Buyer’s Remorse

When I was still in law school, I bought a new mattress. I took out a Mattress Firm credit card and put the $2000 queen-sized mattress on it. Until that point, I had been sleeping on a mattress that was 20+ years old. It had been passed down from my parents to my sister, and then to me. Honestly, it was probably a fine mattress, I just wanted my own. I saw this new $2000 mattress as an “investment”. 

I justified the expense by convincing myself that I needed good rest and I wouldn’t have to buy a mattress ever again. Somewhere along the line, I paid it off. Not because I thought debt was bad, more so because having another credit card was a hassle to keep up with. 

Five years later, this “investment” of mine started to seriously sag.

We would wake up piled on top of each other (Chad, me, and the dog) in the middle of the bed and I developed a dull shoulder pain. I remembered vaguely that this mattress had a warranty. I googled it and called Mattress Firm. They told me to bring proof and I would get the same value for a new mattress! We took a video, and using a tape measure and string, we were able to show the deep slumps in the mattress. We took our video proof to Mattress Firm and they gave us a $2000 credit. While we were testing out new mattresses, all of them felt better than what we had. We decided we would upgrade to a king-sized mattress and with the warranty money, we would break even. But! The saleswoman at Mattress Firm was very good at her job. She convinced us that after we suffered for so long on our sagging mattress, we should be really comfortable and the best way to do that would be to get a “Zero G” bed frame. 

With the fancy frame upgrade, we’d be able to push a button and the bed would bend in a way that would remove all the pressure from our joints. She put us on a bed and pushed the button and while in the store, it felt great. We were on $10,000 mattress Zero-G-ing. With her convincing, we took the mattress that was covered by the warranty value and she sold us a Zero-G frame. She even threw in some pillows for free. The bed and mattress were delivered that afternoon and our old lumpy mattress was hauled off. As we made the bed with new clean sheets and got in to Zero G, the dread began to set in. I pushed the button and as the bed contorted into position, the sheets started to snap off and the dogs began freaking out. I can count on one hand the number of times we’ve “Zero-G’d”. 

This was one of those purchases that was emotional.

I felt desperate for a new mattress to stop the discomfort we were experiencing. But, it didn’t align with my values. It slowed us down on our financial journey and it makes me feel like we’re hospital patients. Not to mention, it’s a serious eye sore. 

One of my strong values is buying things that are quality and look nice. This bed is neither. I’ve forgiven myself for the purchase now and I try to take from it an important lesson - buy very cautiously when you’re emotional about something. Otherwise, you can make a choice you later regret. 

Can you think of a purchase you’ve made where you immediately felt buyer’s remorse?