I've got to agree with snidely. We bought an extra-firm Sealy from sears 27 years ago and it's still going strong--I'm loathe to give it up! It has since become too hard for me so I bought an all-latex topper for my side, which has been divine. I just bought a mattress for a guest bedroom and don't expect it to last, of course. Sickening, really. What a scam.

LOL While we are 'improving', mattress quality isn't?

We have been happy with Verlo quality since 1964. We can buy double-sided mattresses from them, but not from Sears -- or anywhere?

We are now on our third set of Sears' 'whatever brand' mattresses on Maui since 2001, although that may be due to having some 'unknown elephant' guests. (We are 105 and 185 pounds.)

I'd go for new. I don't exactly know how a mattress would be refurbished, but your second statement from Verlo that they would 'do it again' leaves me with the feeling that you might have aggravation in store.
The things is, back pain can not only ruin your night, it can ruin your day, your weekâ¦.
There's plenty of back pain misery to go around, you don't deserve any of it.
I'm wondering whether a doctor's prescription for a new orthopedic mattress set to help prevent back pain might make the purchase either partially reimbursable by insurance or deductible as a medical expense.

2 years ago we bought a Simmons Queen mattress set, on sale for $1,000. I bought a "plush." ;they delivered a 'firm' instead and I couldn't sleep for weeks. I discovered the mistake and they replaced it with a plush.

Simmons have a 10-year warranty, and a couple of months ago I contacted the store and they were having their rep come out to look at it. It's lumpy, the inside filling shifts all over the place. When we put it on it's side, the stuffing falls to the bottom. WTHeck?!

A rep finally came out a few weeks ago and deemed it bad enough for a replacement. Then they have to get Simmons to agree with their assessment. We got a call last week saying that it has been approved, so now we have to wait for the store to contact us with delivery of a new one.

We have a Sealy in the guest room that is 13 or 14 years old and firm...I really need to get a topper for it because it is very firm...but it is still like new...

I can't imagine having anything but a Temper Pedic...I know so many people that poo poo them but I'm 75 years old and have slept on a lot of mattresses and never slept better than a Temper Pedic..I have never slept on a mattress where I go to sleep and just sleep all night long with out moving at all..My body is so comfortable it doesn't feel the need to move. . My friend sells mattresses and can have her pic of the best of the best at big discounts and she chose Temper Pedic as well.

The old "S brands" (Sealy, Serta, Simmons, Stearns & Foster) were a lot better than the ones made today--at least that's the consensus of most of the mattress sites I consulted when I was shopping 8 years ago. It's said to be true of the Sleep Number beds as well.

One of the several mattresses I bought and returned during that period was a $1,000 Stearns & Foster that developed a measurable dip after only two days. So my advice would be to avoid the Sealy.

I ended up buying a mattress from an independent company that sold to only four states. It's out of business now, and that's a shame.

If I were mattress shopping now (I hesitate to even put that out there, after my last shopping ordeal) I'd at least consider a foam mattress--latex, TempurPedic, or one of the less expensive memory foam models sold on Amazon or at Sam's Club or Costco. A lot of people love them.

You've got 6 years yet to get the sag into 'failure mode', then get new ones for free.

Just keep in mind that if you do get a memory foam mattress (no matter what brand), it will smell to high heaven for several weeks. I don't know what it is, but those things are horrible until they've aired out. Then they are wonderful.

If you're not sure whether or not you'd really like a memory foam mattress, do a Google search for hotels and bed & breakfasts in your area that use TempurPedic beds. Then, book a one- or two-night stay to "test them out."

I'm with Ruthie on the memory foam (tempur pedic) mattress. Ours did NOT smell at all, and I've never slept better!

Doesn't all foam compress? There's foam inside innerspring mattresses. I suspect that compression of the foam is why our mattresses are sagging under the heavier pelvis area of our bodies. Foam also traps heat, so I don't think I want it directly in contact with my skin.

I bought a memory foam topper for my bed and it has made a huge positive difference. I no longer toss and turn.
The toppers are relatively inexpensive, you might consider ordering one and trying it out for a week prior to making your bed purchase.

Chisue - yes, foam compresses. But memory foam de-compresses when you move or get up. Also, I put a mattress pad and sheets on my mattress, so the foam isn't in direct contact with my skin, plus my mattress has a "cooling layer" to counteract the "heat" thing you mentioned.

