Should you buy a cheap mattress in the clearance sales?

While the major discounts of Black Friday are behind us, you can still get a mattress at a cheaper price by shopping the clearance sales. As a sleep writer, I know that clearance sales offer substantial price drops throughout the year — but I'm also aware of the risks. So, should you buy a cheap mattress from a clearance sale, or wait for the next big sale event to arrive?

Some of the brands behind our favorite beds in this year's best mattress guide offer clearance sales. These sales provide your last chance to buy mattresses that are no longer being made and you can get them at a record-low price. But there are a few catches.

Here, I'll outline the pros and cons of buying a cheap mattress from a clearance sale to help you decide if this is the right option for you. If you decide against buying a clearance bed, be sure to checkout out this month's mattress sales for more discounts on main mattress collections.

What is a mattress clearance sale?

A mattress clearance sale (also known as a closeout or final sale) offers discounts on mattresses that are being discontinued and will no longer be produced. Clearance sales can also happen because a matterss store is closing down, or because the warehouse wants to get rid of surplus stock befoe introducing a new range.

Where can you find mattress clearance sales?

While some mattress brands (such as Helix and Saatva) don't offer clearance or close-out sales, a lot of popular mattress brands do. For instance, US bed-in-a-box brand Casper has a clearance section on their website, which often offers the only discounted Casper mattresses outside of major sale events such as Black Friday.

Other mattress brands that offer clearance deals are Tempur-Pedic, Nolah, and Brooklyn Bedding. (However, the latter two often only offer clearance deals on bedding and bedding accessories.) Third-party retailers, such as Walmart and Mattress Firm also offer mattress clearance sales – although it's hard to predict when your preferred brand will be reduced.

The benefits of buying a mattress from a clearance sale

1. You'll get it at a rock-bottom price

A clearance sale means that the brand or retailer is eager to get rid of certain models, meaning they'll knock mattresses down to their cheapest ever prices. For example, the best price you'd get on the Casper Wave Hybrid Snow mattress (a discontinued bed that is now in Casper's clearance sale) was $2,516.50 (MSRP:$3,5950) for a queen in the 30% off sale. However, now that it's discontinued, this quality mattress is currently 50% off and down to $1,797.50 for a queen.

2. You'll still get a warranty and free shipping

While the lower prices can mean less benefits (I'll go into more detail later), clearance mattress deals still offer many of the benefits you'd get when buying from the main collection. While these benefits can vary from brand to brand and retailer to retailer, most closeout mattresses will come with a warranty and free shipping.

For example, Tempur-Pedic's 30% off closeout sale on their Breeze Collection comes with both a 10-year warranty and free white glove delivery, the same offer as a non-clearance mattress.

There are also some retailers that still offer returns on clearance mattresses. Walmart, for instance, offer 30-day to 90-day returns on mattresses in their clearance section. This isn't a sleep trial per se, but it does reduce the risk slightly.

3. Many clearance mattresses are of high quality

Ever loved a product, used it every day, only to one day discover that it's been discontinued and you can't find it anywhere? Well, the same goes for mattresses. Just because a mattress is in a clearance sale, doesn't mean it's of low quality. There are plenty of reason why a product is discontinued, from changing marketing trends to low sales.

Take the Casper Wave Snow Hybrid mattress, a mattress that got glowing feedback in our Casper Wave Hybrid Snow mattress review and rated as one of the best cooling mattresses on the market. This mattress is discontinued and currently in Casper's clearance sale. Why? The cooling hybrid is simply a victim of Casper's mattress collection revamp.

The benefits of buying a mattress from a clearance sale

1. A lot of sizes will be sold out 

A clearance sale means that once a mattress is gone, it's gone. This means that stock is limited, so certain sizes can sell out fast. Queen and king sizes are the most popular sizes, so they tend to be the first to go. This can make it difficult to find a mattress in your preferred size and can put pressure on you to impulsively buy the mattress if you do find the size you want

2. There are no trials, returns, or exchanges 

Without a doubt, the biggest drawback of buying a clearance mattress is that they can't returned or exchanged. Once you've bought it, you've bought it. This no-returns policy means you won't get a sleep trial to try out your new bed for an allotted number of week or months.

This is incredibly risky, even if you're buying an ultra-cheap mattress. Buying the best cheap mattress from a clearance sale could end up costing you money if the bed isn't right and you have to buy another new mattress

3. Warranty may be shorter 

While a lot of mattresses sold in clearance do come with a warranty, some will come with a shorter warranty than mattresses from the main collection. Sometimes mattresses are discontinued due to a lack of certain materials or a change in supplier, making it harder to secure replacements or repairs.

Top 3 mattress clearance deals