“Sweet Dreams Are Made of These” was the headline on Consumer Reports’ recent examination of mattress shopping. But that report is really a nightmare for the bedding industry — and for consumers who might follow the flawed advice in the report.
Despite what Consumer Reports would have you believe, better beds are usually a better buy than cheaper beds. And, yes, you do get what you pay for in mattresses and most other products, too, for that matter.
My observations here come from almost 40 years of covering the mattress industry, from common sense and from a source of great wisdom: my dad. When I was growing up, he taught me to spend more for a quality product, telling me that investment would save me money over time.
Consumer Reports has a very different view of the mattress world, one in which lower quality materials can somehow outperform much higher quality materials and one in which it is smarter to spend less, perhaps even thousands less, for a mattress that will supposedly be a better buy.
In the “Your Mattress Matchmaker” section of the report, in the February issue, Consumer Reports presents eight face-offs among mattresses across sleeping types and preferences. In more than half of those contests, it favors the less expensive choice.
In a particularly egregious selection, Consumer Reports picks the AmazonBasics Memory Foam 10-inch model, retailing for $245, over the Tempur-Pedic Tempur-LuxeBreeze Firm, retailing for $4,500. That’s in the category of “foam mattresses, least vs. most expensive.”
Consumer Reports says “it’s hard to justify” the price of the Tempur-Pedic model. “You’ll pay 18 times as much for the Tempur-Pedic, but you won’t get a mattress that’s 18 times as good.”
That’s a catchy line, but the point it tries to makes is bogus. No one can say exactly how much better the Tempur-Pedic mattress is, which is why that “you won’t get a mattress that’s 18 times as good” comment is so wrong-headed, but the key point is the Tempur-Pedic is clearly a much better mattress.
I can say with absolute certainty that a high quality mattress is a much better bet for a good night’s sleep, in the long run, than the least expensive mattress on the market, whatever it may be.
Why? Because materials matter. Higher-priced mattresses usually feature much higher quality materials than lower-priced mattresses. Better materials make for better mattresses, and better mattresses make for better sleep.
Consumer Reports also errs in picking the least expensive adjustable air mattress — Sleep Number’s 360 c2 Smart Bed, retailing at $1,000 — over the most expensive adjustable air mattress, the Sleep Number 360 i8 Smart Bed, retailing at $3,600.
“You’ll surely think of better ways to spend the $2,600 you’ll save,” Consumer Reports says. Here’s a novel thought: Why not spend that money on a much better bed?
A good mattress is one of the keys to a healthy, happy life. It’s worth the investment. Dad was right: Quality pays off in the long run.
The post Blog: Consumer Reports is wrong; better beds are better choice appeared first on Furniture Today.