If you’ve spent any time online over the last few years, you’ve likely heard about a new wave of mail-order mattresses: Casper, Leesa, Tuft & Needle and others. These affordable all-foam mattresses arrive compressed in a box, expand on your bed, and promise a better night’s sleep or your money back. After months of seeing that message everywhere, we finally decided to try one ourselves—only to second-guess the choice soon after. Thus began our “Is this the one?” mattress saga.

I hesitated to write about this because mattress preference is so personal. Still, after talking on our podcast about a different product we didn’t love and seeing others share mixed experiences with mail-order mattresses, I wanted to lay out our experience in case someone else is weighing these options. This is our story—your mileage may vary.

Why We Needed a New Mattress

Our previous mattress was over seven years old and no longer providing the sleep quality we wanted. Interestingly, it was itself an older mail-order mattress—a dense latex model that arrived in multiple boxes and needed some assembly. Over the years we layered mattress toppers and feather beds to soften it up, but by the time we moved into our current house 3.5 years ago we’d mostly removed those layers and decided to reassess. The mattress still felt too firm and was starting to show impressions where we slept, so after reading the typical mattress lifespan of seven to ten years, we decided it was time for a replacement.

First We Tried a Traditional Retail Mattress

We began with the traditional route and walked into a local mattress store where the staff guided us through a series of showroom models. After several test naps and some impulsive enthusiasm, we purchased a Sealy Posturepedic Hybrid—about $1,100 after a rebate. It was a hybrid design with foam on top and coils for support. The mattress arrived and, despite liking it in the store, it felt firmer at home than expected. The sales associate reassured us the mattress would soften with time, so we agreed to give it a few weeks.

Switching to a Mail-Order Mattress

Even after a couple of weeks the mattress hadn’t fully won us over, so we decided to try a popular mail-order option and ordered a Casper. We didn’t do intensive research beyond reading positive reviews, and the Casper was about $150 less than the Sealy. The idea of comparing two different mattresses at home with easy returns felt appealing. When the Casper arrived and expanded out of its box, the unboxing moment was undeniably impressive—watching a mattress unfurl is still a bit of a novelty.

Why the Casper Didn’t Work for Us

We wanted to love the Casper, but it didn’t meet our needs for two main reasons:

Thickness. The Casper felt noticeably thinner than the Sealy. The Sealy measured 12.5″ while the Casper was only 10″. That difference affected how the mattress sat on our frame and how high we slept relative to our nightstand. We also noticed more frame contact when sitting up, which made the thinner profile more noticeable in daily use.

Firmness and support. The all-foam Casper felt quite soft. Initially the sinking, plush sensation felt inviting, but it quickly became clear that it didn’t provide the support we both prefer. While we were after something softer than our old mattress, we still need adequate support from the torso and hips. After a few nights it was obvious the Casper was too soft for our long-term comfort.

That said, the buying and return experience with Casper was excellent. Customer service handled the return smoothly, and because used mattresses can’t be resold, they arranged donation pickup through a local charity. The process was thoughtful and easy—our issue was simply a mismatch in mattress feel, not service.

How It Ended

We ended up returning the Casper and putting the Sealy back on the bed. Over more days the Sealy softened into a comfortable balance of foam comfort and coil support, and now both of us are sleeping well with no morning soreness. The experience taught us that while a soft, sink-in feel is appealing at first, it doesn’t always translate to long-term support. The hybrid combination of foam top layers and coil support turned out to suit us best.

We’re still open to mail-order foam mattresses for other needs—like furnishing a beach house—because the lower price point and easy delivery are appealing when buying multiple beds. Our experience with Casper didn’t sour us on the whole category; it just helped clarify the balance of thickness, firmness, and support we personally need. We’ve also been very happy with an Original Mattress Factory mattress in our guest room, which remains a strong contender for other spaces.

Final note: If you’re shopping for a mattress, try to test options that match both the firmness and thickness you prefer, and look for a fair trial or return policy. Mattress preferences are highly personal, and what’s perfect for one person may not work for another.