Mattresses, not stereos is where the money is

You can bet that there's good margin in it if Macy's (those whores) are in on it, even in the face of multiple hi profile competitors.
Full disclosure: I'm a bitter former employee.

My niece married a guy that sells Hastens mattresses in LA. I think they go for around 50 or 60k.

The real money is in Legos.

Beds can be like audio in that there’s that markup to deal with but what goes for an audio deal can be done with beds.

Like my Kinki Studio EX-M1 integrated, my Nectar foam mattress is made in China. I researched the hell out of both of them and like the savings one gets with the Kinki, the Nectar set me back a mere $700 for a queen mattress.

Online reviews say it’s the closest thing to a Tempurpedic and I can attest to that since my sister got one a month before I got my Nectar. The best thing is, the Nectar comes with a lifetime warranty. Should I ever grow to hate it, they’ll come pick it up with a full refund, no questions asked.

I’ve never slept better and all it took was some good old fashioned gumshoe work, like I do with my audio purchases. And like with audio, some of the reviewers knocked the Nectar since it was made in China, so there’s that other aspect one can attribute to both: the xenophobia.

All the best,
Nonoise

Mattress stores are being put to bed as fast as they rise where I live.

I always sleep standing up and often wear a tuxedo while doing so.

I’m pretty sure mattresses would make excellent vibration isolation platforms, big enough for the whole system! If you have a LITTLE SYSTEM use a child’s mattress. 🤗 Air mattress or spring mattress. Take your pick! A memory foam topper for damping, perhaps? 

Unfortunately, a friend on a very limited income has a 400lb. twenty-something mentally-disabled son who wandered into one of these mattress stores and purchased an $8000 mattress on a five-year installment plan.

Here ya go big spender!!
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=duxiana&view=detail&mid=7F35C419E1010162E8797F35C419E10...

This thread has turned out to be a real sleeper.

The mattress people make it almost impossible to comparison shop.

They change the name of the models depending upon the store that's selling them.  The manufacturer's name stays the same, but the name of the model changes.

What you see at the mattress store is the same mattress you see at Macy's ...  just different labels. 

Frank

Wow a mattress rap how great.

"The mattress people make it almost impossible to comparison shop.

They change the name of the models depending upon the store that's selling them. The manufacturer's name stays the same, but the name of the model changes.

What you see at the mattress store is the same mattress you see at Macy's ... just different labels. "
That is the most frustrating part of mattress shopping. Also,testing a mattress out in the store is kind of like trying audio equipment in a room other than your own, it's too hard to tell how you're going to like it long term. 
We ended up buying a latex foam mattress from a local manufacturer with a great reputation. 

If two mattresses measure the same, will they also sleep the same?

The real money is in Legos.

Actually, it's in bandages and foot care.

If two mattresses measure the same, will they also sleep the same?

You can never state so until extensive, double blind tests are conducted. And since you can’t rely on long term sleep memory, quick sleep testing has to be done without the knowledge of the participants, who must be moved from bed to bed as quickly as possible ( or just raise, jostled and replaced on the same mattress).

Only then, after all the data is compiled, can one state which mattress is better than the other, or, just the same as any other, well made mattress.

All the best,
Nonoise

This actually could turn out to be a huge godsend for audiophiles. Now they will be able to sleep with their HiFi system.

I also want to point out this :
Both stereos and memory-foam mattresses have a warm up period.

The bed sleeps very differently after it's warm, the major reason I'm having to replace mine.

Nectar was a brand I didn't end up trying.  I did try the Tempur-pedic. The only model that worked for me temperature and support wise was, of course, the $4,500 queen.
Ended up with a Bedgear for $1,700. If I find it is too firm or too soft they will send me different coils to put in.

How is this thread audio related?

A well rested audiophile is a happy audiophile

Forget double-blind.  The only way to test mattresses properly is when fully asleep.

I know the average retail markup for stereo gear is around 45%. What must the mark up be for mattress stores to stay open with this much competition? 90%?

Ha! Not even close! High end stereo gear is an easy double. Which I know from years of buying from a friend in the business. Never paid more than about 60% of retail. Even at that he was making a profit. In other words usually he would double it, but for me only marked it up 10%. Very common.

Please note the difference between markup and margin. Markup is cost to sale price. Margin includes all other costs. Margin in high end might only be around 5%.

Same applies to mattresses. Only more so. Something I researched extensively because back when I was poor and needy I was not about to pay for what looked like frills. Which in the case of matteress it literally is frills.

So here’s the deal, as shown to me by the owner of Everrest Mattress in Seattle, WA. Mattresses are such a commodity with such thin margins that all the springs in all the mattresses all across the whole western US are made by the same one or two manufacturers. Same goes for all the foam and fabric. These three things- springs, foam, fabric- that’s a mattress.

Basically this guy wanted to sell a mattress, saw a guy (me) ready to pay a lot more for a Sealey (or whatever) and so took the time to walk me around his warehouse which made it excruciatingly clear to me that all these high end mattresses no matter how expensive are all the same damn thing. The fabric on the outside changes. The places they put foam changes. But really what changes the most is the advertising.

