Tips for buying a mattress online

Online shopping provides a convenient alternative to get clothes, home goods, personal care items, and more. But not everything is best bought online — especially before you’ve had a chance to test it out in person. A mattress is one such purchase. It’s an investment that can have a real impact on your daily quality of life. It’s also a very personal choice. What works for other people likely won’t be the best fit for you.

Everyone has unique support and comfort needs, and testing them out in person is the best way to find the right fit for you. But that’s not always possible, so we’re sharing our top tips for shopping for a mattress online.

How to shop for a mattress online

• Take your time. Whether you’re shopping for a mattress in stores or online, it’s important to take your time. Some brands will pressure you to buy now with a flashy sale, but this is a decision that’s too important to rush. That’s why we offer our lowest and best price to everyone every day — because you should buy when you’re 
• Learn all you can about the mattress. Mattress brands should be transparent about the materials and features in their products. On each of our mattress product pages on our website, you’ll find a detailed graphic that illustrates each material used in that product. We also offer our feel rating, support scale, and durability scale so you can compare our products when it comes to feel, support, and durability.
• Understand the policies. Whether you’re making a purchase online or in stores, it’s always a good idea to get a good understanding of their policies. We offer a warranty on all of our mattress and box spring products that covers material defects and errors in workmanship. We also offer our 365-day comfort and size change policy. You can read all about our policies here.

Red flags to look out for when buying online

A mattress is an investment, so you want to make sure you’re getting a great value. But the online mattress market is flooded with cheap foam mattresses — many of which are coming from overseas and do not adhere to the quality and safety standards of mattresses manufactured in the U.S. There are some red flags that you should be aware of when shopping for a mattress online:

• A price that is too low: $200 for a queen foam mattress sounds too good to be true — and that’s because it is. You don’t have to spend a fortune to get a good-quality mattress, but when a price is that low, there’s a good chance that it’s a low-quality foam mattress from overseas. When it comes to a foam mattress, you want something that lives up to high quality and safety standards.
• Freebies: Online mattress companies often offer free delivery, free returns for up to a year, free foundations, and more to help sweeten the deal. But the price of these items is always built into the price of the mattress. Some online mattress retailers face estimated return rates as high as 20 percent, so the cost of that lost revenue is factored into the price of your mattress. That means you may be getting a lower-quality mattress in exchange for these freebies.
• A one-size-fits-all mattress: Because you can’t test out a mattress from an online retailer, companies often try to “prescribe” a mattress to customers based on their preferred sleeping position, body type, or even medical conditions. But the fact is that you can’t accurately predict what type of mattress will work for someone based on any of these factors. Everyone’s needs are unique.

We know that mattress shopping can be overwhelming, so it can be tempting to skip the stores. At The Original Mattress Factory, our mission is to help you find the right mattress for you with an educational, no-pressure shopping experience. You can feel free to take your time because we offer our lowest and best price to everyone every day.

Ready to start your mattress buying journey? Come to The Original Mattress Factory first. No one knows more than our team about what makes a great mattress great. Whether you buy from us or not, you’ll be better prepared to make a smart mattress buying decision. Find a store near you.