I'm menopausal, our house does not have central A/C (we have window units), and I sleep "cool" - not hot. Just FYI.

The only time I noticed the smell was when we noticed the smell was when we order the 4" toppers for the RV....

I've heard so many complaints about foam and heat but it's never been a problem for us...Our Tempur Pedic has a nice thick cover on it and with sheets and cover I have never had an issue with heat..the RV toppers have cooling gel in its layers...I bought them because I had read so much about the heat even though I had never had issues...One person I read just used an extra coverlet between her body and the mattress..I think there are a lot of knockoffs out there and maybe that is what people are getting...We bought ours back in the early days wheh they were very expensive but my husband put his body down on it and he would have paid twice as much for it he liked it so much...I have noticed though that the cover doesn't fit as snug anymore...did the cover stretch...or the mattress shrink....

TemperPedic Owners -- How long have you had the mattresses you are writing about?

My only 'insider' info is from a friend who said hers compressed within a few years. She'd paid $1000 for a twin, and she is a tiny person. Others have said they felt like they were lying in 'quicksand' -- couldn't easily move out of the impression their bodies made in the foam.

We were HOT on foam toppers we tried on our bed on Maui. (Another donation to the resale shop!) We DO like the ultra-thick cotton mattress pad over the firm Sealy king we bought for the condo this spring.

(I shouldn't have said 'next to my skin'. I meant 'closest to me', under the pad and bottom sheet -- as opposed to foam within the interior of an innerspring mattress.)

It's funny how people can have contrasting opinions.

I can't and won't sleep on a foam mattress, I find them hot and uncomfortable. I've checked out of hotels within 15 minutes of checking in, when I've found a foam mattress in the room. Fortunately, they're not too commonly used in the trade.

I think there is a difference in a foam mattress and a Temper Pedic...Our mattress is about 9 almost 10 years old and we paid a little over $3K for it...

I didn't want to buy it because our Sealy was only 2 years old and it was a very good expensive mattress..The mattress that the Sealy replaced was a foam that was at least 20 years old....my DH went nuts over the Tempur Pedic mattress and no matter how much I argued he told me he was buying the danged mattress so I might as well stop wasting my breath...It is heavy beyond description...it took I think 5 men to bring it in and they struggled...It is all I can do to lift the corner to put the sheet over it...I am sure there is normal wear and tear, but it still sleeps good and I thought it was showing some of the body imprint and then realized that it was actually the comforter and not the mattress...

I know there are just as many people that hate them and wouldn't buy one...this is strictly my opinion...I love mine and the first night that I slept on it...I woke up and realized that I had not even moved and woke up in the exact same position that I went to sleep in the night before...didn't recall that ever happening before in my whole life...

Take a look at the mattress review site listed below... they rate traditional mattresses as well as the foam ones.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sleep Like The Dead reviews

I have an 8yr old Queen Sealy Posturpedic, paid $700, back then. Included delivery AND a bed frame. LOVE it!

About Tempur-Pedic . . . when I was researching mattresses I learned that memory foam mattresses consist of 3 or 4 inches of memory foam on top of cheaper foam. At that time, Tempur-Pedic used a higher quality foam for the bottom layer than other memory foam mattress manufacturers.

That was 8 years ago, and since then I wouldn't be surprised if some of the other manufacturers upped the quality of their foams, based on reviews I've read.

I saw a dumb TV ad for a cheap memory foam mattress today. It was bragging that their 9" mattress cost less than Tempur-Pedic's 8" model. I guess a commercial like that works because so many people assume a memory foam mattress is all memory foam. But it's not, and I'm sure the cheap mattress guy simply added another inch of cheap foam to the bottom layer.

I bought the 4" Spa Sensations memory foam topper from WalMart. Oh my - it is wonderful on our bed! Our bed was 20 years old and this has made it into a new bed!

It took a good solid day to "unform" from the box - but I just love it.

We've had ours five years - it's as good as new. :)

I just completed a search for a twin mattress for a twin mattress set for a guest room, (former kid's room,) and they ALL have some kind of memory foam on/near the top now.

One thing about memory foam mattresses... make sure you have a waterproof cover on it if spills are an issue. They have some nice, soft covers now that you would never guess are waterproof. I got a highly rated one at Amazon for about $20.