The Mattress Scam | How to Buy a Mattress

What Sales Tactics to Watch Out For

High-Low Pricing: A store may display a very high “regular” price to add more perceived value to the current sale price. Technically this can be illegal if the store never actually sells the item at the very high price. Sales that never end are fraudulent, but stores can get around this by occasionally selling at the inflated regular price.

“Yeah, basically it’s the sale we are always running”
-salesman Steve at The Mattress King

Bait and Switch: A store may advertise a mattress at a low sale price but when you arrive to buy it, it may be out of stock. The sales associate will try to sell you a different mattress at a higher price. Be aware that they may even try to sell you a lower priced mattress, telling you that it is just as good. On the surface this may seem like a noble act but the reality may be that the profit and commission on this lower priced mattress is even greater than that of the original sales item. This is typical of off-brand items that could be of lower quality than the name brands the consumer is familiar with.



Price Dropping Tactics: Often times, the stated price, sale or otherwise, is not the final price a sales associate can sell for. There is another lower price in their heads that they know they can’t go beyond. The idea here is that the consumer feels like the deal is really special if there is some logical story as to why the salesman is giving it to you. That story builds confidence in the mind of the consumer. “Wow, I’m real lucky to be here for this situation, I better get it now while I can!” This is not unusual for any sales business, but the price dropping tactics used by mattress sales associates can be the most deceptive. Last year’s model: The sales associate, picking up on your feeling that you’re not really sold, may disappear for a bit and then come back with some great news for you. “Hey, if you don’t mind not having the latest color (or something), I’ve got one (repeat, “one, just one, someone’s going to get it, it better be you!) of last year’s model in the back that I can probably give you for $200 less! You see, the fact that it’s last year’s model or a different color or whatever is irrelevant. The fact of the matter is that the story is most likely used to make the consumer feel like they are in a special situation. In all likeliness, even if that one-of-a-kind deal is closed, the very next customer will hear the same story. Mismatched set: If the mattress shopper is not giving the salesman a good feeling about buying, the salesman may throw out the old “mismatch” gimmick. After he knows the shopper is set on a particular model, but not so happy about paying the price, the salesman may say “hey, I think I can do something special for you. Are you real concerned that the box spring matches the style of the mattress? (Of course nobody is) Well I have an extra box spring of a different style in the back that I can give you with this mattress and drop a hundred bucks off the price!”

“You must buy the same matching box spring or the warranty will be void” -saleswoman Sharon at a Mattress Discounters “Yes, we have a red tag sale going on… mix and match box springs” -same saleswoman when asked about what specials they have going on. When asked about the previous statement about the warranty being void, there was a moment of silence, then a lengthy explanation about special circumstances. Mattress Warranties - The Art of Misleading the Customer...Read On!