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Comment by smacktoward | Hacker News Reader

> Our foam should last 5-7 years before there is any deformity/compression

5-7 years doesn't seem like a particularly long time in the context of the life of a mattress. My (limited) understanding has always been that mattresses are the sort of thing many people hold onto for decades. In that context "it'll be good for five years" doesn't sound reassuring.

If you're positioning your product on price, you could make the counterargument that with your mattresses people could afford to replace them much more frequently than they typically do, of course. Just pointing out how this marketing point would strike me, if I were a potential customer.

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Thank you for the feedback.

We're not fans of holding onto mattresses for very long, of course we're biased on this; but, no matter what the material is you will develop body impressions and compression in the mattress. Be it synthetic materials or natural materials like cotton or wool. Compression can lead to degraded pressure point relief which can lead to spinal issues and discomfort.

Regarding the 5-7 years, if you look at a mattress that has a 10-25 year warranty closely you will notice that it is pro-rated. Meaning each year you own it, they will credit you less and less. This essentially breaks even somewhere around 5 years. Not to mention they make you jump through some serious hoops to prove it is damaged. We view this as a gimmick. So what we do is just provide a clean warranty at 5 years and exchange it if there are any problems. It may very well last longer but we felt at this point in time for our startup that we should stick to 5 years and evaluate whether we can extend beyond that.

Honestly, we want to see how customers will treat us when that time comes.

Thank you again for the feedback.

$100 a year for a mattress at their price is downright cheap, assuming you don't even go the full 7.

5-7 years is MTTF for just about every mattress in existence. I pitch mine after 5 years as is; Those things are dirty after 5 years of sleeping on the same surface every night.

That's the point behind mattress covers/pads. For $50/$100, you get something to put on top of the mattress to absorb the dirt. After a few years, you can replace them for a fraction of the cost of a new mattress. They can also be removed and washed.

Covers are great (I have and use one) because they keep sweat and dirt out (which kill mattresses the fastest) but they do not prevent the mattress itself from deteriorating due to constant weight.

Mattresses may be marketed for a long life span but they rarely last that long. I've had a queen size $3k mattress that lasted 8 years. Bought a $1.5k replacement that lasted 1.25 years before it had noticeable body impressions. Mattressfirm replaced it in warranty. A $2k mattress at 4 years is $1.38 per day. You won't notice a mattress is destroying your back until it's too late.

I am doing something wrong then.

We bought mattresses in the 'mid-range' ($500-600) and the springs went in the centre in 1-1.5 years. The best one we have had has been a refurbished mattress from the local charity store for $100.

We've just resulted to stacking enough foam pads on ours until I get a nice enough place to live to buy a decent bed setup. Apartment life is nice and cheap, but the nice expensive stuff is hard to justify. I bought a 50" plasma and a new laptop this month; the first new computer purchase since 2007, first new TV purchase since 2009 or so (shitty 32" lcd).

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