Hi Eric,
Let's start with the "reputable retailer" statement...because, it's important to everyone.
You didn't mention the name of the store, but the Simmons Beautyrest Legend gave it away....that is an exclusive for them and it is WAY over priced.
I can only guess that you assumption that they are a reputable retailer is based on the fact that their ads...TV, radio and print...fill the airwaves, newspapers and mail boxes.
You didn't come to this conclusion because you checked with the BBB or your state's Attorney General's office. They, in fact, have an "F" rating with the BBB and they are the only retailer, that I'm aware of, with a rap sheet...which your Attorney General would be all to happy to share with you.
If only for the sake of avoiding this particular retailer, you should check with these agencies before you buy.
This is a case of, "No news is good news". If you can't find anything majorly wrong with the retailer you're checking on, you're fine.
In the case of this particular retailer, the news is horrific and there's plenty of it.
Furthermore, when it comes to getting a good price, retailers who flood you with advertising, are not likely to have the best price...although, that is precisely what their ads claim to have. All that advertising is staggeringly expensive...money that must be recouped...from you.
They make that part look easy by inflating the tagged price and giving you, what appears to be, an awesome discount.
Their salespeople are trained to close the sale on your first time in...otherwise, the sale is lost.
If you do not buy on your first trip...and shop one or two other places, their high prices become evident and you aren't likely to return to that store.
If you feel pressure from the salesman, you are likely shopping at this kind of retailer...usually one of those large chain stores.
In shopping at such a store, you'll encounter salespeople who push comfort, even luxury. It's an easy way to sell. The mattress has a ridiculously long warranty, so you assume the quality is there. Imagine, laying on a mattress that feels like a cloud...and, with a 25 year warranty. What more could you possible want?! And besides, there's nothing to worry about...it comes with a comfort guarantee. So, you buy it.
A couple of weeks, or so, later...you're back hurts, your hip hurts...and, you're sleeping hot. Not only that, but the mattress is ALREADY starting to show a body impression.
This is where "The Mattress of your Dreams" becomes you worst nightmare.
Your return trip to the store to take advantage of your comfort exchange is when more of the truth is revealed.
The problems you are likely to encounter are:
1) Your comfort exchange has turned into another sale...where you are spending hundreds of dollars more. Those inflated tagged prices are not discounted for an exchange. There is a delivery charge and/or other fees.
2) You now know that your mattress is too soft. So, instead of indulging your sense of luxury, you want a mattress that is good for you. The problem then is that neither you nor your salesman has a clue as to what that might be. His/her training does not include knowing what's good for a human body...least of all yours in particular, with all of you disc problems, fibromyalgia, arthritis...or whatever ailment from which you may be suffering.
3) What there is to choose from is a showroom full of overly stuffed mattresses with lots of memory foam...like your Serta iComfort.
4) Now, you are in a panic. You've spent thousands of dollars that you can't get back. Your salesman doesn't know his business and you have only one more crack at this.
(Hang in there, Eric. I'll be getting to a recommendation for you, just as soon as I get done ranting)
So now, you are totally screwed. You can't get out of it and you don't know what to do about it.
It's important to know how you got yourself into such a fix to begin with.
1) You bought the first time in....a huge mistake.
2) You did no research...a huge mistake.
3) You trusted the salesman...a huge mistake.
4) You relied on your personal sense of comfort to make your decision...a huge mistake.
5) You allowed yourself to be lulled into a false sense of security with that "Comfort Guaranty"...a huge mistake.
The store and the mattress industry, as a whole, is geared to tripping you up...leading you into making those mistakes...and it's all purposefully done. Once you say, "I'll take it", they have you...but good.
1) We already went over..."Never Buy The First Time In"
2) There is a tremendous amount of bad information to be had...both, at stores and on the internet. However, at the stores, most of what you'll be told is bad information...a lot of hype and buzz words designed to "close the sale".
On the internet, at least, there is both. Once you are exposed to both, you can then rely on your own common sense to sift through the BS. Believe me when I tell you that the truth makes perfect sense. The BS just sounds good.
If you are reading this, you likely own a computer with access to the worldwideweb, (www). Use it.
