Mattress Sale Price or Deceptive Money Saving Claims by Mattress Stores?

While shopping on the Internet there it was advertised. It was one of the most popular mattress types memory foam, in the most popular mattress size queen, and perhaps it was some lucky mattress shoppers’ lucky day. This was because according to the ad they were was about to receive some unbelievably spectacular mattress savings. I posted a copy of the ad below, which seems pretty self-explanatory or does it? We left the name of the retailer and the mattress off intentionally. This same type of marketing is common and could apply to many of the mattress ads I saw during my research.

11-inch Memory Foam Queen Size Mattress
· Compare at: $1,130.90
· Our Price: $350.00
· Sale Discount: $35.00
· Your Price: $315.00
· You Save: $815.90 or (72%)

If this particular advertised mattress actually sold for $1,130.90 then this very well may be a great deal. However, in this ad nowhere does it say any such a thing. The ad says Compare at: $1,130.90
It goes on to say plainly “Our Price: (is) $350.00.”
It then says the “Sale Discount: (is) $35.00.” (This is the discount the company is offering)
It then goes on to say that “Your Price: (is) $315.00.” (What you will pay)
Finally the ad claims “You Save: $815.90 (or) (72%).”

Wait a minute didn’t they just tell you that your Sale Discount is only $35.00? Yes it did. The truth is the way this mattress ad is worded in my opinion is very deceptive and not uncommon in the mattress industry. They are telling you the “Sale Discount” is only “$35.00.” That is the equivalent off only 10% off of their price. Yet the ad is claiming a savings of $815.90 or (72%) when looking at the “Compare at price”

It is my opinion that this is not a great mattress deal. This mattress ad doesn’t say this mattress was originally $1,130.90, it says Compare at. (Compare to Who, What, Where and When?) Those are important questions that need to be addressed. Sure you can probably find a store selling a memory foam mattress for $1130.90 but was it the exact same one? I don’t think so after all the #1 memory foam mattress Tempur Pedic offers memory foam mattresses for thousands of dollars but I assure you this was no Tempur Pedic.

The funny thing about this ad is that it has a disclaimer defining to the mattress shopper what “Compare at” means. In this ad the definition of compare at is nearly one page long, has over 301 words in it, and I’m not sure a lawyer could understand the disclaimer, I know I didn’t.

I believe we all like a good deal but It is not about how much you save. It is about comparing apples to apples and getting the best price for that apple.

Feel free to tell us your experiences. No company names Please. Store names will be deleted.