Purchasing/Owning Experiences with Latex Mattresses

February 22, 2010 12:32 AM

latex mattresses: seeking reviews of vendors, experiences w/returns, etc. more inside.

There are lots of threads on MeFi pertaining to (preferably natural, not synthetic) latex mattresses. I've surveyed them, and lots of great information.

If you bought a latex mattress online and went through a return/exchange process, how was the experience, both mentally and financially? Lots of dealers offer varying combinations of shipping and returns: some have free shipping and paid return, some have free shipping and 1 free exchange, and some offer neither.

(also, if you tried one of the "zoned" products, have you found that to be helpful?)

Basically, where's the happy medium of price, quality, and customer service in this category?

background

• we're currently sleeping on a crazy plush sealy pillowtop, and i hate it.
• the manufacturers/models we've seen the most talk about on the intertubes:
  • FoamSweetFoam - multilayer, configurable, great return policy, free shipping
  • Mattresses.net - 2 layer, return policy seems sketchy and potentially frustrating, also seems like it's the same place as LatexMattressCompany.com
  • Ikea Sultan Erjford - solid block, seems to be the official latex mattress of metafilter
  • Habitat Futons 100% Botanical Latex Mattress - 2 layer, aggravating website, but they seem like a respectable business.
  • FoamSource - 2 layer, starting to seem like more of the same, 60 day return policy, free ship, but customer pays return shipping
  • FloBeds - the most expensive of the bunch, but very customizable and good return policy
  • and more...

posted by Señor Pantalones to home & garden (6 answers total)

I have a solid block of latex style mattress - not one of the ones listed in your post - and got it 5 years ago. I think it was sold as a futon mattress, but it is the most comfortable bed I have ever been fortunate to sleep on. It was very expensive, if I remember correctly, something upwards of a $1,500 CAD, so I was probably ripped off compared to the prices above, but considering how much I love it and how it's probably going to last me for decades, I don't regret it.

I can't help much for return policies or pricing (except that you might want to stay under $1,500), but remember you'll be spending at the very least a quarter of your day every day on this thing, so don't be worried about making an investment.
posted by battlebison at 5:58 AM on February 22, 2010

I've had success returning an Ikea mattress. They typically come with a 25-year guarantee, I think. We bought one of their cheaper foam mattresses and found that it began to sag really badly after two years - we had permanent person-shaped dips in the mattress. Ikea took it back without question and gave us the option of a full refund or a credit note (we took the credit note and bought one of their better mattresses).
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 6:18 AM on February 22, 2010

I bought mine (multilayer, customizable) from these folks and couldn't have been happier with the whole process. No experience with returns (now, 3 years later), but up front they were helpful and responsive.
posted by piro at 11:04 AM on February 22, 2010

thanks piro, we just ordered one from them.
posted by Señor Pantalones at 9:31 AM on February 23, 2010

So, Señor Pantalones, a month or so in, how do you like it?
posted by anjiro at 6:22 PM on March 28, 2010

short answer: best mattress i've ever owned. longer answer: i haven't switched the layers around yet. So far it's amazing, ridiculously comfortable, and i find it much easier to sleep on my back. and it's nothing like a memory foam mattress, where you have to wait for it to fill in after you move around. it's very quickly elastic, if that makes any sense. we're using it on a very low platform with wood slats. so as an answer to your question "how do [i] like it," the answer is "it's great." any other specifics?
posted by Señor Pantalones at 9:30 PM on March 28, 2010