Why does a mattress cost as much as a refrigerator?

Question

A refigerator has a motor, an electrical system, doors and shelves and lights, etc, a mattress is what? Some cloth and springs and sewing.

Answer 1

I hear you! When I started mattress shopping I was shocked by the prices. I did manage to get a good deal on a good mattress by going to the factory store.
I think the mattress industry capitalizes on the amount of time you spend in bed. They market mattresses as big, important purchases- and I suppose a good night sleep is worth the money. But shop around- and remember often you are paying for the expensive name brand.

Answer 2

Well considering we spend a third of our life on a mattress and a good one will last at least 10 years, the cost is reasonable.

Every part of a mattress can vary in quality. Just like furniture. Springs can be made from cheap metal or very high quality metal that keeps its shape. Fabric and cushion can vary greatly too.

And if you get a really good one. Waking up refreshed instead of sore or tired is worth much more than how well your fridge keeps things cool - so even though a fridge may have more parts, a mattress keeps all your parts comfy - or not :-)

I look at it like this - lets say a top mattress costs $3000 and will last 15 years, thats about 54 cents a day for blissful sleep. Now lets say you buy a cheap mattress for $300 that lasts 5 years at the most - thats about 16 cents a day.

So for an extra 34 cents a day you get the best sleep you ever had and feel much better every single day - When you spend 8 hours a day on it and then look at it this way, it seems like a bargain!

Answer 3

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Answer 4

Those few parts are the reason why refrigerators are cheap. The factory just has to bolt in those few pieces. By contrast when they make a mattress they need to put in thousands of springs and wire them into place and then sew around them. By the time that they get all those mattress parts in and connected they have put in so much labor cost that the mattress becomes the more expensive household item.

Answer 5

Most likely, I'd guess, is because the production of mattresses is not automated. The springs and coils may be produced by machinery, but after that, the whole thing is put together by hand. Some items (i.e. textiles) are very difficult to automate and for the most part are produced by hand. Anything that can be mass produced by machines can go down in costs due to constantly improving production methods and anything that is primarily produced by labor, eventually goes up in costs. The only way to reduce labor costs is by finding cheaper labor. It's the same reason services continue to get more expensive, while mass produced goods decline in price (in real terms). Economists call it "the cost disease of the service sector" because it's very difficult to get productivity gains in the service sector, unlike in the manufacturing sector.

Answer 6

ok i've got not got back issues in line with se keep for the back discomfort you unavoidably get from donning around double d's. And from lifting heavy boxes of books at artwork, which I would desire to do now and returned. and not utilising my back help at artwork correct;....etc. yet yeah my back hurts. I also have a memory foam and not something approximately me hurts when I arise in the direction of the night. i will inform you the mattress is chilly in iciness and warm in the summertime. I even have an quite heat blanket on precise of the mattress to insulate maximum appropriate now. It incredibly does style on your physique, so each and everything gets help. @ Nikko - i presumed you asked this. O guy i'm getting old. And sure I even have arthritis too. extra often than not in the knees in spite of the incontrovertible fact that it is in charge for alot my aches someplace else.

Answer 7

Most mattress will last about 20 years. Most refrigerators last about 10 years.
If you get a good mattress it will make you feel better every day for that 20 years.
It's a small price to pay to make you feel good daily.

Answer 8

If I understood correctly when visiting in '88, after AIDS the sale and use of second hand mattresses was banned out of plague fears in many states, this led to a huge rise in demand and therefore cost.
Another reason would be the manufacture of electrical goods by virtually slave labour in China currently.

Answer 9

Buy a Tempur-Pedic mattress and you'll thank me everyday. I suggest a Deluxe 10". Cost about the same as my refrigerator.

Answer 10

my opinion... if you get a good mattress it will last you a long time same as a refrigerator.