A good mattress won't come cheap. You should prepare to spend hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars to find the bed that's right for you. Still, if you're working with a tighter budget and you're looking to save some cash, then it's worth learning about the best time to buy a mattress.
Before I started as H&G's resident sleep writer, I was a price tracker. I spent eight hours a day surfing the sites of the major mattress merchants, waiting for deals to drop. I learned that the best time to buy a mattress is often a federal holiday. You tend to get deep discounts around Labor Day and Thanksgiving. Don't fret if there isn't a major holiday coming up when you're reading this – you can shop the site-specific sales all year round.
I asked mattress manufacturers and shopping experts to identify the best time to buy a mattress that will save you money and stand the test of time. Along the way, I've picked out a few of the deepest deals on the best beds, tried and tested by H&G sleep experts, to help you find the best mattress for less.
When is the best time to buy a mattress?
Before we begin, a quick sense check − if you're searching for shopping advice to navigate the mattress sales and buy a new bed, then you've come to the right place. If you're nearer the start of your mattress shopping journey, and you're searching for the signs that your old mattress needs replacing, then I suggest you read our expert guide that answers the question: 'when should you buy a new mattress?'
When do mattress sales happen?
The biggest, broadest mattress sales tend to coincide with public holidays. In my time as a sleep writer and a shopping correspondent, I've seen the deepest mattress discounts on Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Presidents' Day and Memorial Day.
With that said, you don't need to wait for a public holiday to bag a mattress at a bargain price. If you're already know the make and model of your dream mattress, then you should watch for site-specific sales. These 'quiet deals' might not be quite as deep as the ones you'll see around federal holidays, but you could still save a few hundred dollars. You never know − you might get some of the best bedding or one of the best mattress protectors thrown in for free.
Now, if you're serious about mattress shopping like a sleep writer, then here's my top tip. I find that the best way to keep abreast of mattress deals is to download a price tracker: camelcamelcamel is a good one for Amazon. You're looking for a browser extension to monitor mattress prices throughout the year, so that you can see when they rise and fall, and work out the best time to buy a mattress from that site.
When can you get the best deal on a mattress?
I asked shopping expert David Bakke for his take on the best time to buy a mattress. He says it depends what you're looking for – you'll see real difference in deals from season to season and store to store.
If you're buying on a budget, David says that the best time to buy a mattress is in the first months of the new year. 'The early springtime is when new mattresses hit the market,' David explains, 'which means that major mattress stores and independent retailers alike will slash their prices to shift last season's stock.' David assures me that 'these older models aren't really that old,' and it's perfectly possible to get good sleep on a great mattress in the clearance sales. To take stock of your options, you could shop at Mattress Firm, where you'll find thousands of premium mattresses at competitive prices.
David says that 'Black Friday is another great time to buy a mattress because, well, everything is on sale.' I covered the Black Friday mattress sales back in November, and I was pleasantly surprised by the breadth and depth of the deals. Sure, there were a few duds, but I found a lot of great value at the specialist sleep stores. I suggest you steer clear of second-hand retailers and shop at the best places to buy a mattress to get the most bang for your buck.
If you're planning an in-person visit to a mattress showroom, then David suggests you hold out to the end of the season. 'Although it might seem a little weird to shop for a mattress on New Year's Eve, remember this: the retailer or salesperson might be trying to hit their individual or store quota for the month, quarter, or year. You could get a steal if you negotiate effectively'. Before you buy, it's worth reading our expert guide that outlines how much you should spend on a mattress.
David has worked as a personal financial analyst for 18 years, offering assistance and advice to customers and consumers on how to save money on big-ticket items, such as mattresses.
To streamline your mattress shopping experience, I've picked out a few of the deepest discounts on my favorite mattresses. Each mattress is tried and tested by an H&G sleep expert for comfort; support; cooling; and motion isolation. If you'd like to learn more about how we test mattresses, then I suggest you consult our expert guide.
