Thursday 22 November 2012

Getting less but paying more for a small double bed

It seems crazy, but when you look closely at the price of a 4ft double bed you will probably find that an identical product with in a standard double size (4ft 6in) is cheaper.

However there is good reasoning behind this logic and its a trend that has continued in the bed industry (and many other manufacturing industries for that matter) for several years.

Sweet Dreams Arquette double bed
Despite requiring less materials, the 4ft double is less popular (although that is a trend that seems to be changing) and as a result there are more costs associated to making a smaller number of the product overall. It seems like an odd scenario, but from a manufacturers perspective is likely to make good business sense.

A good example is this Sweet Dreams Arquette double bed - at present the price online for a standard sized double can be found for £169.99, but the small double is more expensive at £179.99. An extra £10 for 6 inches less space!

The bed design shown here is a popular one, so the price is probably at the lower end of the scale anyway, but the difference in the two costs represents more than 5%, a surprising amount when you consider there are far less materials involved here.

If you look at the bed industry over the last 20 years you might also notice that the king size bed has been through a similar price process with the average price dropping more and more over recent years.

But there are always offers and deals on various beds that change on a regular basis, so finding something suitable for your home at the right price should always be possible.