Mattress Name Game
How to Beat the Mattress Name Confusion
A longstanding tradition in the mattress industry is for retailers to sell the same mattress under different model names. The sole purpose of this confusing practice is to prevent you from comparison shopping.
MAP-Priced vs. Name Game mattresses
Whether you are shopping in a mattress store, furniture store, or department store, the majority of mattresses today fall into two pricing styes of pricing: "Minimum Advertised Price" (MAP) models, and what we call "Name Game" models. See our Mattress Pricing Overview for more detail on how these two pricing approaches compare, as well as other common pitfalls to avoid.
In short, MAP models have the same name from store to store, but also have the same pricing at every store, meaning there is no need to comparison shop. Name Game models have different prices in each store, but also have different names, making it extremely difficult to comparison shop.
From a consumer's perspective, the primary advantage of MAP-priced mattresses is peace of mind. Because prices and promotions are the same across every retailer, you can rest easy knowing that you got a fair deal on your mattress. This lets you focus on other important factors when choosing where to buy, like convenience, customers service, and store policies. See our MAP-Pricing Guide for more detail on how to purchase this kind of mattress, and some of the brands that use this type of pricing.
In this article, we're discussing Name Game models, which have always been a meaningful portion of what you'll find in most traditional mattress or furniture stores. The advantage of a Name Game mattress is that it offers the possibility of getting a below-market bargain. By the same token, its chief disadvantage is the possibility of getting ripped off — ie, overpaying for a mattress that can be found elsewhere for less under another name. On balance, Name Game models tend to have higher profit margins for retailers, meaning the latter outcome is more likely than the former. However, with some knowledge and research, consumers can sometimes beat the system.
How does the mattress name game work?
There are a couple variations of how the Name Game system works, but in practice it results in a consumer finding a mattress they like in a given store and then being unable to find that same mattress at any other store in their area. In some cases, this is achieved by every retailer across the country getting their own unique model names. In other cases, unique model names are reserved for only the largest retailers in the country, and 3-6 other model name variations are created for smaller regional retailers. Either way, the system is designed to ensure that in any given region, only one retailer will carry a product that has this particular name and cover.
In some cases, even with product lines that are technically MAP-priced, the largest few retailers in the country may be granted unique model names for their versions. The retailer-specific versions may even boast an additional feature that is not found in the national line. In our experience, this 'bonus feature' is typically a red herring, meant to draw your attention away from other less-visible (or even invisible) downgrades relative to the national version. Ultimately, this flavor of the Name Game still has the same underlying effect, which is to deny consumers the ability to compare prices for like products. On balance, we have found that with most retailer-specific models, the consumer ends up paying more and/or getting less relative to what they would have gotten in the national MAP-priced line. As such, we generally recommend that consumers avoid these retailer-specific models.
A common misconception about Name Game mattresses is that this system is driven by manufacturers. More accurately, the Name Game pricing system is certainly enabled by the manufacturer, but it happens at the explicit request (or even insistence) of the retailer. The retailer is the one who benefits from being able to sell products at higher margins by preventing consumers from being able to compare prices. The manufacturer is actually harmed by this practice, since they are severely hindered in their ability to build brand equity in their products when these products are sold under different names in each store. Thus, meeting the demands of their retailers is the only reason for manufacturers to offer this approach to mattress pricing.
A retailer's 'house brand' can also be considered a name game model. In this case, a retailer contracts with a manufacturer to create a bed with their store name on it, and it's likely that bed is very similar to others made by the manufacturer under other names. These so-called 'house brands' are typically where a retailer stands to make the largest profit.
How much do Name Game mattress prices vary between stores?
At GoodBed, we track prices at over 100 top retailers, so we have seen first-hand the wild fluctuations in mattress prices. We've observed that prices for a given model vary widely, both across retailers and over time. In other words, most retailers are constantly moving their prices up and down for each name-game model — sometimes by as much as $1,000 at a time! So on any given day, a model's price may vary by that same amount from one retailer to another. Knowing that 67% of consumers say that they do not need to negotiate the price of a mattress before buying, this means that walking into the wrong store on the wrong day could easily cost you hundreds — if not thousands — of dollars.
Do retailers know which models are the same?
At one time, we had assumed that a common practice of the most savvy retailers would be to closely monitor their competitor's model names, so that they could confidently show customers their comparable versions when asked.
To put this hypothesis to the test, we called 19 different retail stores — a mix of mattress-only retailers and department stores — each of whom carried Sealy Posturepedic (a popular name game product line). With each sales representative, we asked for the mattress on their floor that was the closest equivalent to the Sealy Posturepedic “Reyna Ridge” Euro Plushtop model sold at Macy’s. To our surprise, not a single one of the salespeople was able (or willing) to accurately point us to their most comparable mattress, even after looking up the specifications for the Reyna Ridge. Our conclusion? Don't expect the average salesperson to be able to help you with your mattress comparisons, even when it seems to be in their best interest to do so.
In response to learning this, we created a feature on GoodBed to highlight the closest equivalent models for our readers, as well as similar models from other brands. While we haven't been able to create these lists for every single model, we do show them for thousands of active and discontinued models. If you have a specific model in mind, you can check for its similar models as follows:
- Look up the model on GoodBed using the search box in our header. If we have it listed on our site, you should be able to type the most distinguishable portion of its name into the search box and then find it in the autocomplete dropdown menu.
- Once you've found the profile page for that model, look for a section called Similar Models (in the case of an active product) or Replacement Options (in the case of a discontinued product).
Can mattress shoppers use the name game to their advantage?
With some determined detective work, consumers can still get a good deal on a Name Game mattress. In most cases, this means doing the research, patiently tracking prices, and being willing to negotiate in the store to get the best deal. The key to beating the name game system is having an efficient way to find comparable models, obtain their detailed product specifications, and compare their materials and construction in order to determine if they are the same.
That said, finding out exactly what’s inside a mattress is often easier said than done, since not all manufacturers provide such specs to retailers, and not all retailers provide them to their customers. Some retailers will disclose the layers of a particular mattress, but not the quantities or the order of these layers. Even when the information is available, specs are often rewritten to make them harder to compare, so there’s often some translating required to effectively compare two mattresses. One retailer may say a mattress has “two inches of memory foam” while another retailer will refer to the same layer as “two inches of UltraSoft visco-elastic foam."
Clearly, the mattress name game stacks the deck against consumers. Prices for identical models can vary dramatically at each store, and only the most aggressive and committed consumers will be able to decode this enough to have peace of mind that they aren't over-paying. In some cases, the juice may be worth the squeeze. But in other cases, you may be better off just bypassing the name game and going with a MAP-priced model, or purchasing directly from the manufacturer's website, where pricing is transparent and uniform.
