Is an expensive pillow worth the price?

I think I got a “deal” on a My Pillow when I bought my mattress some years ago. (This was before the politics came into it.) I will say that it has held up much longer than the $19.99 ones I was replacing every few years because they floofed out. It is foam and mostly quite comfortable and I am an insomniac.

Would that make me pay $200 for a pillow? Probably not.

To your other point, I have never seen mattresses that weren’t on a “special sale” which makes me wonder if people ever pay the full listed price for them.

I would never pay $200 for a pillow. We love the solid latex foam ones if they’re not too firm. I can’t recall the price; I got ours on JC Penney. com and Overstock.

I’m indifferent to whatever supposed quality among pillows. The same holds for mattresses. The wife on the other hand is the proverbial princess and the pea. And my take from bitter experience is that with those for whom such things are crucial to the quality of their sleep, a $200 pillow may be salvation.

I can’t see how. It would probably have to do with the price of the material inside and little to do with it actually providing a better sleeping experience. I have a $50 pillow I bought off Amazon. It has rave reviews. And yeah, it’s good, but like any pillow, it flattens out over time. At least I can reshape it when that happens because it has foam inside. But to me pillows are never going to be perfect, and $200 won’t change that. But I’m just guessing. I’m curious, if you try it, whether you really think it’s superior to one costing $50 or less.

I’ve tried almost every kind of pillow (except My Pillow) and price doesn’t seem to be a factor. My Hilfiger pillows work just as well as my Target pillows, just more stitching and a label.

I have four “My Pillows” they are better and nice to hug at night, but don’t stay cold like they say it is. I was thinking about getting a Purple Pillow for $165, but heard that it smells of plastic, so I will hold off from buying it until they fix the problem.

My pillows are about 2 for $15 (becomes 2 for 10 on sale) at Costco. All cotton cover, nice quality. I used to enjoy down pillows but they’re expensive and they get to smell weird after a few years. That’s the extent of my personal pillow knowledge.

To restate the question: What are you willing to pay for a pillow, and is it worth it?

I have no intention of spending $200. But there’s a long range between $6 and $200. That’s why I asked: What are you getting when you spend more than a few dollars?

I’m willing to spend a little more, but if there is essentially no difference between a $20 item and a $200, what’s the point?

Exactly!

@Jeruba I would spend $200 for a pillow. I spend most of my day laying prone in bed or on the couch. I would spend more if the pillow keeps my head cool. I would buy a pillow that stays balanced on my head to block out the light. One of these days I will buy a snorkel to breathe with a heavy pillow on my head.

@Jeruba In my experience, a cheap pillow will flatten easily and then that’s it, it’s flat for life (and thus to me, it’s garbage). The $50 pillow I have at least stays firm for longer and once it does flatten, it can be “reset”. That’s why I’d spend more. But I can’t say anything about pillows more expensive than that.

@Demosthenes I’ve found the same thing. “My Pillow” which was listed at $99 hasn’t flattened whereas the $20 ones did and stayed flat. YMMV

The pillows on my bed were inexpensive, but I think I would pay up to $75 if a pillow was truly better in some way. $200 is insane to me for a pillow.

As with almost everything, it depends on why you’re being charged more. A popular brand name? Higher quality of materials? Local production instead of child labour?

Potentially, you could get the luxury of not breathing in harmful fumes. That’s why I paid $30 instead of $3 for my pillow, which contains nothing but organic spelt.

@All I have to say that comment of mine about “My Pillow” was made long before I knew what a jerk the owner is. I would never buy one now and in fact, i stopped using it because it wasn’t comfortable ultimately.