Repeat Customers by the Wrong Method

A Restonic mattress sales representative once told me after I bragged about how long our latex mattresses last, "You don't want to sell mattresses that last that long, you won't have repeat customers." I remember thinking to myself, "I hope all other mattress companies have the mentality because eventually I will stand alone with the reputation of making a great sleeping and very long-lasting mattress."

I realized after a few years that his sentiment is the same sentiment of all large mattress manufacturers. They make garbage products that will fail in just a few years and thus force people back into the market to buy another mattress. And this raises mattress companies bottom lines. This can be illustrated by the Better Sleep Council which is a front group for the International Sleep Products Association, which is a lobby group looking out for large mattress company's financial interests.

When you read articles by the Better Sleep Council, they almost always advocate buying a new mattress every 5-7 years. Is this sound advice for helping people sleep better or is this advice designed to elevate mattress sales? I deem it the latter, primarily.