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Brooklyn Bedding Aloe Alexis 11 Nov 2013 15:25 #1

Are there any store brands that are similar to the Aloe Alexis of Brooklyn Bedding? I recently purchased a topper from them and enjoy the topper. I purchased a bed from Novosbed, which the company as far as customer support is fantastic, but I do not think the bed is for me and am looking once again. I use to have a S&F Hainsworth which was amazing but has worn out and am looking for something similar to that bed but easier to move.

Thanks,

Mike

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Brooklyn Bedding Aloe Alexis 11 Nov 2013 16:09 #2

I wasnt personally able to find any store brands with 2 three inch layers of latex. I did find a pure latex bliss model that had a 2 and three inch latex layer over polyfoam. It was close enough to get a feel for what latex felt like and helped in making a decision. You also have to factor in what ild you are testing as the aloe alexis is customizable which does give some assurance you can exchange if you order the wrong comfort layer

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Brooklyn Bedding Aloe Alexis 11 Nov 2013 16:20 #3

EverReady,

Thank you for your thoughts. I just do not want to get burnt if you will. Sadly, I am trying to keep cost down as much as possible, and that is why I am hoping to find a store brand that is similar. I just asked where the mattresses went that were returned and I was told a charity. I asked why can it not go to a local charity so that I do not have to pay a reshipment fee and was told "thats not what we do!" Am I wrong to ask that question? Here is the conversation..

Carlos: The owner donates them to local charities But we don`t get the latex products back

Then my question is if I do not like it, why can it not go to a local charity here so that I do not get hit with a return shipping cost? If it is going to charity no matter what, I do not see an issue.

Carlos: That is not what we do!

Why is that? At the end of the day if it goes to a charity, why does it have to go there and not a place that will cost the consumer money?

He left the chat so i do not know what his response will be.

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Brooklyn Bedding Aloe Alexis 11 Nov 2013 16:37 #4

@mikeh59,

It's relatively a moot point as to why it cannot be donated to a local charity - and the answer they gave is legit, that it's not how they work. Quite honestly, it's relatively lucky that you get the opportunity to return it. That they happened to donate it once they get it back is their right. It's not unreasonable for them to request that you return their property (which is what it is once a rebate is issues) to them.

Among other reasons I could imagine them not wanting your input are that once you've decided to return it, they don't want you to be able to influence where it goes, since you could potentially do harm to their name and/or personally benefit from the donation even where you get a full refund. One big risk were the consumer in control of the to be returned property is where someone devises a scheme whereby they buy a mattress, "return it", and cause it to be donated to a charity in some fashion where they get the bed themself but without needing to pay for it. It's hardly impossible to develop such a scheme...

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Brooklyn Bedding Aloe Alexis 11 Nov 2013 16:48 #5

@DN

My question then to you DN is why can they not find a local charity to donate too? They can still do the arranging of the product and I will still be willing to pay the cost which would be much lower than sending it back to them. I still do not see how that is something outrageous. I get it it is part of doing business online. What I do know is if I find something I like better than the Novosbed, I do not lose any out of pocket money. They will find a local charity and have it picked up without costing me a dime.

I am not trying to come off smart or disrespectful. All I am trying to do is keep my cost low since do to my job of being a Teacher does not afford me to spend out more than I can.

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Brooklyn Bedding Aloe Alexis 11 Nov 2013 17:01 #6

@mikeh59,

Note that I'm just an interested observer. I don't work in the mattress business at all. That said, I am a business man, have owned my own business before, and have been involved in product delivery. Therefore, don't treat my words as a reflection of anything more than some random business guy's comments - I certainly don't represent the companies you're talking about and if you really have a beef talk with them...

That said, if it were me running the business.... It'd be pretty simple, once you don't want it, then it's my property. I've already lost the customer account, so I don't want to invest more time and labour into the situation (time is money.. Finding a reasonable local charity for everyone who returns a mattress isn't free, especially if the charity interacts with the customer, in which case I need to ensure they are a professional representation of the company and don't become a liability in their own right). I may have established a charity with whom it's standard operating procedure to return mattresses and get a tax receipt, so it's easy and quick. Also, I might have a preferred charity I want it to go to. Finally, I may craft the return such that some of my out of pocket expenses are reduced by charging return fees.

In any event, these are all decisions a business is free to make. And you can certainly inquire if they are willing to do something different, but they might not even if it seems like the outcome would be the same.

You're in a far more powerful position to negotiate when you're buying, so if $0 cost return is important then asking up front is more powerful than asking at the end. As Phoenix has written, these are all part of your personal value equation of the different companies.

I appreciate you're trying to lower your costs... (Aren't we all).

Feel free to talk with them... If you're in a position to negotiate (I.e, you're buying something, and not currently returning something), they might have an appetite to do something :)

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Last edit: by dn.

Brooklyn Bedding Aloe Alexis 11 Nov 2013 17:08 #7

@DN

That was the conversation I was having with them when the chat was disconnected. The other part is I just purchased their Talalay Topper and that is why I inquired about their mattress. It is not like I have not purchased from them recently, within the pass 2 weeks. Was looking to spend more with them, however a $400 shipping charge in the worse case scenario is not something that makes sense to me.

As a business man yourself, I am sure you have had to work with customers so that there is a better meeting in the middle. If you had a repeat customer come back to you DN within 2 weeks of purchasing a product from you, how have you handled the situation especially if they are wanting to spend more with you.

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Brooklyn Bedding Aloe Alexis 11 Nov 2013 17:24 #8

@mikeh59,

When I currently need to process returns, which happens from time to time, it's with specialized medical computer equipment. We require all material returned to us so that we can (simplified version):

1. Have our staff arrange a professional pickup and decommissioning.
2. Destroy all licensed material per agreements with other vendors
3. Securely destroy all confidential medical data, which carries significant liability (i.e. massive fines and harm to our business name) if leaked
4. If the return is due to a product failure, have our senior specialists investigate / perform post-mortum to establish if there is a product fault/defect which could impact other customers. I.e. Is there a bigger problem?
5. Review the asset value on our books to determine the best disposition for the asset
6. In some circumstances, we'll then donate aspects of the system to a school. We also sometimes let staff buy asset, or if we can recognize outstanding staff we sometimes give it to them.

Now, if a customer asked what do we do with returns, we might say 'as part of good community spirit, we donate to schools. But as you can see, there's a series of procedures we follow to ensure a professional experience for the customer, adherence to regulatory requirements, research by our specialists on any defective units, and finally asset disposition.

Our front line support staff know 1, maybe 2 of those steps are performed. At the end of the day, it's the process we use to be successful in that matter. If a customer, returning a product, asked if they could just donate it to a school the answer would be a resounding no.... Even though the outcome, from the customer perspective, looks the same.

Anyhow, feel free to negotiate with them - you asked why would they might have that procedure, and I feel I've given a semi rational answer - both of us purely speculating.

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Last edit: by dn.

Brooklyn Bedding Aloe Alexis 11 Nov 2013 17:45 #9

@DN

Thank you for your responses. I am trying to negotiate but if that is not in their best interest I will move on to another company. I do thank you sir!

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Brooklyn Bedding Aloe Alexis 11 Nov 2013 19:10 #10

Is the topper you bought 3 inch latex? Maybe they would reduce the cost if you used your topper as part of the mattress( if it's the right sizea and material). Just a thought

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