I just looked on Bloomie's site and they have renamed the mattresses so you have no idea what you are even looking at. That is just part of the confusion on shopping for a mattress. Manufacturers have their names for different lines, but they make different ones for other stores. Since they may be the only local source for Shifman I kind of doubt that we will buy one. I did look at them in the store yesterday and was told they carry two different lines, both their low-line and the 'handmade' ones, but I have no idea if they are the same as their Masters Collection. Unless I can locate an independent dealer I won't be looking at them.
I just spoke to Shifman and they make a line just for Bloomingdales. It is similar, but not the same as their Masters Collection. They do the same with the Kluft mattresses as well. It's kind of sneaky if you ask me. I don't like feeling like I'm getting jerked around by a dept store.
Does anyone know anything about the Duxiana mattresses? One of my friends swears by this mattress, but I know they are very pricy.
Last edited by Judyg951; 07-17-2015 at 11:26 AM.
That is standard fare in the bedding industry. It's done that way so you can't price shop it. A store like Bloomie's will take a standard Shifman (or any other brand for that matter), change the exterior top cover to an alternate, make a new label for it and now its their own model. They will jack the price to $ 12,000, have a 50% off sale so its $ 6,000 and you think you are getting a bargain - and down the road a little store like mine will sell the standard model for $ 4,500 day in and day out but its not 'on sale'....lol. That's how the trade works.
The vast majority of production bedding is made in regional plants in high-speed, automated production lines that build for a number of makers. It takes 13 minutes to make a mattress on average (vs 8 hours of hand-sewing on a Royal Pedic). The production line will run one brand in the morning, and then another in the afternoon from another maker. All using the same basic components. Bedding is too costly to ship cross country because it cubes out trucks and railcars, so you will find one of these plants that produce all the major brands near most cities.
Duxiana is supposed to make an excellent product, though I have no hands-on experience with. Typically they are well into 5 figures for a set.
Duane Collie
Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.
We are fortunately not in a huge rush so we have time to research it out. The bed is not bothering my husband so he will take some convincing, but I have been having some lower back pain and think it's from the bed settling.
Guest
Hello - I'm shopping for a new king mattress set and am seriously thinking about taking the plunge with a Shifman mattress from Stickley as they are the only dealer in my area (Charlotte, NC). I do not want a pillow top because I think I can achieve the same thing with a quality mattress topper for way less than the $1700 it would cost for the same mattress but with the pillow top. Does Stickley ever have sales on Shifman mattresses? Also, does Stickley only carry the "Master's" collection? How do I know that my paying $6299 for a king Shifman at Stickley's I'm getting the real deal? I'm so confused!! I've been shopping for mattresses for six months and am scared to purchase anything because everything is so confusing and nothing is comparable! Thank you for this forum, it's been a life saver and very informative.
Dottie,
I would highly recommend a Royal Pedic from Duane. We purchased a standard king bed about a year ago and love it. We just got back from vacation yesterday and couldn't wait to sleep on our own bed compared to what the resort had as it was soft and had limited support compared to our Royal Pedic. You can't go wrong with this bed and Duane can help you navigate all your questions to get what you need.
My Man! This is EXACTLY what happens to Mrs. Collie and myself when we go on vacation, the beds - even at higher end resorts - are big mush puddles with no support and you wake up all achy if you can sleep at all. Marriott resorts are probably the worst, who buys their bedding? Is that what the average customer they have really wants? A giant, soft pillow to sleep on? When we get back home we hit the Royal Pedic and say "oh yeah - this is it". Now days when we first go into a room at a hotel/resort - we check the bedding before we do anything else. If its non-supportive we go down to the desk and request a room with a firmer bed, though that usually gives the front desk people a real challenge and we have been known to leave a hotel due to the bedding.
Does Stickley ever have sales on Shifman mattresses? Also, does Stickley only carry the "Master's" collection?
I think you have to ask Stickley about this.
