It's funny how many of us will spend multiples of the price of a good mattress on a/v gear, wheels, PC stuff, etc...yet sleeping is where much of our time outside work is spent.
I have a bed I don't like. It's a queen and too small. My old king would not fit here, but was a much nicer bed. When I move soon I will probably spend a decent amount, but I will shop the hell out of it.
There is a lot of negotiation in matresses...knowing which are the same, but have a different name goes a long way too.
For the mom and pop type shops....cash goes a long way as well. I don't care what they do with reporting my sale.
My best deal came from my ex-wife going into a bed shop to get sort of crazy on the bed we wanted, but at the time about 15 years ago really could not afford...
We were passing the shop when we thought the idea up and hardly any cars were in the lot. She went in, I waited in the car. She had the undivided attention of the sales staff she said and the 'manager' let her have the bed less than even half the price on it on sale. We found out later it was less than the store probably paid. He totally bought into it...she gave him a price she could afford and he, at first...tried to show her lesser models. She just pouted and went back to the bed we wanted, more craziness...
After she signed the deal, he asked if he could call her at that number to take her to a nice dinner or something. I wish I could hear all that happened...I was just watching from the car, it was like a bloopers reel. Anyway when she mentioned she was married and her husband probably would not feel comfortable with her going out to dinner with some 'mattress guy', she said all the guys just sort of got quiet and it was ackward.
The guys delivering the bed mentioned 'so you are the lady that really liked this bed.'
:evil: