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]

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.