bed bugs and beyond
July 15, 2015 8:29 AM   Subscribe

Most mattress companies allow customers to return mattresses within a given time frame. I would like to know exactly what the mattress companies do to sterilize/de-louse returned mattresses before re-selling them? Have you ever purchased a "new" mattress that seemed... icky?
posted by flourpot to Home & Garden (6 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: According to the FTC, it depends on the state, but you can resell a used mattress (often by replacing the ticking, apparently), by labeling it as such:

Depending on the state, used mattresses may contain a tag, sometimes red or yellow in color, that warns that the mattress contains used materials. Federal law requires that any mattress that contains used stuffing bear a tag or label with that information. If you don't see any tag, consider doing business with another retailer. Otherwise, you simply don't know what you're buying.
posted by okayokayigive at 9:06 AM on July 15, 2015


Best answer: I returned a new mattress once and was told that it went to a landfill, not resellable.
I am in California.
posted by SLC Mom at 10:00 AM on July 15, 2015


Best answer: Casper donates their returned mattress to charity or recycles them.
posted by oceano at 4:09 PM on July 15, 2015


Best answer: I got my mattress, a Serta that retails north of $1,000, from a tiny "carpet and mattress shoppe" for $275. You tell the man you want a firm queen and he opens a garage door and they're all stacked on pallets. He dropped a few on the sidewalk for us to test and then loaned us a hand truck when we chose the one we wanted. As far as I could tell, all of them had tags indicating that they were returns from various retailers. One was from Macy's, I forget where ours was from, but also a major retailer as I recall.

The one we got was smudged, consistent with getting loaded on and off of one too many trucks, but most of them appeared pristine and he insisted on taking $25 off for the smudge.

All of which is to say, I assume that's where many returns go. To Alladin or someone like him. I have no idea whether anyone makes any effort to heat treat the mattresses for bedbugs between the return and the reseller, but we haven't had a problem. However, I paid a whole lot less than the list price for my mattress.
posted by amandabee at 4:58 PM on July 15, 2015


Best answer: I work for a furniture eCommerce (in Europe though) and returned matresses may not be sold again so they usually go to the landfill.

It is possible to sell them to third companies for refurbishment. Hoewever, the have to strip the cover, desinfect the core and put on a new cover which often isnt worth it.
posted by Fallbala at 2:09 AM on July 16, 2015


Response by poster: Thanks everyone. I assumed mattresses were like other merchandise and that mattress companies could only afford to allow returns if they then put them right back into circulation as new. Good to know that when it come to beds, new is new and used is used. Thanks for all the answers, each one is marked best bc it gave a different perspective on the question.
posted by flourpot at 9:36 AM on July 16, 2015


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