When is the best time to buy a mattress?

Major holidays

The Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping holidays after Thanksgiving do indeed mean serious deals at major U.S. mattress retailers. Often, you find low prices throughout November — and beyond.

To give a few examples, Mattress Firm offers major price cuts like up to $500 off mattress bases and they’ll also toss in a free adjustable base, while Macy’s advertises its lowest prices of the season from Nov. 1 to Jan. 31, such as queen mattresses starting at $139.

Presidents Day in mid-February brings more great mattress sales.

Recent Presidents Day deals have included the DreamCloud mattress selling for $699 (down from $1,198) and 35% off the $1,239 base price of a Cocoon Chill Memory Foam mattress by Sealy, which brought it down to $805.

The Fourth of July is one of the most popular times for mattress bargains. Sales often run for at least the entire week of July Fourth.

For the holiday in 2022, Mattress Firm and department stores put mattresses on sale both online and in-store, with Macy’s offering up to 45% off select mattresses and Sears and Mattress Firm offering up to 60% off, reports SleepJunkie.org.

Online mattress retailers like Spindle and Nolah joined in, offering Fourth of July discounts ranging from $150 to $700 off select regular-priced mattresses.

Labor Day may offer sales on stationery and other back-to-school items, but that's not all. Many mattress sellers run sales starting the Friday of Labor Day weekend and running through Labor Day Monday and later.

Deals this year include up to $1,000 off certain Beautyrest mattresses and up to 60% off brands like Serta, Sealy and more at Mattress Firm.

Veterans Day is a time to thank American heroes for their service — and it brings the first of the year-end mattress sales.

In 2021, Brooklyn Bedding offered 25% off mattresses for Veterans Day — and gave members of the military an extra 5%, and Sleep Number even knocked off $1,000 from one of its high-tech models, writes Forbes.

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Best months to buy a mattress

May

The month of May is possibly the best time of year to get good deals at mattress stores. The mattress industry gives itself until June each year to complete its swap-out of last year's mattresses with the new models.

This means May — particularly Memorial Day weekend — is a great time to snap up perfectly good mattresses from the previous year at excellent prices.

Prices on new mattresses tend to be highest from June to September, until the Labor Day weekend sales roll around.

March and April

Although May is the best time to find a sale, new mattresses start trickling into store showrooms in March and April.

Once the new full-priced models show up, customers can easily distinguish between the old and new and choose to buy last year’s mattresses at discounts.

If you’re shopping in March and there aren’t too many new models out yet, consider asking a manager when they'll be arriving — and make sure to return at turnover time to buy lower-priced older models.

How to get the best deal on a mattress

Here’s how to save even more on mattresses:

Shop Amazon Prime Day. For its “birthday” in mid-July, Amazon, the biggest online retailer, holds a major sale on everything — including mattresses.

To access the sale, you need to be a member of Amazon Prime’s paid subscription service, which offers perks like free two-day delivery. You can sign up for a free trial before Amazon Prime Day begins, to get the deals. If you don’t want to keep and pay for the membership, then just cancel your subscription once the sale is over.

Shop overstock sales and overstock retailers. Online and brick-and-mortar overstock sellers collect unsold and unused mattresses from warehouses where they're being stored. These beds are then sold at a fraction of their retail value. This can be a great way to buy high-end mattresses at very low prices.

Start looking early. Don’t run out mattress shopping for one day and buy the first decent one you see. Instead, start looking for deals a week or two ahead of your shopping trip by checking store websites and local fliers. This way, you’ll know which retailers have the best prices that are worth investigating in person.

Set a budget for your new mattress and stick to it. Given all the competition between online and brick-and-mortar sellers, you're guaranteed to find a great new bed that fits your price range. It's a fairly major purchase, so avoid paying more than you can afford.

Ask questions before you buy. Some retailers may offer extremely low prices upfront but will tack on hidden fees, like additional “shipping and handling” costs if you return the mattress.

Explore buying a mattress online. Unlike traditional stores, mattress manufacturers that operate entirely via the web don’t pay for store locations or middlemen — and they pass those savings on to customers by selling high-quality mattresses for less.

Online mattress retailers including Casper, Helix, Leesa, Avocado Green Mattress, Saatva and others offer “sleep trials” that last anywhere from 100 nights up to a year.

If you decide you don’t like your new mattress within the time frame, you should be able to return it for free. Just don’t forget to read the fine print so you understand the return and trial policy, and any potential hidden fees.

Shop store closing sales. Thousands of stores across America are closing up shop every year, and that includes mattress retailers. Stay alert for store closing and liquidation sales in your area for great deals on mattresses throughout the year.

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