Pros and Cons of Ordering a Mattress Online

The best foam mattresses-in-a-box earn better stability ratings than their innerspring counterparts, so you’re less likely to be awakened by your partner’s movements.

Innerspring mattresses-in-a-box, made out of steel coils and fiber padding or foam, generally offer more resilience.

Mattresses-in-a-box may be attractive to shoppers seeking fewer choices and generous return policies.

Buying a mattress-in-a-box:

• Simplifies your choice. Mattress-in-a-box sellers have eliminated how difficult it can be to comparison shop by paring down your choices. Many of these companies started out selling one mattress, betting that it will suit most sleepers. Our testing shows that in theory, at least, this approach can work, though many online sellers have expanded their offerings in recent years.
  
  “We’ve seen several mattresses-in-a-box come through the lab that perform consistently, at a level of good to excellent, for sleepers of every body size and sleeping style,” says Chris Regan, a test engineer who oversees CR’s mattress tests. In fact, many top-rated foam mattresses-in-a-box ace our support tests for sleepers of all sizes.
  
• Typically suggests a lengthy return policy. Many mattress-in-a-box firms offer free shipping, and generous trial periods (usually 100 days, sometimes longer) and return policies.  Some companies require you to try the mattress for at least 30 days before arranging a return.
  
  Understand the company’s return policy before you buy. (And if you buy the mattress from a partner retailer, such as Mattress Firm or Amazon, the seller’s policies apply.) If you have the space and really want to be on the safe side, hang on to your old mattress until you’re sure that you’re going to stick with your new one.
  
  Luckily, you won’t have to put the mattress back in the box in the case of a return. Some sellers arrange for the mattress to be picked up, while others help you get in touch with a third party to donate or recycle it.

If you want to try out a mattress before buying it or attempt negotiating for a discount, a mattress-in-a-box may not be for you.

Buying a mattress-in-a-box:

• Means you might not be able to try one out first. CR has long advised readers to lie on a mattress in a store for at least 15 minutes before buying. Past CR surveys have shown that people who abided by this quick rule were more likely to be satisfied with their purchase. You aren’t able to do this if you order online, of course.
  
  Certain companies have worked around this limitation by teaming up with walk-in retailers. For example, you can now try a Leesa mattress at West Elm or Pottery Barn and buy it there for the same price offered at Leesa. Casper has mattresses on display at Raymour & Flanigan that you can curl up on to see how comfortable they are. A handful of mattress-in-a-box companies also have showrooms in large metropolitan areas.
  
• Means more rigid pricing. Mattresses sold at retail stores are usually marked up significantly—allowing the salesperson to have more flexibility in offering a discount if you haggle. In contrast, mattresses-in-a-box are generally sold at a fixed price, making it difficult to negotiate. But that doesn’t mean you can’t save. In fact, our survey found that 68 percent of online hagglers were, in fact, successful (read our article on haggling for tips on how they accomplished this). Often, you just have to ask.
  
  Many companies also offer discounts around the same holidays that traditional retailers do—Presidents Day, Labor Day, and Black Friday. Use a website’s customer service chat feature to ask about upcoming promotions or discounts. And of course, check out our own sales pages.

Although mattress-in-a-box cartons are compact, they can be heavy, ranging from 60 to 150 pounds, and difficult to wrangle alone.

Shipping is often free—for an additional fee, almost all these companies offer white-glove delivery, similar to the services offered by a traditional retailer. Casper, for instance, charges around $200 for in-home delivery and setup, as well as removal of your old mattress.

The set-up process often goes like this:

1. A mattress-in-a-box is compressed and rolled or folded (or both) before shipping. If you’re setting it up yourself, follow the steps outlined by the manufacturer. If you bought a bed frame or platform, put that together first.
2. Because it can be heavy and unwieldy when fully open, the mattress should always be taken to the bedroom where it will be used while it’s still in the box. “Once you take it out of the box,” Regan says, “put it on your box spring or platform before removing the plastic.”
3. “Some will be wrapped in multiple layers of plastic; others have only one,” Regan adds. “You can use scissors or a knife to open them, but take care not to puncture the mattress.”
4. Once the wrapping is removed, the mattress regains the volume that was lost when compressed for shipment. It can take a few hours or a couple of days for it to regain its full shape.

While Casper gets a lot of the credit for the mattress-in-a-box concept, it was actually invented by a machinist from Johnson City, Tenn., in 2007, seven years before Casper launched. Bill Bradley, founder and CEO of Bed in a Box, built a machine that could compress and roll foam mattresses to a size small enough to fit in a shipping box. He trademarked the name and ran with it.

Bradley’s business didn’t make that big a dent in an industry still dominated by more familiar players like 1800Mattress.com and Mattress Firm at the time, though. Once Casper and early competitors like Leesa and Avocado came on to the scene—sometimes backed by venture capital—shoppers began to wonder: Should I really buy a mattress online?

Most mattresses-in-a-box are foam mattresses, but some manufacturers have found inventive ways to cram innerspring and adjustable air mattresses into cartons, too. Though mattresses-in-a-box are a fairly recent invention, they should allow you to get as great a night’s rest as any traditionally solid mattress.