The importance of buying a good-quality mattress cannot be overstated. Given the fact that it’s where you spend a third of your life, your mattress is also the primary medium enabling you to get a good night’s sleep – crucial for your physical and mental health.

That said, if you’re shopping for a new mattress, you’re likely in for a rude awakening. The cost of mattresses varies from as little as $300 to over $10,000+. Based on this price differential in Singapore, does the quality of a mattress increase in tandem with its price tag?

Difference between cheap vs expensive mattress in Singapore

There are 4 types of mattresses: Standard innerspring, pocketed coil innerspring, memory foam, and latex. The most common and cheapest type of mattress is the standard innerspring.

Memory foam and latex, usually marketed as 'premium' mattress materials, typically cost more. While the common perception is that these costlier mattress types are much better, the truth is that every kind of mattress caters to a specific sleeping need, which you may not necessarily benefit from.

For example, if you don't have issues with your joints, opting for the pocketed inner coil innerspring type of mattress instead of the memory foam/latex could potentially save you over S$2,000.

Box-in-a-bed vs traditional brands

Even within the same mattress type (e.g. memory foam), branded mattresses tend to cost more than ‘bed-in-a-box’ online brands like Haylee, Emma, and Noa Sleep. Despite the higher cost, you may not be getting better-quality mattresses, as mattress brands are known to overcharge their customers.

Traditional mattress brands (e.g. Sea Horse, Tempur, King Koil) make a huge gross profit margin of around 50 per cent on their products.

To really highlight the difference in pricing: the cheapest King-sized, innerspring coil mattress from King Koil costs $849 on Courts. That’s more than what you need to pay for a King-sized, memory foam (a ‘premium’ material) mattress from any of the ‘bed-in-a-box’ brands (e.g. Haylee, Origin, and Sonno)!

A primary reason for this is the sheer number of middlemen between the brands and the customer. Retailers often need to work with brands to obscure pricing and increase profit margins.

That’s why, whenever possible, you should buy from non-traditional, online mattress brands. By skipping the middlemen & buying directly from the brand, you can save between 30per cent to 80per cent on your mattress in Singapore.

Online mattress brands offer free trial periods

Buying a mattress from more affordable, online mattress brands also gives you the chance to test the mattress before you commit to keeping it. This is something you don’t get from traditional mattress brands.

Many of these new mattress brands are generous with the amount of time they give during the trial period; most offer 100 nights or more. In addition, many mattress brands offer a 10-year warranty period (which is typical in the industry), so you don't have to worry about the durability when buying a cheaper mattress.

Another plus point of buying from ‘bed-in-a-box’ brands is their logistics. Haylee, for instance, works with Lalamove for a lightning-fast island-wide courier. Delivery can be as quick as 2 hours from your time of order!

An additional tip: make sure you check the company’s return policy. Find out what happens on the off-chance that you don't love your purchase. Certain brands offer free removal, while others may charge a small fee.

Is it safe to buy a second hand mattress in Singapore?

Expensive, brand name mattresses are not necessarily better than the cheaper options. Even more important: they’re not worth getting into debt for the promise of better comfort and sleep.

That said, don’t take this advice to the extreme and source for a second-hand mattress on platforms like Carousell to save money. An old mattress is likely to be harbouring a range of bacteria, moulds, and dust mites – which, imaginably, cannot be good for your health.

Do as much research as you can on your options and make use of cashback credit cards ; with so many excellent, affordable, ‘bed-in-a-box’ companies out there, you’ll be able to find a mattress that’ll give you a good night’s rest without breaking the bank.

This article was first published in ValueChampion.