A Royal Pedic King Size All Cotton Set (premium, not the internet line) - delivered to most locations - from my store is $ 5,330 as of the date of this post. No sales tax collected outside of Virginia. That's the only price barometer I can give you.
Duane Collie
Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.
So the Royal Pedic king sized mattress set is firm. I'm trying to compare the RP to the Shifman Rembrandt but there are no RP dealers in North Carolina for me to visit (at least according to the RP website dealer locator). Any ideas? I'm thrilled you've answered my questions, I thought this forum was too old to get a reply. Awesome, thank you! This mattress buying is for the birds. I'm so confused I've put off making a decision because I'm scared I'll make the wrong choice and be out > $5k! If I bought the RP from you, would shipping be included in that price and what would I do with my old mattress?
Last edited by Dottie B.; 07-05-2017 at 05:44 PM.
I was a dealer for Shifman for about a decade, then Royal Pedic after that (and to this day). In my opinion, there is very little difference from a base Royal Pedic All Cotton and a Shifman Master's collection, and I have had both in my own home at the same time. Shifman still does an 8-way hand-tied boxspring whereas that is/was optional on Royal Pedic, the latter charged around $ 500 for that. On my own personal bed, I decided to try one on my RP and paid the premium to see if it was worth the extra money. Neither my wife nor I did saw a benefit over their standard box spring, not at $ 500 one anyways. So that's about the only difference, and of course the logos on the bed. They're made the same way - both are excellent, you can't go wrong with either one. Both Shifman and Royal Pedic are light years ahead of the more common products you see out there, and of course, more costly.
All the base beds are firm, you soften then up by adding toppers to either brand. I always recommend you start with firm and give it at least three weeks. You have probably been sleeping on a broken-down mattress for some time and the firm will seem uncomfortable at first. After some times go by however, you may not want it any softer. If you do, its easy to add a topper afterwards as most can go UPS.
I don't think you can really tell how a bed sleeps in a showroom anyways. 10 - 15 minutes on it? That's not going to tell you much. Here's a little secret - all new beds sleep pretty good. You can buy a hotel-grade bed set for $ 500 and its going to sleep pretty good for about 1 year, 18 mos - maybe 2 years, then it will break down and when it does you need to toss it and get another. What you are buying with a R.P. or a Shifman is consistent performance over a period of time, they don't break down like conventional bedding. Fifteen years is an average lifespan for Cotton bedding, some push it even more. Most people sleep on broken-down beds WAY past their useful lifespan, and most hotels/resorts keep their bedding too long as well. Try a RP or a Shifman, you'll be glad you did.
Duane Collie
Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.
We bought our Royal Pedic bed from Duane around 2 years ago. We live in So. Ca. and drove to Beverly Hills to their factory store to look at beds. We ended up buying their Royal Latex Ca. king mattress.
I can attest to that you can't really tell about a bed in the short time you are in the showroom. We really liked our bed when we tried it in the showroom, but after it arrived, and for the first week well lets just say we needed to adjust to it. My husband hated it and wanted to send it back. We took off for vacation a week after it arrived, and when we returned well somehow the bed magically went from "this is terrible and I'm not sure about it" to its a great bed. I think not sleeping on our old bed for two weeks gave us some time off of the old bed and that helped us adjust to the new one. You really do need time to adjust to a new bed.
We bought our Royal Pedic bed from Duane around 2 years ago. We live in So. Ca. and drove to Beverly Hills to their factory store to look at beds. We ended up with their Royal Latex Ca. king mattress.
Last edited by Judyg951; 07-05-2017 at 10:13 PM.
I can weigh in on the Royal Pedic all cotton firm. We ordered it through Duane and have had it about three months now. We absolutely love it! I have never had a better night's sleep than what I've had on this mattress. I actually look forward to going to bed as I fall asleep within minutes and stay asleep till morning. It is not a coincidence - it is this great mattress!!