buying a bed Forum

[Headybrah]

so I bet a lot of us are in the same boat, heading to school in the next few weeks and are pretty clueless about where to go to buy a bed, how to do it and what to look for in a bed.

I would imagine with all the stress and work, time in bed in law school is precious and you want a good night sleep.

So this is a place for advice and suggestions and such

[bk1]

How much are you willing to spend?

That question dictates everything.

[sibley]

You can get a decent mattress without paying $1000. If you want to be really cheap you can get very portable memory foam mattress from walmart, ikea, for like $200

[Headybrah]

I'll spend up to ~$500 if its super good and worth it

otherwise like to keep it around $300

[blerg]

I bought a nicer mattress at Ikea ($400 for a Queen) and it's FANTASTIC. I've had it for years and it's perfect still.

[trialjunky]

American Signature FTW during their mattress blowout sale. Also, Sams club have cheap pillow top mattresses that are divine!

[20160810]

When I went to Berkeley I used a mattress I found on the curb for three years, and then left it on the curb when I moved. It was gone within a day, and is now presumably being used by someone else. Hit up Craigslist or just drive around a college town at the beginning or end of a semester. After a couple days, you forget that having a used mattress is sorta gross, and life goes on, only you've saved hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars.

[sibley]

When I went to Berkeley I used a mattress I found on the curb for three years, and then left it on the curb when I moved. It was gone within a day, and is now presumably being used by someone else. Hit up Craigslist or just drive around a college town at the beginning or end of a semester. After a couple days, you forget that having a used mattress is sorta gross, and life goes on, only you've saved hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars.

This is a really bad idea. It can be an ok idea, though. If you go for a a mattress bag for it. Using a used mattress and being subjected to mites and bed bugs (which will cover you in bites and likely spread to your other belongings, especially pillows and comforters) is going to be much less pleasant than losing a couple hundred dollars would be.

[Headybrah]

how do you know if you have bed bugs and get rid of them

[Oban]

you can at least sterilize the bed for the win. Plenty of people i knew in college were like the 5 or 6th owners of their beds.

[sibley]

you can at least sterilize the bed for the win. Plenty of people i knew in college were like the 5 or 6th owners of their beds.

how do you know if you have bed bugs and get rid of them

That's the thing. You can't sterilize the bed. You could spray it with lysol or something but they live deep in the fibers so you'd miss most of them. You can hire an exterminator and strip the bed down, that should do it. http://studenttravel.about.com/od/healt ... bugs_5.htm But heat will kill them so everything else wash and dry on hot... There's a gross picture of bedbugs on a mattress at that link.

[txelle]

macy's sometimes has their floor models for sale for really cheap.

[Duralex]

If you go to a mattress store, negotiate! They're like car dealerships. Tell them what kind of bed you like. Tell them your price range in broad terms. Let them show you different beds. Try them. See what you like. Haggle.
Most of them will let you return it for exchange if not refund within a short period as well (as long as it's undamaged etc.)

Brands and models aren't all that important--I've read a number of times that they mostly all come from the same factories and they change the names and numbers constantly to give the industry an appearance of evolution (when it really just more or less makes the same stuff year in and year out.)

The off-brand memory foam option is the other one to consider. Actual Tempur brand beds are very pricey.

You can also get a decent inexpensive mattress and a foam topper. Less of a commitment if you don't like it, and probably still cheaper combined.

[20160810]

When I went to Berkeley I used a mattress I found on the curb for three years, and then left it on the curb when I moved. It was gone within a day, and is now presumably being used by someone else. Hit up Craigslist or just drive around a college town at the beginning or end of a semester. After a couple days, you forget that having a used mattress is sorta gross, and life goes on, only you've saved hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars.

This is a really bad idea. It can be an ok idea, though. If you go for a a mattress bag for it. Using a used mattress and being subjected to mites and bed bugs (which will cover you in bites and likely spread to your other belongings, especially pillows and comforters) is going to be much less pleasant than losing a couple hundred dollars would be.

J, SBL -- DISSENTING

I never got any bites. Seriously, people worry too much. Free mattresses for the win.

[jennylynn]

If they sell in your area (not sure where you are), Original Mattress Factory has always been so comfy to me. Quality stuff, too.

[yo!]

During the middle of last week, I was unpacking at my new place. I unloaded my mattress from the moving van and decided to take it over to the dumpster area (most likely donated it to some undergrad). Going shopping for a new one this week. Any suggestions for a good deal in the sac area?

[Blindmelon]

When I went to Berkeley I used a mattress I found on the curb for three years, and then left it on the curb when I moved. It was gone within a day, and is now presumably being used by someone else. Hit up Craigslist or just drive around a college town at the beginning or end of a semester. After a couple days, you forget that having a used mattress is sorta gross, and life goes on, only you've saved hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars.

This is a really bad idea. It can be an ok idea, though. If you go for a a mattress bag for it. Using a used mattress and being subjected to mites and bed bugs (which will cover you in bites and likely spread to your other belongings, especially pillows and comforters) is going to be much less pleasant than losing a couple hundred dollars would be.

