So, when it comes to a mattress do you get what you pay for, or is it all hype?
A good mattress gets its value from a number of factors. They include - the quality of the materials, the quality of its construction (build), and the way in which it has been designed.
Mattress materials include springs, foams, fillings, fabrics and in some cases latex and even magnets or water. The more materials there are in the mattress, combined with the complexity of assembling it, the more expensive it will be. High quality materials naturally add more to the cost of the mattress. This is why orthopedic quality mattresses cost more than many others.
So the general picture quickly becomes one of getting what you pay for. In other words if you “buy cheap” you will get a product utilising cheap materials, a simple and low quality build or assembly and the technology in the mattress will be very limited.
Mark-up on beds and mattresses, and especially orthopedic beds, is usually a standard percentage, but this of course means that the more the mattress costs to make, the more the mark-up will be. Again this is another factor that cause a disproportional increase in the value of a cheap versus a more expensive mattress.
So should you buy a cheap mattresses or a more expensive model?
If you want quality, comfort and value over a long period of time (i.e. probably over 10 years), then you should spend a significant amount of money wisely. A cheap mattress is very much a short term solution. It will save you money now, but you will be back in the market place looking for a replacement in 2 to 4 years. This however, is the way that some people like it and, so long as you do not sleep on a failing mattress, you can adopt this “buy and replace” approach.
So what is the big difference between cheap and expensive?
The difference between a budget mattress and an expensive mattress is the life expectancy that you can expect before comfort, support and build quality break down.
A cheap mattress “can” provide a good level of comfort, but it will have a comparatively short user-life. So, if you work out “mattress worth” based on a formula using the number of years use that you get from it, you become aware that cheap beds actually have a similar “annual cost” to expensive ones.
In simple terms the saving of buying a cheap mattress over an expensive one is not a saving at all if you look at all of your mattress purchases over the long term.
