Alternately you could have an upholsterer do a thrift store bedframe. My friend is an upholsterer and I know she can do it for way less than $1800 and the quality is custom and superb.

You want to find out if the frame is made from kiln-dried hardwood and how it's put together, i.e.: blocks in the corners, how legs are attached...

I've never ordered from overstock, but isn't it a 'concoction' of what hasn't sold in retail stores, and may even include seconds? I would be leary of ordering an upholstered piece for fear of the fabric being stained, crushed, wrinkled, or any number of things that can happen to a fabric if the piece hasn't been stored correctly.

I'm not familiar with their shipping agreement, but if it ships for free to/ from, you won't be at a loss.

I don't think I'd buy anything that would be difficult to return online. That is a lesson learned the hard way.

Do you have a Room and Board near you where you can see the bed? We are lucky enough to have one, and by and large the quality of their furniture is good as is their customer service. We ended up buying a well-made platform bed (Stickley) and for me, the difference between quality and cheaper is visible. But our bed is wood. I don't know if you'd be able to discern the quality of the frame as well with an upholstered bed.

I do have a Room & Board near me - that's where I saw the bed, but I don't really know how to judge its quality. I'd be relying on R&B's reputation for good quality, although now that I know to look, I'll check into the things Tribbix mentioned.

I wouldn't ever buy a bed online - I was just wondering why they're so much cheaper and how to ascertain quality.

I'll probably just do the R&B bed if on next look/research it appears to be good quality wood, blocking, screws, etc.

Louislinus, I appreciate the suggestion of a custom upholstered piece, but even if I were to do that, it would be with a new frame, so it's probably not a better value. I've just never gotten into the thrift store scene.

Love that bed!!!!

I purchased a Skyline upholstered headboard from Wayfair for my daughter's college apartment.

The box arrived damaged and looked as though it had been dragged: ripped box, torn packaging, and a slight tear on the back of the headboard.

I contacted Wayfair and they said I could keep the damaged item, and sent out a replacement. Apparently shipping was more costly than the actual product.

We were really happy with the headboard which looked a lot more expensive than the few hundred dollars it cost. But to be honest, I'm not sure if I would gamble to the tune of $1800, unless I had a confirmed return shipping cost that I found reasonable.

I like the look of the Room and Board bed too, but it did not pass my shake test. I like a bed to be solid, but I was able to wobble the headboard of that R&B bed. The bed did not feel 100% solid.

I will be buying a bed from Cisco Furniture. A family run business, made right here in Los Angeles and are solid and well built. I bought one for DS2 and we are very happy with it. The price is a bit more, around $3K for a Queen and $3,600 for King, but it varies based on fabrics. You can also do your own fabric (COM).

Thanks chispa. One of the problems with the test, though, is that I've found all products that have to be put together for the showroom (all stores) are put together hastily -- screws aren't properly tightened, for example. I'll check it out again, though, and will check Cisco too.

I have R&B's upholstered Ella bed (steel legs). I've had it maybe 10-11 years, and I bought the mattress from R&B, too.
There are several sturdy metal slats supporting the mattress, and I wasn't aware there was a board you could get. But I don't know if I'd even feel a difference. Someone on the R&B site commented that it makes it easier to change the sheets.

I did see one mention of "wobbly legs," and I wonder if that was a result of too-fast assembly (I had a delivery guy who attached a front leg in kind of askew manner, which was very noticeable from the steps up to the bedroom. I think I made him redo it twice).

I also think that the furniture in the showroom is like the mattresses you see in mattress stores: They've been jumped on, rolled on, sat on at the edges, so things that might've been tight and firm at one point are probably less so now.

A R&B repair guy was sent out to adjust my bed's front 2 legs a couple of years ago when my painters moved the bed, after being told not to (I'd already put it on sliders to nudge it away from the wall), and the legs tilted a little bit again. He came within a week of my call, no charge, did a good job. And that was long after a regular store warranty probably would've covered that. That was good customer service, in my book.

(Before buying my bed, I looked at an upholstered one at Z Gallery, which is in a mall not too far from me. If there's one near you, you might want to check out what it has on the showroom floor. Prices weren't too bad...)