Mattress shopping?

[sparr0.livejournal.com]

I've never lived somewhere with a bed bug problem before, but I hear that curbside free used mattresses are a very risky proposition around here. I'm probably looking to buy a mattress. Are there any reputable/safe places to buy used mattresses? If not, what's a good place nearby to get a cheap ($100?) new mattress?

Comments

[bikergeek.livejournal.com]

Reselling used bedding is illegal in Massachusetts, so you won't find any commercial businesses doing it.

[xuth.livejournal.com]

um, that doesn't sound right. Per http://www.malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXV/Chapter94/Section271A

Section 271A. Notwithstanding any general or special law or rule or regulation to the contrary, a mattress, box spring, studio couch or futon mattress which has been delivered to and used by a customer and which is later returned to the seller thereof shall be clearly and conspicuously marked thereon and advertised by the seller before any further sale with a tag stating the following: “This mattress, box spring, studio couch or futon mattress has been previously sold, delivered, used and returned and is being offered for resale.”

[xuth.livejournal.com]

also: http://www.malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXV/Chapter94/Section273

which includes:

All secondhand mattresses, if intended for resale, shall be sterilized as required by sections two hundred and seventy to two hundred and seventy-six, inclusive.

[bikergeek.livejournal.com]

That quote covers the case of customer returns, not used bedding generally. I was, however, wrong in that it *is* legal to sell used mattresses, provided that the mattresses are sterilized before resale.

http://www.malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXV/Chapter94/Section273

"All secondhand mattresses, if intended for resale, shall be sterilized as required by sections two hundred and seventy to two hundred and seventy-six, inclusive. "

However, one rarely sees secondhand mattresses offered for commercial resale in MA. (I personally have never seen any business offering used mattresses for sale.) If I had to guess, I'd say that the sterilization procedure required is sufficiently cost-prohibitive that the law amounts to a de-facto ban.

[xuth.livejournal.com]

As I said elsewhere in this post, I have seen sterilized mattresses for sale at the larger goodwills.

[curiositykt.livejournal.com]

Ikea has some around that price point, but they are pretty amazingly terrible. You can get a decent one from there for about 250

[koshmom.livejournal.com]

You do have flat-soft-surfaces-to-sleep-on options: standard mattresses, air beds (Target is likely to have some that blow up with hair dryer for ), water beds (I own one that uses tubes and a thick cover that doesn't need a heater. There's a place on Rte 1 south just south of 128 Saugus/South Lynnfield area) or the classic futon, which can come thin or sleep-worthy thick. If you get a cruddy bottom surface, you can also buy a "feather bed" which is essentially a combo of a pillow and thick down comforter that you sleep on, instead of under.

[rethcir.livejournal.com]

Bob's Furniture lists Bob-o-pedic fulls for like $169.

Don't cheap out with your mattress, remember this has the potential to screw up your sleep and make you wake up miserable EVERY DAY.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_mattt/]

We looked at the Bob-o-pedic as a cost effective alternative to a Tempurpedic Mattress. The reviews from them are not great, particularly an extensive, chemical off-gassing odor that persisted for an extended period of time.

[42itous.livejournal.com]

I echo the advice to invest more than $100 in your mattress: you'll probably sleep on it (or if you eventually get a bigger bed, your friends will) for the next decade, so $250 seems to me a reasonable minimum amount to spend. When I bought my first mattress, I was expecting to spend $100 but wound up spending $250 -- and that was nine years ago!

That said, if you can stand sleeping on futons, that might be a good compromise. There's a futon place in Central Square -- I haven't been there, but you can see what they have, and I expect you could find a secondhand frame for it on craigslist.

[somervillesnow.livejournal.com]

A third of your life is spent on your mattress! That is what the mattress salespeople will constantly say to you.

You could go the middle ground and get something free of craigslist that is still inside the apartment of a clean person.

[miss-chance.livejournal.com]

"Clean people" (whatever that means) are also vulnerable to bed bugs. It turns out that bed bugs are astonishingly democratic that way.

[somervillesnow.livejournal.com]

You are right the safest thing possible is to buy a new mattress from a store, though even that is not 100% safe.

Probably the least safest thing is getting one off the street.

I was just pointing out there is a middle ground. This person seems to be on a tight budget.

[miss-chance.livejournal.com]

Oh, I totally agree that it's possible to chose one's own risk-level and decide whether or not to buy a used mattress. If the previous owner had had bedbugs, his car might have too. I take the risk of buying used furniture, or picking up free items off Davis Sq. LJ, too.

I just bought a used car from a private owner. And so far have been lucky. But bedbugs can live in paper and wood and fabric, they can travel with a person to a bookstore or to a college classroom in a backpack. That's why they're so rampant. So even though I've lucked out and never had them, I don't want to victim-shame the people I know who have. That's all. I just object to the idea that people who get bed bugs are somehow defined as "unclean," that's all.

[mytheria.livejournal.com]

If I were currently shopping for a mattress, I might try sleeparama. They're on Mass Ave near Harvard, and when somebody I know went there, they were able to get a really good price and next day delivery.

[axedmoon.livejournal.com]

They're not comfortable, but you could probably get a $100 mattress (no box spring) at this mattress store on Columbus Ave (it's a short walk from the Jackson Square T station for reference) in Jamaica Plain. It's where I got my cheapass mattress. Sometimes you just have to make do. I got a memory foam pad to make up for comfort (does WONDERS), but I got this for free so I don't know how much that'd cost now. I imagine it would still be less than $100 if you bargain shopped.

[axedmoon.livejournal.com]

It's called Our Mattress World. Bad reviews on yelp, but like I said -- I did buy from them. Sorry that it's far!

[xuth.livejournal.com]

You can often find used (sterilized) mattresses at the larger goodwills and some other thrift stores. Since I've never actively looked for them I can't tell you anything about pricing but I know I've seen them.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_mattt/]

I'd strongly advise against street mattresses and other discount mattresses.

When I was younger, the prospect of a free mattress was too good to pass up. A chiropractor later pointed out the shortcomings in my thinking.

Spring mattresses have a useful life -- after that, they simply wear out, and are no longer healthy as a sleep surface. And to my knowledge, it is not cost effective to rebuild a mattress.

Every body and everybody is different, of course, and if you don't have problems, you just saved yourself a bunch of money. As another poster pointed out, though, you spend a third of your life on your mattress, and since finally investing in a good mattress, so many of my minor health problems have resolved.

That aside, in some states, hotels do bulk sale used mattresses. they sell them frequently, before they have worn out, and they have been sterilized. If you have a queen or a king sized bed, this might be a cost effective option.

[herbert42.livejournal.com]

Possibly Court furniture in Central Sq. The main company deals in rental furniture for corporate appts, or for real estate staging. The Central Sq. store is an outlet for their used pieces that are off lease. Stuff is in generally good, but varying condition (and is priced according to condition). I *think* they may have had mattresses, worth a call.
I asked them about bedbugs, and they told me that all their resale softgoods were cleaned with a process called Sterifab to kill bedbugs and other nasties (for what its worth).

[42itous.livejournal.com]

Hey look, here's a starter futon for you:
http://www.directionless.org/tmp/moving/
...and even if you don't want the futon, the frame might be useful.