We're not in the habit of commenting on what our competitors do. But every once in a while, something happens in our industry that we think is worth talking about. Not to pile on, but because it speaks directly to something we've believed since the day we opened our doors in 1990.
Earlier this month, one of the largest mattress retailers in the country, was named in two separate class action lawsuits filed in California and Washington state. The allegations center on a pricing practice that, honestly, most consumers have probably sensed for years without being able to articulate it: fake sales.
According to the lawsuits, the retailer in question routinely advertised mattresses at steep discounts from "regular" prices that were rarely, if ever, actually charged. The promotions from holiday sales to seasonal events and limited-time offers rotated constantly while the discounts themselves remained essentially unchanged. The result, plaintiffs allege, was a false sense of urgency that pushed consumers to buy based on savings that weren't real.
We're not here to litigate the case. That's for the courts. What we will say is this: none of it surprises us.
The Sale That Never Ends Isn't a Sale
If you've shopped for a mattress in the last decade, you've seen this playbook. The banner in the window changes. Presidents' Day, Memorial Day, End of Summer, Back to School, Columbus Day, but the prices stay roughly the same. The urgency is manufactured. The "regular" price exists mainly to make the "sale" price look more attractive.
It works because it plays on a very human instinct: nobody wants to pay full price, and everyone wants to feel like they got a deal. The mattress industry figured this out a long time ago and built an entire retail model around it.
At The Original Mattress Factory we have chosen to never do this.
What Everyday Pricing Actually Means
At The Original Mattress Factory, we don't run sales. Not holiday sales, not clearance events, not limited-time promotions designed to manufacture urgency. Our prices are consistent — and when they do change, it's because the real costs of materials and manufacturing have changed, not because we inflated them in anticipation of a mark down. That's not a marketing position. It's a business decision rooted in a simple belief: you should be able to trust the price tag.
When every day is a sale day, the price tag becomes meaningless. Consumers are left guessing what a mattress is actually worth, whether they're being manipulated, and whether waiting for the next promotion would save them money. That's not a shopping experience, it's a guessing game. And it puts the retailer's interests ahead of the customer's.
Our model flips that dynamic. Because we manufacture our own mattresses and sell them directly to you, no middlemen, no retail markup layers, our prices reflect what it actually costs to build a quality mattress and run a responsible business. There's nothing to inflate and nothing to fake-discount.
Why This Matters When You're Making a Real Purchase
A mattress isn't an impulse buy. Most people sleep on one for eight to ten years to sometimes longer. It affects the quality of your rest, which affects everything else. It deserves the same clear-eyed evaluation you'd give any significant purchase, and that evaluation is nearly impossible when the pricing environment is designed to create confusion.
Transparent pricing gives you a foundation for making a real decision. You can compare products on their actual merits, construction, materials, durability, support, rather than trying to reverse-engineer whether the discount you're being offered is legitimate.
That's the environment we try to create in every one of our stores. No countdown clocks. No "today only" pressure. Just honest products at honest prices and staff who are more interested in helping you find the right mattress than in closing a sale before an imaginary deadline expires.
We've Always Done It This Way
We're not saying this because of what's in the news. We're saying it because it's been our approach for more than 35 years, long before class action lawsuits made it a timely topic.
But moments like this do serve as a reminder that the way a company prices its products tells you something about how it views its customers. We'd rather earn your trust than manufacture your urgency.
If you're in the market for a mattress, come see us. No sale to catch. No deadline to beat. Just a good mattress at a fair price — today, and every day.
Written By: Chris Gardner, OMF Marketing
The Original Mattress Factory has been building mattresses by hand in our own factory workshops since 1990. We are a factory-direct company with locations across multiple states. Visit originalmattress.com to find a store near you.
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