Our nationwide epidemic of insomnia has caused Americans to become obsessed with buying the right mattress. It’s faulty logic, though; most cures for insomnia involve lifestyle choices — drinking less caffeine, not watching TV before bed, not working up until the moment you go to bed.
To cut through the clutter of advertising, the March issue of Consumer Reports has a look at the best mattresses and mattress retailers.
The highest mattress rating of all goes to a memory foam mattress — the Sleep Number Innovation Series i8 bed Pillowtop (about $3,000).
The real story here is the No. 2 mattress, which is Costco’s Novaform Memory Foam Collection Serafina 14-inch. At $800, the Costco mattress was the only “best buy” the magazine noted in the memory foam category.
Yes, that’s right — the second highest rated product is less than one-third the cost of the industry leader!
When it comes to traditional innerspring mattresses, the Serta Perfect Day iSeries Applause gets the “best buy” checkmark in its category and costs $1,075.
On the question of retailers, Consumer Reports ranked the Original Mattress Factory stores as the top choice for customer satisfaction. Costco was a close second, and this may reflect its return policy on mattresses: A full money-back refund without penalty and no time limit.
I particularly like the warehouse clubs for mattress shopping, and I’ve long advised people to test the mattress right there in the store for an extended period. Bring a book or tablet to Costco or Sam’s Club and get those mattresses off the displays or yank them off the walls. Then lay there for 15 minutes and see how you like the feel before you buy.
Consumer expert Clark Howard's column appears here each Thursday in conjunction with Deal Spotter, a weekly print section in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Find more answers to your consumer questions at Clark's website.
-- Clark Howard -- Save More, Spend Less, Avoid Rip-offs -- for the Atlanta Bargain Hunter blog
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