As an old guy, myself, I admit that I don't always think to do that. I thank God everyday for my wife...for that and more.
3) The mattress industry, not all that long ago, was a legitimate business....not so anymore. A store salesperson is much more likely to say anything to make the sale. They are trained, specifically, to do just that and are provided a woefully small amount of real information.
(A caveat to that: Women salespeople tend to be more honest. And, smaller mattress stores, the mom and pop shops, tend to much more knowledgeable about their products). It's the large chain stores...the ones you go to first because they are the first place you thought to go, because of all the advertising they do...where you are most likely to run into this sort of problem.
4) A mattress was never meant to be a luxury item. It need to provide the human body with firm support and have enough cushioning to relieve pressure points and relax your muscles for a deep night's sleep. Keep in mind that there are laws of physics that cannot be ignored. You simply cannot put a 250 pound man on a plush pillowtop mattress and have any expectations of that mattress keeping it shape...regardless of what the salesman tells you.
5) The Comfort Guaranty is what is used to sell this junk you've been buying. It amounts to nothing more than "A Sucker Punch".
I'm sure that you are not aware that the mattress manufacturer's do not participate in the comfort guaranties. The stores cannot return the mattress you sent back, to the factory for credit. Quite often, they are bagged up and returned to stock. The next person who wants that type of mattress will get the one you returned. Subsequently, the mattress you're buying could have been someone else's return...happens all the time.
How is that comfort guaranty sounding to you now?! Kind of an icky situation.
And, what's more, you are stuck with that retailer.
The need for an exchange becomes remote when you buy from someone who knows their business and what's right for you.
(Soon, Eric, soon)
Before I get to Eric's recommendation, there is the subject of memory foam. Touted as the best thing since sliced bread by these know nothing salespeople, memory foam is the absolute worst material ever invented for use in or as a mattress.
In short, it's bad for you. Let me count the ways.
1) Memory foam (aka visco or visco-elastic foam), consists of 61 different chemicals. Some of those chemicals are toxic and a couple of them are known carcinogens. Especially when first unwrapped, the strong acrid odor is the off-gassing of the toxic chemicals. Headache is the most common reaction. However, much more serious reactions are documented, involving the respiratory system. It creates a toxic environment of your bedroom.
It is, without question, a health hazard.
2) Memory foam is a temperature sensitive material that softens as it warms from the heat your body gives off. You sink in, little by little, night after night...until it has lost all of its support, where you sink through it. The heavier you are, the faster this happens.
3) Now THIS, is the truly diabolical part. When you get off of it, it returns to its original shape...or close enough to it that prevailing in a warranty claim is extremely unlikely. A sustained impression of 1.5" is the criteria that mattress industry has always used to authorize an exchange. Everybody in the industry knows that memory foam is not good...but, it prevents the expense of having to exchange it. Hence, warranties that have gone from 10 to 25 years, despite the fact that they aren't as well made as they were when the warranty was only 10 years...rendering them worthless to the consumer.
4) Memory foam sleeps hot. The "gel" part of gel-memory foam will put off the heat factor, but does not last all night...about 4 hours, at best.
Eric, what your body needs is firm support. A Simmons Beautyrest provides individually pocketed coils that move independently from one another.
This contouring support maintains the natural alignment of your spine. For use in a master bedroom by average weight adults, we recommend a World Class Beautyrest...specifically, the starting model in the line in the comfort choice of "Luxury Firm".
To get the comfort you want and the longevity you're hoping for, add a 2" layer of soft latex to the top. All-natural latex has been the most comfortable and most resilient upholstery material on the planet since the mid 1920s. (The definition of, The Best")
The latex will absorb much of your body weight and the mattress will keep its shape and last about twice as long as it would without it.
Latex foam sleeps cool. naturally.
That Beautyrest mattress, I recommended, is called the Annapolis Place from us. Macy's has it as the Sonora.
From us, you are guranteed to get a brand new freshly made mattress. We order them freshly made to fill your order. The same is true of the latex foam mattress topper. Delivery is free and there's no sales tax. Your new mattress will be brought in and set-up and the old mattress removed.
It, simply, doesn't get any better than that. Here are the links to those items, for you to view.
Shipping is free and there's no sales tax.