Many cheap mattress retailers, both brick and mortar as well as online, are known for their shady sales practices. Therefore, it is a good idea to learn and recognize their sales techniques to protect yourself before you go mattress shopping and end up making yourself feel bad. Unlike the last one you bought years ago, competition nowadays have made the quality of most mattresses similar across the many brands. If you are worried about durability and long lasting comfort, you do not have to pay more just for a better brand, as long as you do not buy into the really cheap mattresses. What we meant is that do not expect a foam mattress to outlast a pocket spring mattress, but on the other hand, a pocket spring mattress from brand A will be on par with a pocket spring mattress from brand B, even if brand A costs $100 less than brand B. Many cheap mattress guides do not tell you this, but you will be surprised to find out that most of the mattress materials used by different manufacturers come from the same upstream source factory.
When you are testing one at the store, look out for its firmness and materials used. You can detect that it is really low end when it has inconsistent firmness throughout. This often happens with foam mattresses and you can find areas with denser materials while other parts seem to be filled with lesser foam. Check how fast the mattress returns to its original shape when you press down and let go. Check out its weight as well. A lighter mattress usually becomes totally flat really fast, often within three months.
Buying mattresses over the internet allows you to easily hunt and search for really low prices. You can click and search through hundreds of mattress models and their prices very fast. Usually, the online stores have pretty sophisticated search functions that allow you to filter and return only the mattresses that match your desired budget, construction, material etc from the hundreds of models in their inventory. This is a great time saver and it is the best way to buy a cheap mattress. However you cannot test these mattress for their firmness before you buy. Due to their bulky nature and the high shipping costs involved, it is really not worth the trouble to try and return the product even if you are not fully satisfied. To take advantage of online mattress deals, you will need to know beforehand how one feel and look. That means you will have experience of trying out many different products at mattress warehouses and taking notes of their prices, firmness, material construction etc. Then you can keep a constant lookout for online cheap prices on the mattress models you are familiar with.
You can also do a price comparison by calling up the mattress warehouses and retailers. However, not all shops will entertain price enquiries over the phone and many prefer customers to walk in personally, especially if they are aware that their prices are slightly higher than competitors. Like bargaining in person at the stores, the final price you get actually depend on the staff that is serving you so you may end up getting different quotes each time you call up. When you get a good enough price but wanted a bit more leeway and look for possible better mattress offers elsewhere, make sure you get the name of the staff serving you so that it is easier to return and buy at the favorable price.
The best way to buy the right mattress is to visit the bedding and furniture stores personally. This allows you to lie down on them and have a feel of how comfortable and suitable these mattresses are. However, this is a time consuming process and it is not likely difficult for you to happen to walk in and find the one you like at a clearance price. You may only be able to visit at most five stores in a day, but the more stores you visit, the more likely it is for you to find a great discounted mattress. Do not let your time investment go to waste. Take detailed notes on the mattress you have tried out during your mattress window shopping session and when you return home, you can search online for buying cheaper mattresses that you find suitable for you.