This is how they add $1k or more to what is really a $350 mattress. The markup is not 90%. Its more like 200%. Spendy mattress, full price, maybe 300%. That’s the markup. Which might even be low. Margin on the other hand includes all costs- massive advertising, killer sales commissions, retail floor space, warehousing, transportation and delivery- these all add up resulting in a bottom line margin that’s actually pretty thin.

Funny, just a month or two ago we drove around to test Purple, Tempurpedic, Sleep Number, and whatever other new bed technology is out there... Conclusion: We went with a traditional Sterns & Foster. Super happy with it. All the others felt too gimicky and not as comfortable as old school mattresses.

These stores are fronts. Its easy to hide and transport drugs in a mattress. That's why you see 4 mattress stores at an intersection, none with any customers.

One man’s mattress is another man’s bass trap.

I took this literally and as far as you guys know I don't have $10 Grand stashed inside my mattress. I swear.

valinar you win!

"If I find it is too firm or too soft they will send me different coils to put in.

Who would have guessed there is a DIY mattress market, too?

How big is the mattress warehouse? All the stores I saw are relatively small.

By the way, there are electronics (and home appliance) stores that expanded their portfolio to....mattresses. No kidding. Try PC Richards in the Northeastern U.S.A.

At least you didn't fall for a Tempurpedic. We sent one back after a few days as it was like sleeping in a polystyrene mold. It also outgassed an awful toxic odor.

"At least you didn't fall for a Tempurpedic."

Even more importantly, he did not fall off a Tempurpedic.

What a colossal waste of time. This thread is a better sleep aid than most overpriced mattresses.

Mark up and margin are different calculations, but I’ve never heard them described as including overhead/expenses or not. 

Sounds like you’re describing gross margin vs net margin??

One of my first jobs was that of a tool & die maker for mattress spring manufacturer. You're welcome.  

Great thread, with some clever responses.  I am gonna check out the Nectar mattress myself.

I have Spatial Audio speakers and a bespoke Don Sachs preamp and amp in my system.  I suspect they'd be 2X the price if sold through dealer channels.  

The only way to test a mattress for real world performance is to fully load it...

All about the sheets. Directional threads and cyrogenically sewn.
 

All about the sheets. Directional threads and cyrogenically sewn.

 
Well, I am buying the coldest feeling memory-foam mattress I can find!

"Well, I am buying the coldest feeling memory-foam mattress I can find!"

Just send it to a cryo lab. "Nothing improves the bottom (line) like liquid nitrogen wash."
(old mattress manufacturer’s saying)

You can try geoffkait’s approach with home freezer, too.

@whitestix ,
Although the Nectar mattress is sold online, there are some stores that carry them. On the Nectar site, look for the "stores" section at the top of the website. I was lucky enough to find a mattress store not 5 minutes from where I live.

Also, I noticed there's a Black Friday $100 off on the already $100 off that they advertise. When I bought mine, the retailer even honored the online discount codes that the review sites use. You may even get more of a discount. 

All the best,
Nonoise

Well mattresses could be audio gear too if you staple them all up on walls to cut down echos and sound clutter.... I reckon 6 king size would do me for mine

...I’m just concerned about a mattress named ’Kinki’....

What sort of ....*ah*, ’attachments’ are available, shown in the ’back room’?

"This is GUARANTEED to make you sleep soundly....*salacious wink* You’ll be too exhausted to stay awake from all the tossing and turning you’ve already done....:"

Enjoy, Erik. ;)

...just be concerned about proper 'fail safes' being in place...

Unlike Uber....who discovered their self-driving cars don't 'see' jaywalkers....or 'brake late' when approaching an existing accident...

....and jetliners diving out of the sky...

....close-approach asteroids, unseen until....*POW*....

The Future.  Live It...or Live With It.

I'm going to return to my snug little office and lock the doors.

We have the Original Mattress Factory in Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and I believe they have stores in North Carolina and Georgia too. By far the highest quality for reasonable price that I've ever seen in a mattress. No, I do not work for them. They make two sided mattresses that you have to occasionally flip, but they are very heavy and extremely well made and will last 20 years. You can buy an $800 queen mattress that easily compares to a Stearns and Foster mattress costing $2200. My point is that the Original Mattress Factory cannot be marking up prices very much but they are winning due to high quality and word of mouth.

"...you have to occasionally flip, but they are very heavy..."

This does not seem like an advertisement, for sure.

When push comes to shove I prefer a Futon on a super stiff frame. Maybe not as good for isolating stuff but much better on the back. 8” wool center cotton Futon. Cannot beat with stick.

"... I prefer a Futon on a super stiff frame."

As a friend of mine told another female friend of ours when she was asking how come she could not keep a steady boyfriend: Your futon screams "one-night stand".

So what did she do? She bought one night-stand. Some people you just cannot help.