I got a sour taste in my mouth for Casper when I learned of their Federal lawsuits against affiliate bloggers who reviewed their product. I personally felt like Sleepopolis's review of Casper was as fair and observational as one could get with such a thing.<p>Lawsuit Details:
<a href="https://sleepopolis.com/blog/casper-sues-sleepopolis-with-federal-lawsuit/" rel="nofollow">https://sleepopolis.com/blog/casper-sues-sleepopolis-with-fe...</a><p>Casper Mattress Review:
<a href="https://sleepopolis.com/mattress-reviews/casper-mattress-review/" rel="nofollow">https://sleepopolis.com/mattress-reviews/casper-mattress-rev...</a>
I did a ton of research on mattresses when getting a new bed two years ago. Casper was my first choice since I heard so much about it from my startup friends. I wanted one that was biodegradable with no off-gassing. I took a deep dive into Casper's safety claims and it opened up a whole can of worms.<p>I've never seen an industry with so much greenwashing. The organizations that certify the mattresses as being safe are comprised of the suppliers themselves. They are basically chemical companies pushing cheap non-biodegradable foam with crazy markups under exotic brand names. Casper just sells this cheap foam with questionable safety standards like everyone else. The only standard I found not to be shady was GOTS [1].<p>I ended up making my own mattress from slabs of organic latex. It was cheaper and more comfortable than the Casper anyway. Now when I have guests over I can easily remove a layer and have another temporary mattress. They ship compressed and rolled up in boxes which were way smaller than the Casper one. (Btw, the box advertised in Casper ads and in their showroom is nowhere near the size of the actual delivered box. It's massive). If you don't want to make your own, here's a good one: <a href="https://sleeponlatex.com/products/natural-latex-mattress" rel="nofollow">https://sleeponlatex.com/products/natural-latex-mattress</a>.<p>[1] <a href="http://www.global-standard.org" rel="nofollow">http://www.global-standard.org</a>
For those looking for a new mattress, I'd highly recommend Thr Mattress Underground[0]. It's an unbelievably comprehensive resource for mattress reviews and discussion, and goes into great detail about the mattress industry in general (and the "disruptors" including Casper, among others).<p>[0] <a href="https://www.themattressunderground.com" rel="nofollow">https://www.themattressunderground.com</a>
In the UK, Eve, a rival maker also just (around a month ago) IPO'd here in the UK. Their figures are scary at the moment, with a CPA hovering around £250-£300 and returns of 15% on the mattresses with the 100-night trial. All that with an average order value was only £450, on a product people buy every 10 years! They lost £11.3m last year on earnings of £12m, so no wonder their shares have been on the decline since IPO.<p>The mattress market may be big, but there are so many clones - surely only one or two can win out.
Worth listening to this story from Marketplace: Why are there so many mattress stores?<p><a href="https://www.marketplace.org/2016/05/02/world/why-are-there-so-many-mattress-stores" rel="nofollow">https://www.marketplace.org/2016/05/02/world/why-are-there-s...</a><p>Basically, mattresses in the US are sold at a very high markup (couple hundred times the cost) so it's an easy way to make money.
Is it me or does anyone else fine $550 twin size mattress insanely expensive ? On amazon[0] you can find so many options under $100. I had one of these and used it for two years - it was still good in the end.<p>[0] <a href="https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=twin+mattress&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Atwin+mattress" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3...</a>
I shared a cowork space with some of the founders when they were struggling with a previous soon-to-fail startup. It's inspiring to see how things worked out the second time around.
How much R&D does Casper do in developing their mattresses? Seems like they're more of a marketing experiment than a "bedtime is back" sleep revolution.
I tried a bed in a box from another well rated brand and didn't like it. Felt fine for a few days but gave me back problems after a week. I think there's a reason hotels aren't using these foam mattresses--most people don't like them. I see this as a fad to be honest, but I could also be wrong.
A company that sells expensive mattresses over the internet raises that much money ? And is doing an IPO ? This is literally internet gone mad. Mattresses are commodity products trying very hard to differentiate themselves.
The only way to buy a bed that makes sense to me is to go to the store and lay on them all, then buy the one that feels best. I don't understand apps and websites for this. You will sleep on it every night, for years!
I wonder how their 100 nights warranty works.
Do they just come and pick the mattress back from your house if you don't like it and do you get a full refund? Anyone who bought it can explain? Are there hidden fees?
I'm going to be in the market for a new mattress soon, so might as well "Ask HN": Can anyone recommend a mattress with a reasonable price that I can buy in Europe (Germany, specifically)?
Yet another little corner of life where I'm left wondering out in the dark. Absolutely not denigrating anyone's preferences - it's just that I simply don't get it: Give me a slab of foam rubber - and maybe give me a new one after five or ten years - and I couldn't be happier. Fancy mattresses range - in my limited view - from <i>quite on a level with foam</i> down to <i>way too squishy</i>.
My inlaw family does run a mattress distribution company. They have represented many brands over the last 30 years. There is one thing that never changes, you get what you pay for. So before buying into the whole "cut the intermediaries", "mattresses have big markups", lies - yes, lies, I'd advice to do a lot of research and see what you buy.<p>I've run the idea of moving the family business to a similar online model to what casper, eve and others are doing, with similar prices, margins, etc. multiple times. and we always drop this idea off because it's impossible to sell in the prices these companies do and sleep well with yourself, i.e. these guys have the same margins but they sell pretty basic mattresses with a 5 years ( if you are lucky ) lifetime under regular use.
I'm not convinced that a mattress is even a useful product. I have been mattress free for about a third of my life and it's basically fine.<p>The best argument for sleeping on a bed that I've heard is "chicks don't dig it", which has not been my experience, certainly not once you get through the door. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)