I visited the 3Z Factory in Phoenix, Arizona, to see how the Bear Elite Hybrid Mattress gets made. I know how the foam is formulated, how the springs are coiled, and how the whole bed gets put together to strike a careful balance between comfort and support.
You can find more detail in our Bear Elite Hybrid Mattress review.
Our expert tester, Chiana, loves this memory foam mattress for its pressure relief and contouring comfort. The motion isolation is outstanding, which is good news for couples, but the foam tends to trap heat, which is less than ideal for hot sleepers.
You can find more detail in our Emma Original Mattress review.
This hybrid mattress marries the plush comfort of memory foam with the airflow and support of an innerspring. It's the versatility of the DreamCloud Luxury Hybrid Mattress that secures its place in so many of our bedding buying guides − it's got something to suit every sleeper.
You can find more detail in our DreamCloud Luxury Hybrid Mattress review.
Are mattress sales even real?
Are mattress sales real? That's the question our eCommerce Editor, Alex, was asking himself last Black Friday. Like me, Alex spends a lot of his time tracking product prices, and he found that a few of the biggest mattress brands barely changed their prices. Instead, they listed their mattress at the same 'sale price' all year-round, as part of a practice known as 'price-anchoring'.
Since an RRP isn't legally binding, it's very difficult to prove if a mattress price has been mislabelled. The vast majority of mattress sales are 'real', in the legal sense of the word, but that doesn't mean they offer genuine value. That's why I recommend shopping from my shortlist of mattress sales, where I've done all the hard work to separate genuine deals from real fakes.
Michael Gale is the Vice President of Retail at Saatva and he takes a dim view of fake deals. 'Most mattress retailers cut prices when they need to get rid of their older models and make space for new products,' explains Michael. 'This could mean huge discounts and great deals for prospective shoppers – if you're shopping in the right place. When you shop with less reputable retailers, you might end up with a low price on a poor product in a bid to shift stock.'
Michael is quick to clarify that 'this does not apply to Saatva, which makes its mattresses to order for each customer.' If you have some cash to spare, and you're keen to spend it on a bed, then you could consider the best luxury mattress.
Michael is the VP of retail at Saatva, the smarter luxury sleep company, so he knows what makes a good mattress deal. He's been steeped in the world of sleep for more than four years, since he first joined Saatva.
When is the best time to buy a mattress FAQs
What do I need to know before I buy a mattress?
Our expert tester, Chiana, recently wrote an article about the 10 things I wish I knew about mattresses before I bought one. She's covered everything you need to know, but I'd like to pull out her three best bits of advice.
Material: It's worth getting to grips with the major mattress types before you start shopping. There's more to life than memory foam: an innerspring mattress would offer firm support, for example, while a latex mattress boasts better eco-credentials.
Firmness: A lot of people think they want a plush mattress to ease their aches and pains, but you can definitely have too much of a good thing. Most shoppers would be better off with a medium or medium-firm mattress to take some pressure off their joints while promoting proper spinal alignment.
Size: It sounds obvious, but you'd be surprised how often shoppers forget this step: make sure you buy a mattress that fits your bedroom and your bed frame. Double-check the dimensions against our mattress size chart if you're unsure.
Where should I buy a mattress?
Out of all the best places to buy a mattress, I'd start with Saatva. That's the smarter luxury sleep company that makes three of the beds in our mattress buying guides − more than any other mattress brand – including our reigning champion for the title of 'best mattress', the Saatva Classic.
Our verdict
With so many seasonal and site-wide sales throughout the year, there are plenty of good times to buy a mattress. When is best depends on the sort of mattress you're searching for as well as the lower limit of your budget. In short, I suggest that casual shoppers stick to federal holidays, while serious researchers could consider site-wide sales.
If you want to get a real deal on a good mattress, you'll have to put the work in. I recommend you scour the specifications, check the mattress warranty, and read some customer reviews to get the best value for money.
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