When I was in college I bought a $125 mattress from amazon that came rolled in a box.
I used that thing for six years. Yep - even after I graduated college and had a well paying job. It served me so well.
If you want the amazon link I can track it down for you
Edit: here’s the link.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004LQ1RKQ?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
Unfortunately it looks like they increased pricing but still cheap for a mattress
Opened a twin size for my daughter. She was 3 and standing relatively close and as you can guess the thing sprung out and flung her across the room. 9/10 would do it again.
Edit: the one I had was compressed and rolled up. So it did snap out as soon as the plastic was split.
It was this one Signature Sleep Contour 8 Inch Reversible Independently Encased Coil Mattress with CertiPUR-US certified foam, Full https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004LQ1RKQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_ckBIAb01VMAEB
Amazon mattresses are suprisingly very comfortable and it gets UPS'd right to your door. They're also much cheaper than from the store.
I got this one for school and had no complaints http://www.amazon.com/Signature-Sleep-Contour-8-Inch-Mattress/dp/B004LQ1RKQ/ref=zg_bs_3732981_1
I'd recommend at least considering 'Signature Sleep': I bought one of these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004LQ1RKQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
My reasoning was that it was so cheap compared to everything else, I was willing to take a chance on it.
I've recently realized that reviews on amazon tend to be 100% bullshit. I've bought too many products on amazon that were rated 5 stars that were just horrible. And there are so many examples of companies that take the same amazon ASIN and reassign it to a completely different product so you're actually looking at reviews for something else. And companies that combine different products on one page as "color variations" so high-value crap products can be boosted by numerous sales of low-cost but actually decent products of a totally different category.
Anyway, just don't trust amazon star ratings. They are worthless. That's my actual advice to answer your actual question. Whatever you do, remember that amazon star ratings are just ridiculous.
Lately, I've been using https://www.fakespot.com to try to verifiy what percentage of the reviews might be honest. And I tend to just not buy anything from any company that has a bad rating, and I'll tolerate a kind of bad star rating so long as it looks like the company isn't using dishonest reviews. And I feel like I've been ending up with higher quality stuff since then.
With the signaturee sleep mattress I said I bought, I see now that they have 4499 reviews on that item that amazon removed, presumably for being dishonest. So maybe don't buy from them? If I didn't have previous experience with them, I'd definitely see that number and say "no way am I buying anything from them"
But I am really happy with my mattress, and have absolutely zero complaints about it. Other people might have higher standards or different expectations than me.
I'm wondering if you did buy a mattress online and didn't like it, if you didn't want to deal with the hassle of return shipping, could you sell it on craigslist for near the original price? Tell people that you just don't like it, and maybe there is somebody else like you out there who thinks "I'd like to buy that, but I wish I could try it out in person first." And in that situation, for them, buying a days-old one from you in person would be a better value than buying a brand new one online, even at the same price.
I guess my recommendation: Take a gamble, buy online. If you don't like it, try to sell it on craigslist. If nobody on craigslist buys it from you, just return it within whatever return period the manufacturer gave you.
Signature Sleep Contour 8 Inch Independently Encased Coil Mattress with Low VOC CertiPUR-US Certified Foam, 8 Inch Full Coil Mattress - Available in Multiple Sizes https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004LQ1RKQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_cZ0mzbY769BCW
This one.
Zinus 14 Inch SmartBase Mattress Foundation / Platform Bed Frame / Box Spring Replacement / Quiet Noise-Free / Maximum Under-bed Storage, Full https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006MISZOC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_a00mzbXXZJAXR
With this frame.
Amazon.com has mattresses and box springs.
I bought this mattress for my son (currently $190). If I could do it again, I would purchase this platform (currently $82). Or make your own.
For less than $272, you'd have a pretty good setup for an apartment.
Not a bot, but performing a vital service anyway.
De-mobilizing the links for people on desktop platforms.
You should work a little more, buy the mattress we just bought for our guest room on Amazon for $150, and pay off your student loans with that money.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004LQ1RKQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1