Mattress Warranty – Friend of Foe?

One of the big complaints about the mattress industry is that warranties aren’t worth the paper they’re written on. In some people’s eyes that may very well be true, but in the eyes of the mattress industry they are merely standing behind their product. But are they really? Mattress manufacturers offer significantly long assurances that they will take care of your new mattress to lower our concerns. But why do bed builders they feel the need to offer such long warranties and why do the consumer buy into their promises?

Let’s be honest in both cases it’s money. For mattresses builders and some retailers warranty plays an important part in the retail showroom. Long-drawn-out warranties habitually facilitate weak sales people. Unqualified mattress professionals who are poorly trained and often don’t know what else to talk about will cite warranties as indication of the mattresses’ overall quality. This is a myth.

Customers on the other hand seek out long warranties as an asset to a costly mattress purchase, believing it is a true sign of the beds overall worth and life expectancy. In the case of manufactures it basically comes down to not wanting to give up an edge to a competing mattress brand. Companies use the longer warranty in the hopes of nudging out a competitors mattress with the perception of a better deal.

If the truth is told no body wins with a longer warranty. For one thing most mattresses are not designed to last 10, 15, or 20 years. The customer does not know this, so much animosity is created on the part of the consumer toward the retailers and the manufactures when the mattress does not meet expectations. The sooner sales people start telling the truth about the factual useable life of a mattress the easier their jobs will be. Items such as cars, TVs , and cell phones often cost way more than a mattress yet we do not spend a1/3 of our life in them on them or watching them.

Warranties on other expensive purchases which often cost more than a mattress.

•    Cell Phone- about 1 Year $100. – $500.
•    TV- 90 days to 3 years
•    Car- 3-5 years cars starting at 14,000. –$50,000.

Here is one last perspective Honda has 3year/36,000 and Hyundai has a 10year/100,000 warranty. Is a Hyudai car really going to last 10 years under normal mileage and driving conditions or are they trying to snag Honda’s customers with a longer warranty?  Honda knows the truth and so does Consumer Reports Magazine.

The reality is that a mattress warranty is usually 3 times what it should be. The average customer according to Furniture Today spends around $700. -$800. for a queen size set, so why should any of us expect these unreasonable warranties on a product that can’t meet expectations?

When you read a warranty card a clearer view of what is really going will present itself. Most warranties will inform you that your new mattress must have at least 11/2 inches of depression in the sleeping surface before they will consider replacing it with a new one. What we need to realize is that the people that build these mattresses are telling us to our face that they are going to break down in front of our eyes, yet some how when it happens were shocked, disappointed, and feel like we’re getting ripped off.  Folks it’s a ferocious cycle and it won’t quit until we stop buying into it. Stop buying mattresses based on warranty or we are only feeding the mattress industry machine.