The Cheapest Mattress Is Usually the Most Expensive - SA Manufacturer Publishes Rand-Per-Year Warning for Budget Buyers

Mr Mattress - which openly admits it does not sell South Africa's cheapest bed - says two pieces of paper separate a budget bargain from an 18-month write-off: a published density figure and a written warranty.

BLOEMFONTEIN, South Africa - South African mattress manufacturer Mr Mattress has released consumer guidance for budget mattress shoppers, urging them to price beds in "rand per year of use" rather than the number on the till slip - and opening with an unusual admission.

"Let me be straight: we don't make the cheapest mattress in South Africa," says Andries Taljaard, founder of Mr Mattress, which manufactures at facilities in Gauteng, Cape Town, East London and Bloemfontein. "No-name foam singles sell from around R1,299. Ours starts at R2,399. But the R1,299 bed is usually low-density foam with no published spec and no warranty - and when it sags into a hammock inside two years, it works out among the most expensive sleep money can buy."

The arithmetic of a "bargain"

According to the manufacturer, an unlabelled budget mattress that fails at 18 months costs roughly R866 per year of use - before counting the replacement trip and the discomfort preceding it. A budget mattress built at 45 kg/m3 density that lasts years longer costs a fraction of that per year, despite the higher purchase price.

"Nothing about a low price requires a bad mattress," says Taljaard. "What kills budget beds is what the low price hides: density. The no-name market survives by never printing that number."

"Smart cheap": two pieces of paper

The company's guidance defines what it calls "smart cheap" - the lowest price that still includes a published foam density (45 kg/m3 minimum for nightly adult use) and a written warranty covering sagging.

Mr Mattress's own budget model, the Comfort Foam, sells from R2,399 with a published 45 kg/m3 density and a 3-year written warranty, factory-direct with a 365-night home trial and free nationwide delivery. "It's not the cheapest mattress in the country," says Taljaard. "It's the cheapest one we know of that shows you its numbers. That's the entire difference we're asking shoppers to look for - from anyone they buy from."

About Mr Mattress

Mr Mattress is a South African mattress manufacturer founded by Andries Taljaard, producing high-density foam, memory foam and hybrid mattresses at facilities in Gauteng, Cape Town, East London and Bloemfontein. All products are made with SABS-approved materials and sold factory-direct with a 365-night home trial and free nationwide delivery. Showroom: 47 Piet Human Street, Bloemfontein.