How to Save 87% on a Quality New Mattress

Three months ago, my wife and I decided to replace the mattress on our king bed. We went into our nearby Mattress Firm store. The type of mattress that would work for us—soft enough for my wife while firm enough for me—cost $2,615.

Twin-sized “bed in a box” mattresses (for our twin boys) before and after unpackaging them

Now, I believe in the importance of a good night’s sleep and would be willing to pay for it if necessary. After all, you might spend one-third of your day in bed. But $2,600 seemed like a lot to spend.

After visiting Mattress Firm, I did some research. It was only then that I discovered the relatively new “bed in a box” mattresses. At first, I was extremely skeptical that they would compare to traditional mattress. But after a fair bit of research, I was won over. I bought one . . . for just $329!

And now that my wife and I have slept on our bed in a box mattress for a few months, I can’t imagine ever going back to a traditional mattress. In this post I’ll briefly explain what a bed in a box is and share 5 reasons why the next mattress you get should be a “bed in a box.”

What is a Bed in a Box?

Unopened, twin-sized “bed in a box” mattress

Bed in a box mattresses first came onto the scene in 2007. What makes them unique is that:

• You purchase them online, not in a brick and mortar store.
• They usually don’t have “springs.” Rather, they are often 100% foam.
• They are shipped to your doorstep, compressed tightly into a box. They reconstitute their shape when you unpackage them.

5 Reasons to get a Bed in a Box

There are five reasons I think most people would be better off with a bed in a box than a traditional mattress:

1. Considerably Less Expensive

Unboxed, twin-sized “bed in a box” mattress

The Mattress Firm mattress that would have worked for my wife and me cost $2,615. Instead, we ended up purchasing the Zinus Ultima Comfort Memory Foam 12-Inch King Mattress for just $329.

By purchasing a “bed in a box,” we saved $2,286 (87%). That’s a big difference.

2. Comfortable

The bed in a box that we bought is unquestionably more comfortable than the traditional mattress it replaced. My wife, in particular, has slept a lot better.

3. Reliable Reviews

Unwrapped “bed in a box”

In case you haven’t noticed, I rely heavily on data when making decisions. 🙂 Because there are a lot more reviews of bed in a box mattresses than there are of in-store mattresses, I could make a much more informed decision prior to purchasing a “bed in a box.”

(In my specific situation, I needed a mattress that was highly-rated for both side and stomach sleepers. The Mattress Firm mattress I was interested in had a 4.4 rating out of 568 reviews. I searched those reviews for the words “side” and “stomach,” looking to see what folks had to say about whether it was good for side or stomach sleepers. Of those 568 comments, only 21 mentioned the word “side” and just two mentioned “stomach.” There simply weren’t enough data points for me to assess whether the mattress might meet our needs.

By contrast, the 4.5-star Zinus bed in a box we ended up choosing had over 6,000 reviews, with many mentioning “side” and/or “stomach.” After reading 30 reviews that mentioned “side” and 30 that mentioned “stomach,” I knew that folks thought it good for both side and stomach sleepers. Lastly, because the bed in a box was sold on Amazon, I could run it through Fakespot.com to see if the reviews were trustworthy, which they were.)

4. Ability to Try Out the Mattress

Two twin-sized mattresses

Perhaps the main reason (other than force of habit) why people buy a mattress in a store is because they want to try the mattress out first. That makes sense.

But, ironically, I think that a bed in a box provides a better opportunity to try the mattress. Here’s why I say that.

When you go into a store, you may lay in the bed for 10-15 minutes. But according to Consumer Reports, that is not long enough. You really need to sleep at least one night in the bed to know whether it will work for you.

If that is the case, then trying it in store is fairly unhelpful. Instead, you need a relatively easy way to buy the mattress, sleep a night or more on it, and return it if necessary.

And that is precisely what you can do with most bed in a box mattresses. Most companies let you sleep on the mattress for 30-100 days. If you don’t like it, you donate the mattress to charity, and the mattress company reimburses you for the original cost of the mattress. Some companies even arrange for a charity to come pick the mattress up from you.

Mattress Firm’s return policy, by contrast, is less appealing. Yes, they give you 120 days to try it. But if you don’t like it, you can return it “with a return delivery fee of $79.99 ($99.99 in select markets) plus a restocking fee equal to 10% of your original mattress purchase price (not to exceed $250).” Had I purchased the above-described Mattress Firm mattress, returning it would have cost me $309 vs. $0 for our “bed in a box.”

5. Overall Less Risky Option

Two twin-sized matresses

Because a bed in a box costs so much less than a traditional mattress, and because it can often be returned for a full refund, you might as well at least try buying and sleeping on one that receives great reviews on Amazon.

If you don’t like it, return it. If you like it at first but not after 5 or 10 years, throw it away and buy a new one. It costs so much less than a traditional mattress that you can afford to experiment.

Any Caveats?

Second mattress will fully reconstitute itself after removing the plastic wrap.

There is only one aspect of our bed in a box that I don’t like as much as our previous traditional mattress.

When I sit on the edge of our bed in a box mattress, the foam sinks in more than I would like, and I sort of slip off the bed. Our previous, traditional mattress—with its springs—allowed me to sit on the edge of the bed without slipping off.

So that’s a drawback I’ve found to the “bed in a box.” But I can live with that drawback, knowing that I saved $2,286 in choosing a bed in a box over a traditional mattress. . . .

Conclusion

Sometimes new technologies disrupt an industry, enabling consumers to get an equal or better product at a better price. Uber did it to the taxi industry. Amazon is doing it to the retail industry as a whole. And bed in a box companies seem to be doing it to the mattress industry.

In my case, at least, I found that I could buy a very comfortable bed in a box for 87% less than I could buy a traditional mattress. Next time you go to buy a mattress, you should strongly consider doing likewise.

Question: Did you know about ‘bed in a box’ mattresses? If you have one, what do you think? You can leave a comment by clicking here.

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