Agreed - taking a random mattress off the street is like bringing a random girl home from a bar and not using a condom. Sure, chances are you're in the clear, and yea its going to feel really nice... but she might have herpes, so its better to just not take the chance. If you use a random mattress you find, buy a heavy-duty cover, one thats for bed bugs/mites or you may end up waking up with itchy spots... and bed bugs/fleas are almost impossible to get rid of.

[sibley]

When I went to Berkeley I used a mattress I found on the curb for three years, and then left it on the curb when I moved. It was gone within a day, and is now presumably being used by someone else. Hit up Craigslist or just drive around a college town at the beginning or end of a semester. After a couple days, you forget that having a used mattress is sorta gross, and life goes on, only you've saved hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars.

This is a really bad idea. It can be an ok idea, though. If you go for a a mattress bag for it. Using a used mattress and being subjected to mites and bed bugs (which will cover you in bites and likely spread to your other belongings, especially pillows and comforters) is going to be much less pleasant than losing a couple hundred dollars would be.

Agreed - taking a random mattress off the street is like bringing a random girl home from a bar and not using a condom. Sure, chances are you're in the clear, and yea its going to feel really nice... but she might have herpes, so its better to just not take the chance. If you use a random mattress you find, buy a heavy-duty cover, one thats for bed bugs/mites or you may end up waking up with itchy spots... and bed bugs/fleas are almost impossible to get rid of.

Why do I suddenly feel like my previous post is condoning prostitution?

[dominkay]

1. There is no such thing as a nice IKEA mattress. Note that I am not anti-IKEA in general.

2. Your bed is the most important piece of furniture you will ever own, in the sense that the quality of your sleep dictates the quality of your life.

3. Don't be afraid to haggle. Never pay sticker. If you have, say, $600 to spend, look at the mattresses priced at $800 or $1000. If you're a woman and you're shy about haggling, sitting on a bed for a while and looking forlorn has always gotten salespeople to lower the price for me.

[Headybrah]

what is deal with box spring

should i just get cheapest?

do they matter?

platform bed?

[sibley]

what is deal with box spring

should i just get cheapest?

do they matter?

platform bed?

what's your bed like now? do you like it or would you like it firmer or softer? start with that in mind, then lay on them.

[Duralex]

Platform and box spring are mutually exclusive. If you don't know the difference between how a bed feels with and w/o box springs, go to a showroom and find out.

Quality matters in a box spring, but not as much as in the mattress you put on top of it.

[20160810]

When I went to Berkeley I used a mattress I found on the curb for three years, and then left it on the curb when I moved. It was gone within a day, and is now presumably being used by someone else. Hit up Craigslist or just drive around a college town at the beginning or end of a semester. After a couple days, you forget that having a used mattress is sorta gross, and life goes on, only you've saved hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars.

This is a really bad idea. It can be an ok idea, though. If you go for a a mattress bag for it. Using a used mattress and being subjected to mites and bed bugs (which will cover you in bites and likely spread to your other belongings, especially pillows and comforters) is going to be much less pleasant than losing a couple hundred dollars would be.

Agreed - taking a random mattress off the street is like bringing a random girl home from a bar and not using a condom. Sure, chances are you're in the clear, and yea its going to feel really nice... but she might have herpes, so its better to just not take the chance. If you use a random mattress you find, buy a heavy-duty cover, one thats for bed bugs/mites or you may end up waking up with itchy spots... and bed bugs/fleas are almost impossible to get rid of.

Didn't read any further than this. Didn't need to. You confirmed everything I already knew, i.e. that using a street mattress is an awesome idea. If this were a legitimate problem, you'd hear all kinds of stories about people getting pwnd by their used mattresses. I think the idea of tiny bugs where you sleep is so gross people just don't react rationally to the likelihood/gravity of the threat and they go spend $1,000 on a new mattress.

Just get one for free on move-out day, Lysol that fucker, throw a cover on it and you're good to go. Most of the furniture ditched to the curb on 8/31 or 5/30 in college towns was bought/used by only one person and they're just too lazy to move it, especially if you look outside of the nicer student rentals.

Free shit in my apartment now: Mattress, leather couch, microwave, coffee table. The way I see it, if I haven't died from using free furniture yet, I'm probably not going to.

[sibley]

Free shit in my apartment now: Mattress, leather couch, microwave, coffee table. The way I see it, if I haven't died from using free furniture yet, I'm probably not going to.

I scoured my undergrad every year. I got a very nice dvd player, a pretty blue clothing rack, a pop-up colander, a wiimote, and who knows what else.

But the bugs? Unless you can get your hands on some DDT if you have them they're not going anywhere.
--ImageRemoved--

[kazu]

First, sibley... that's a disgusting pic (long time no see though! How have you been?)

If you're a woman and you're shy about haggling, sitting on a bed for a while and looking forlorn has always gotten salespeople to lower the price for me.

I am so trying that.