Are mattress sales even real? Our shopping editor investigates

On the first Monday of every month, I update our mattress sales page. I'm on the hunt for deep discounts that knock hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars off the price of a new mattress. As the months go on, I've found that some sales prices don't represent genuine value – and, if a mattress deal seems too good to be true, it probably is.

I'm part of the H&G eCommerce team. A big part of my job involves surfing the sites of major merchants, watching their product prices go up and down and waiting for deals to drop. Over time, I've observed that some of the biggest mattress brands list 'sales' prices that never change throughout the year. To me, this indicates that the mattress isn't actually worth its MSRP, so you might be getting a bad deal.

When you're shopping the mattress sales, it pays to keep your wits about you. I asked a panel of mattress manufacturers how to spot a genuine deal from a real fake so that you can get the best mattress for a fair price.

Are mattress sales real? Our expert investigates

Before we begin, it helps to define our terms. This article should tell you everything you need to know about price anchoring, as well as the crucial difference between MSRP and the actual price of a product.

What's the deal with mattress sales?

As an eCommerce editor, I employ a price tracking tool to keep abreast of the best online mattress deals, learning where and when they drop. I've observed that the prices at some of the biggest mattress brands stay static throughout the year.

Say a mattress is listed for $1,200, and it's discounted in the mattress sales to $700. If that discount only runs for a few weeks before returning to full price, then that creates some incentive to buy. If, instead, the mattress stays at $700 all year round, then you aren't really bagging a good mattress at a great price − you're just buying an inferior mattress for what it's really worth.

This practice is known as price anchoring. According to the team at Talon.One, 'Price anchoring is a marketing strategy where a business establishes a visible starting price for a product but emphasizes its current discounted price. The initial price acts as a reference point or "anchor" against which the lower-price option is contrasted, creating a perception of greater attractiveness for the discounted option.' If the mattress never returns to its anchor price, then it fails to represent real value, and you might not be getting a good deal in the mattress sales.

Let's go back to that $1,200 mattress, discounted to $700. Once the sale is over, the mattress should return to its listed price. What I often see, instead, is mattress brands raising their own MSRP to create the impression of a deeper discount. Suddenly, the mattress will be listed for $1,300, and discounted to $800. Since an RRP isn't legally binding, sales prices and MSRPs can fluctuate throughout the year. It's bad form on the part of the business, but to prove that the price of a mattress is continuously mislabelled, you'd need to file a lawsuit.

Have there been lawsuits?

Yes – the practice of price anchoring has led to several lawsuits against major mattress brands in an increasingly litigious industry. There are ongoing class action suits in California against Brooklyn Bedding and Emma Mattress, which I would have said are some of the best places to buy a mattress.

These suits claim that the practice of listing 'sales' prices throughout the year constitutes false advertising. The case makes for interesting reading on TopClassActions.com. Sean Phillips, who filed against Brooklyn Bedding, complains that the brand uses countdown clocks to suggest that the sales are on the verge of ending, though they are allegedly always available. 'As a result, everything about the Defendant's price and purported discount advertising is false,' the Brooklyn bedding class action states. 'The purported discounts the Defendant advertises are not the true discount that customer is receiving, and are often not a discount at all.' As I said, the case is ongoing, so we can't draw any legal conclusions, but it's clear that savvy shoppers are alert to the dangers of price anchoring.

How do I find genuine mattress deals?

According to Angelo Albertini, Founder and CEO of MyBespokeMattress, 'these lawsuits have brought attention to the need for transparent pricing and the importance of protecting consumers from potentially misleading sales tactics.' I asked Angelo for his top tips to find genuine mattress deals.

Whether you're shopping for a mattress in-store or online, Angelo recommends a strategy of 'compare and conquer'. Once you've settled on a make and model for your mattress, cross-check the price across a range of retailers. You might find that a perceived saving at one store isn't a saving at all, but a reflection of the real value of the mattress.

To get a deep discount, Angelo suggests shopping in-store, where you'll find older mattress models that offer similar comfort and support to the stuff you see online for a fraction of the price. When you shop with a specialist sleep store, you know you're protected by a watertight mattress warranty that might not apply in the end-of-season sales.

To streamline your shopping experience, I've rounded up a few of my favorite mattress deals. Each mattress is tried and tested by an H&G sleep expert for comfort, support, cooling, and motion isolation.

Mattress sales FAQs

When do mattress sales happen?

The best time to buy a mattress is also the best time to buy an air fryer, a stand mixer, a vacuum cleaner – during a federal holiday. Coming up, you'll see major mattress sales around Labor Day and Thanksgiving.

Who has mattress sales?

If you know where to look, there's almost always a mattress sale on somewhere. I cover the mattress sales on the first Monday of each month, putting all the best deals into one place to save you time and money.

Final thoughts

Once you've safely shopped the mattress sales, it's time to dress the rest of the bed. Luckily for you, I also keep track of the bedding sales to help you save money on sheets, shams, quilts, and comforters.