Does this sound familiar? The last few months you’ve found it nearly impossible to get a good night’s sleep due to how uncomfortable your mattress is. It felt fine for years but an enormous sinkhole is now causing restless nights and morning back pain. One particular day you finally awake to a sleepy epiphany; you need a new mattress! You begin your search in earnest scouring the internet for the best possible value. Luckily for you, it seems every mattress store in town is having their best sale of the year! Various competitors are offering 25%, 50%, even $75% off. But, you better make your decision quickly because all these special promotions will end soon. Or will they? I’ve personally spent over twenty years in the bedding industry and would like to share some well kept industry trade secrets with you. Let me start by assuring you this article will not end with a glowing endorsement for a particular mattress company, retailer or online distributor. We’ve covered what types of mattress may be best for you in our Buyers Guide. Today we’ll focus on getting the best value for your dollar. To do so, it’s important to understand how most bedding promotions really work so you can best evaluate your options.
Just like many other high ticket consumer items, you’ll find mattress sales being advertised every day of the year. You probably don’t notice the frequency because if you are not in the market, they all become white noise. Yet, the moment you need one, those ads resonate loud and clear. Incredible savings that have not been seen since, well… last week. Although the pitch may vary a little, the prices stay pretty consistent all year long.
The Pitch
Over the years, I have worked for multiple national, regional and local bedding stores. In doing so, I’ve witnessed first hand how all companies (large or small) run their promotions. The whole spiel typically centers around one or more of these commonly used marketing ploys:
- Large Discounts off MSRP
- Long Term Free Finance
- Free Gift with purchase
- A False Sense of Urgency
Large Discounts off MSRP
One common retail bedding practice is to show a large markdown of the MSRP (Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price). MSRP is deliberately set outrageously high so retailers can create the perception of a huge savings by slashing this fictitious price.
Our Advice:
Ignore the hype and focus only on the bottom line price. Regardless of whatever promotion is running, these prices rarely change much from week to week. Shop and compare but above all, don’t be afraid to ask for a better price. Up to an additional 10% off is not an unreasonable offer. Most bedding stores pad their profit margins enough to accommodate this much of a discount to get the sale. They also know that if they are not willing to negotiate, the next place you shop will be!
Free Gifts
Whoever first coined the phrase “the best things in life are free” was not referring to sales promotions. The over inflated MSRP also allows retailers to manipulate their pitch so it sounds new and different from the previous sale. One such way is to offer a “Free” gift with your purchase. This could be pillows, sheets, an adjustable base or even a big screen TV. The sizable built in mark up more than covers the cost of these additional items. Rest assured, you are paying for those free gifts!
Our Advice:
If you are truly interested in whatever “free” merchandise is being offered, shop for the best price of each item separately. The money you save on purchasing a fairly priced mattress will more than pay for any free gift included in the sale price.
Long Term Free Finance
Once again the term “free” is left up to to a very loose interpretation. The first thing you need to understand about this type of promotion is that free long term finance does not exist. It is a cost to the retailer to offer these programs. So, keep in mind retailers will typically negotiate a deeper discount if long term finance is not needed.
Our Advice:
Although the cost is included in the purchase price, long term finance may still be an attractive option. Even if you opt to take a small discount in lieu of the finance options, credit card interest could end up costing you more over the same time period. Consider your options and weigh the pros and cons of accepting these terms.
Sense of Urgency
This is basic marketing 101. In order for a sales promotion to be effective, it needs to have an ending date. That’s why you will constantly see phrases such as Limited time Offer, Sale Ends Sunday or While Supplies Last. Creating this sense of urgency is what entices customers to buy now, opposed to thinking it over. Of course, the whole notion that if you don’t buy today, right now, you’ll never see these prices again is absolutely absurd.
To put this in perspective, years ago I worked for one of the nation’s largest furniture and mattress retailers whose tagline at the end of every TV or radio ad was simply “Sale Ends Monday”. True to their word, every Monday night, the current promotion would end and we would take down all the sale signs and promotional tags.. Tuesday morning, we would put up the new sale signs and sale tags. The sale would have a new name with a slightly different gimmick but the price rarely changed more than a few dollars from the previous week’s sale.
Our Advice:
Remember, you are dealing with sales people or their managers who make their living on how many beds they sell in a given week. A salesperson’s paycheck depends on convincing you to buy today, right now. They are actually the ones who should feel a sense of urgency, not you. In other words, don’t let their desire for a quick sale influence your decision if you would still like to shop around. You may never see your salesperson again but you’ll hopefully have your mattress for the next 8 – 10 years.