costs a mere $75,000. The fibers in the bed are made from platinum and if you would like to add pillows to the set they are only $2,000 each.

I know there is immense wealth in the world, and some can afford a bed that is nearing the six-figure mark, but the question I have is, why? While a quality bed is now seen as an investment, for 99 percent of us, this is our entire investment portfolio. I guess that I just long for the times when a quality product was sold for an honest price.