Would you buy a floor-model mattress for 50% off?

Was there plastic over it while on the floor? If so, yes, I’d buy it. If not, probably not. All those people sitting on it, laying on it, kids wiping who knows what on it.

Yep. We got screaming deals on several mattresses because they were floor models.

Sure! I am sure no one put it through the kind of abuse while it sat in the showroom floor that I would when it is in my bedroom.

Ew, no. I’m sure there were many unsupervised children who were allowed to jump on that thing. Something I sleep on every night had better not been sat on or jumped on by anyone else. This is one thing I won’t try to save money on. This has nothing to do with germs, just my general comfort. Sleep is important to me because I don’t sleep easily.

I used to work at a furniture store, and I would have no hesitations about buying a floor model mattress. For one thing, they are typically covered (with sheets, with plastic, or something). For another, fewer people take the opportunity to lay down on it than you might guess.

The discount is largely a result of public perception: stores provide it because you just can’t sell a floor model for full price even if there’s no real difference between it and a new product. In fact, new mattresses are often stored upright in a back room or warehouse (which can cause damage over time), and you always get the one that’s been sitting around the longest. The floor model, on the other hand, has been laying flat all along.

Also, keep in mind that any reputable company will disinfect a floor model. They won’t necessarily tell you this (since some people freak out wondering why disinfectant is needed, not realizing it’s standard procedure), but it will almost always get done. The company I worked for used a special odorless, hypoallergenic furniture spray that dissipated fairly quickly. I don’t know what other companies use.

Yes! I cover my mattress with a zippered plastic cover and a mattress pad before I put on sheets. And particularly after what @SavoirFaire said, I’d have no doubts.

@SavoirFaire I’ve never entered a furniture store that didn’t have someone sitting on a piece of furniture for sale. I would never buy a piece of furniture without trying it out first. Do you live in a virtual world or what?

@jonsblond No, I live in a physical world. And if you read my answer, you’ll see that I worked in an actual, physical furniture store. Your habits are not necessarily the habits of all human beings.

Yes. I wouldn’t buy one off craigslist or in a garage sale unless it was in the original wrapper. I once got one that way… But that is rare.

Most furniture stores or department stores carry a protectent wrapper to protect from spills and wet spots and such… If you take that route don’t get the plastic one but the spendier fabricish one. I was so happy that I did that with the last one since I had to move it multiple times in the last two years.

My current one is a floor model and I only saved 15%. I feel a bit ripped off now. There wasn’t any pee or poo stains and I would hope people don’t sweat while shopping for a mattress. I am all grown up now and use sheets so I don’t care.

Only if it’s been previously used by careless teenagers.

Sure. If you were really worried you could have it disinfected yourself after saving 50%.

@SavoirFaire and your experience working at a furniture store is not necessarily the same experience as all human beings.

@jonsblond I am well aware of that, which is why I made sure to couch my answer in terms of my personal experience and what I learned about the industry through that experience. Moreover, I did not say that floor model mattresses are unused. What I said was that they are not as used as some people might think. It was not intended to be a response to your first post (in which you say you would not purchase a mattress that had ever been used at all), so please stop taking this personally.