Argos Mattress Review
Frequently the cheapest place in Britain to buy a widely distributed mattress, and the place with the least support if it turns out to be wrong.
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Verdict
Frequently the cheapest place in Britain to buy a widely distributed mattress, and the place with the least support if it turns out to be wrong. That is a reasonable trade if you know exactly what you want, and a poor one if you do not.
Buy it if
You know the exact model and specification you want, and you are confident about firmness.
Avoid it if
You are uncertain about firmness. There is no meaningful trial, and an unused-mattress return is not a trial.
See the current Argos offer
Argos frequently has the lowest price on Silentnight and other widely distributed brands.
No code needed. The discount is applied automatically at checkout. Opening the site in a new tab.
Argos on Amazon UK
Compare both. The same mattress often appears at different prices.
No code needed. Prices on Amazon change frequently, so check the seller and the returns terms before you buy. Opening in a new tab.
| Specification | Detail |
|---|---|
| Type | General retailer with a large mattress range |
| Strengths | Price on widely distributed brands, speed of collection and delivery |
| Trial | Standard returns on an unused mattress. Not a sleep trial. |
| Testing in store | Very limited. Most stock is collection only. |
The scores
Excellent at price and speed, weak at everything that matters when things go wrong.
Often the cheapest price on the exact same mattress.
Broad on widely distributed brands, thin on specialist ones.
Clear prices and frequent genuine discounts.
An unused-mattress return is not a trial. This is the weakest part.
Delivery is efficient. Disposal is not the focus.
Not a bed specialist and does not pretend to be.
Why the retailer matters
Why the retailer matters
Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 your statutory rights sit with whoever sold you the mattress, not the manufacturer. Goods must be of satisfactory quality and last a reasonable length of time, and you have up to six years to bring a claim in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, five in Scotland. A good mattress from a retailer that argues is a worse purchase than an ordinary one from a retailer that does not.
Unused returns are not a sleep trial, and the difference is the whole thing
Read this before buying a mattress from any general retailer
A standard returns policy on an unused mattress means you can send it back if you have not slept on it. Once you have, it is yours.
A sleep trial means you can sleep on it for a hundred nights and change your mind. Those are completely different products and the words used to describe them are similar enough that people assume they are the same.
Since firmness is the thing buyers get wrong most often, and firmness cannot be judged without sleeping on a mattress for several weeks, a purchase without a sleep trial is a purchase you have to get right first time.
That is fine if you are replacing a mattress you know and like. It is a significant risk if you are guessing.
How to use Argos well
Argos is genuinely useful in one specific way, and it is worth being precise about it.
Widely distributed brands like Silentnight sell the same model through eight retailers, each setting its own price. Argos is frequently the cheapest of those, sometimes by a wide margin, particularly on run-out lines.
The method: decide on the exact model and spring count somewhere you can try it, or from a specification you already trust. Then search that exact model name across retailers. If Argos is cheapest and you are confident, buy there and accept there is no trial.
If you are not confident, buy direct from the manufacturer. Silentnight's 60 night comfort exchange, for example, applies only when you buy from Silentnight.
A correction worth making
Commonly repeated, and wrong
Retailer returns policies and mattress sleep trials are routinely described in the same language and they are fundamentally different. An unused-mattress return lets you send a mattress back if you have not slept on it, which is useless for the only question that matters. A sleep trial lets you sleep on it for weeks and change your mind. Any comparison presenting a thirty day return policy as equivalent to a hundred night trial is comparing two different things.
Should you buy it?
Yes if you know exactly what you want and price is the deciding factor. Argos is often the cheapest route to a mattress you have already chosen.
No if you are uncertain. Buy direct from a manufacturer offering a genuine sleep trial, or from a retailer that makes a claim easy, and treat the difference as insurance.
Questions people ask
Does Argos offer a mattress trial?
No, a standard returns policy on an unused mattress. That means you can send it back if you have not slept on it. Once you have, it is yours. A sleep trial lets you sleep on it for weeks and change your mind, and those are completely different products.
Is Argos the cheapest place to buy a mattress?
Often, on widely distributed brands like Silentnight, which sell the same model through eight retailers at eight prices. Decide the exact model and spring count first, then search that model name across retailers. If you are uncertain about firmness, buy direct for the trial instead.