Buying a mattress online means buying it unseen, and every brand answers that with a trial period. The trial is the feature that closes the sale, and it is also the part of the purchase nobody reads until they want to use it.
The differences are much bigger than the headline number suggests. Two brands both advertising "100 nights" can differ on whether you may return in week one, whether the collection is free where you live, whether the refund includes what you paid for delivery, and whether the mattress has to be clean enough for a charity to accept. Those are the terms that decide whether a return is a phone call or a Saturday with a ute.
This page sets out what seven brands selling into Australia actually commit to. Terms were read off each brand's own trial, returns and warranty pages on 21 September 2026, and they do change, so the brand's page is always the final word.
The comparison
| Brand | Trial | Minimum before you can return | Who pays to take it away | Warranty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emma | 150 nights | None stated | Free in the serviced area; a non-refundable $79 or $160 regional fee | 10 years (5 on beds) |
| Onebed | 125 nights | 30 nights | Free collection, donated to charity | 15 years limited |
| Koala | 120 days | 7 nights | Free in six metro areas only; outside them you deliver it to a fulfilment centre | 10 years |
| Ecosa | 100 nights | None stated | Free pickup by a charity partner | 15 years on the Ecosa mattress |
| Macoda | 100 nights | 28 nights requested, not required | Free collection, but $100 if you return inside 14 days | 10 years |
| Sleeping Duck | 100 nights | 21 nights per firmness setting | Free pickup | 10 years limited |
| Ergoflex | 30 nights | 30 nights | Free in most metro; $100 to $350 regional | 10 years (2 on the cover) |
Emma, Onebed, Ecosa, Macoda and Ergoflex are brands we have a commercial arrangement with. Koala and Sleeping Duck are here because they belong in the comparison, and those two links are ordinary ones.
Trial length is the least important number
Every brand leads with it, and it is the number that changes the outcome least. Almost nobody uses night 140. The research on returns is consistent: people who send a mattress back know inside the first month.
What the length does buy you is a second season. A mattress bought in April on a 150-night trial is still returnable in September, which matters for anyone who runs hot, because a foam mattress that felt fine in winter can be the reason you are awake in February. On a 30-night trial you never find that out in time.
The minimum you have to sleep on it
This is the term that catches people, and it runs the opposite way to the trial length.
Onebed asks for 30 nights before a return is allowed at all. If you know on night three that the firmness is wrong, you wait out the month.
Ergoflex's trial is 30 nights and they ask you to sleep the whole 30. You do not have to have the mattress collected by day 30, but you do have to tell them inside it.
Macoda suggests 28 nights, which is a suggestion rather than a condition, but returning inside the first 14 days costs $100 in early collection.
Koala asks for seven nights, the shortest of the group.
Sleeping Duck works differently, because the Mach II's firmness is adjustable. Rather than a minimum before returning, they ask for 21 nights on each firmness setting before you change it again, and the swaps themselves are free. In practice that is a mattress you adjust instead of return.
There is a real reason behind the minimums. New foam is firmer than settled foam, and most people adapt to a new surface within a fortnight. The rule exists because a meaningful share of week-one returns would not have been returns at all.
Who pays to take it away
This is the term with the biggest gap between brands, and the one that is easiest to miss because it only applies to some addresses.
Koala's is the sharpest. The 120-day trial applies everywhere, but free collection covers metro Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Canberra and Perth. Outside those, you keep the trial and you deliver the mattress to a Koala fulfilment centre in one of five capitals yourself. For someone in Cairns, Broken Hill or Devonport, that is not a return policy in any practical sense.
Ergoflex charges $100 to $350 for regional collection, depending on distance, which at least tells you the number in advance.
Emma charges a non-refundable $79 or $160 regional fee depending on location.
Macoda's approach is different again: where free collection is not possible, getting the mattress to a registered charity or a recycling facility is the customer's job, and the refund waits until a third party confirms receipt.
Ecosa and Onebed both route returns through charity partners and do not flag a regional surcharge on their trial pages.
If you are outside a capital city, this row matters more than every other row on the table combined.
What the warranty actually covers
A mattress warranty is not a satisfaction guarantee. Once the trial closes, a warranty claim needs a defect, and the defect that matters is sagging.
Emma set the threshold at a permanent indentation greater than 2.5cm, visible to the naked eye, under correct use. Most brands use a similar figure, and "correct use" is where claims fail: a base with slats too far apart, or a mattress used on the floor, is usually enough to void it. The slat spacing your warranty requires is in the fine print of the mattress you bought, and it is worth reading before you buy the bed frame.
Warranty length is the least useful number on the table. Onebed's 15 years and Koala's 10 both far exceed how long anyone keeps a mattress, and both are limited warranties that cover replacement or repair rather than a refund. Foam mattresses are generally replaced somewhere between year seven and year ten, which is inside every warranty here.
The conditions that end a return
Every brand on this list routes returned mattresses to charity or recycling, and that shapes the conditions. A mattress has to be in a state a charity will accept.
In practice that means no stains, no tears, no strong odours and no sign of pests. Emma name mould, significant dirt, strong odours and bed bugs as disqualifying. Onebed require the mattress to be in a condition their charity partners will take.
The consequence is simple enough: a mattress protector from day one is what keeps the trial usable. One spill in week two can cost you the right to return.
Two brands also cap how many you may send back. Ecosa allow one return of up to two mattresses per household, and Sleeping Duck allow two per household. Anyone furnishing several bedrooms at once should read that row first.
FAQ
Does the trial cover the delivery fee?
Usually not. Koala refund the product price and specifically exclude delivery and assembly charges such as premium or room-service delivery. Emma's regional fee is described as non-refundable. Assume the freight is yours and treat it as the cost of trying the mattress.
How long until the money comes back?
Emma state 14 days from pickup, Koala five to seven business days from receiving the return, and Onebed approximately 30 days. Macoda refund once collection has happened.
Can I return a mattress bought on sale?
All seven describe the trial as applying to the mattress rather than to a price, and none of the trial pages carve out sale stock. Promotional bundles are the thing to check, because an accessory included free is often treated separately from the mattress.
Is a longer trial worth paying more for?
Only if you are buying in a mild month. The case for 150 nights over 100 is that it carries a mattress bought in autumn into a hot night, which is the condition most likely to change your mind about foam.
What happens to the mattress after it goes back?
None of these are resold as new. Ecosa, Onebed and Macoda all route returns to charities or recyclers, which is also why the condition rules are as firm as they are.
