Buying and shipping an American bed to Germany

After four + years of living in Munich, I've had it with European beds. I want a California King Simmons Beautyrest. Every business trip to the US, staying in a hotel just reinforces the need to get one. I tried buying one from a dealer, I even tried buying one from the W hotel store. No one will ship abroad.

I've been looking into package forwarding services, but this seems to be a size that most services don't handle. One mattress set seems too small for freight services (at least those that have bothered to answer my queries). I'm not looking to pay more than the cost of the darn bed just to get it here and sending it to my ageing parents and asking them to forward it is also out of the question.

Has anyone managed to find a decent freight forwarding service that reliably handles such things? Anyone know a reseller in Europe? Anyone have an idea because I am fresh out and frustrated. Any helpful advice is welcome, thanks.

Just curious...whats the main diff between a "European bed" and an "American bed" ?

A big difference actually. I too miss my American mattress When I moved here I shipped my belongings through a moving company in one of those big Sea-Land containers... what was the only thing to be stolen/lost? My King size mattress that I bought the month before shipping everything! I couldn't believe it.
Not sure how you can get one shipped here other than through some moving company. If you knew someone moving here that you can piggy-back with that would be great. Maybe check with some international movers if they can offer a spot in a container... just an idea

Thanks for that enlightening explanation.

Try IKEA; they have the extra large (220x220) sizes that I assume you're craving. Mind you, so does my local mattress store, so I'm still intrigued as to what is so special about American mattresses/beds.

I'm over 6 ft tall & have an extra long bed - bought here in Germany with matresses etc to match.

There's plenty of differences between the beds in the US and in Germany. American beds come in two pieces: the top mattress and boxspring undernearth. German beds typically have one mattress and the wooden slats underneath, they also have the mattress and springs built into one. Both have their fanbase, but for me the American mattresses are just luxurious and much more comfortable.

The main issue is the way they deal with double mattresses here in Germany. I'm married and we're both tall. Our German bed option is to put two large mattress side by side and then lay a cushioned thin mattress pad on top. Sales people swear you can't tell the difference but you can. Try meeting up in the middle of the bed and within five minutes you feel gravity yanking you back to your own side. No wonder Germany has a population problem. There is no single large intact king-sized mattress option available here.

I'm looking into having one shipped to a freight company, but was wondering if anyone knew of other options for non-trust fund types out there. I'm willing to pay reasonable shipping prices but not looking to double the cost of the bed itself.

Do you have stairs ot deal with ? I have found that the problem is in getting the large American style mattresses and springs up the stairs.
I agree the American ones are far nicer and in a hotel the Very best I have found was made in Canada. I asked the hotel owner.

Didn't stop us

You might want to try shopping in the UK, they only tend to go up to 180x200cm (called "super king size" in the UK), but there are places which will do custom larger sizes. Certainly the style of bed you describe (box sprung) is available. It would be cheaper than shipping from the US. This 2 x single mattress nonsense is something I find hard to get with as well, so I was very pleased when my bed and mattress came out of storage when I moved over here.

Not true. My boyfriend and I bought a Tempur mattress - it's foam and it's king sized and one piece. We did not go for all that 'you need two mattresses because you weigh less than him' blah, blah, blah. With the Tempur, it doesn't matter. It's awesome.

Go to a Tempur dealer - the big furniture store out in Haar (I cannot think of the name) has a really nice display and a bed you can enjoy for 15 minutes. After that you will not think twice about your American bed...trust me.

Hey FitzG, Did you ever get anywhere with this?
I have been shopping for a bed and can't find anything I like in Germany. I miss good American beds...
That Tempur tip was good, except for the fact that the things are a bit expensive... 2300 for an "almost" king size mattress is a bit much if you ask me...

All the beds here are too low and the side by side mattress thing is crazy...
Anyone have a solution to this?
Would love to buy a King Size American frame / mattress if anyone knows where.

Thanks,
-Ted

tedw, your solution to side-by-side mattresses is, buy a bigger mattress. Yes, it is possible. Even IKEA has different sized mattresses. They will still be German sizes but you can buy one that is 180x200cm. And if you want it to be higher, you could just put the new mattress on the two ones under it and get one of those sheets you usually put on the box spring or just a big enough sheet to put on a couch to cover the bottom mattresses (or just get fabric and sew up the ends so it looks nice).

I thought FitzG was asking about shipping companies, not mattress shopping alternatives.
Anyway, I am having problems finding a nice bed in Munich and toy off and on with the idea of just getting one in from the USA (e.g. West Elm or something). But friends here say that it will be hard buying Bettdecke here (eventually, say, if I didn't also buy them in the states). isn't USA Full Size the same as the 160x200 size beds in Europe, though?

Hmm... has anyone thought about just going to a carpenter and having a bed made however you want it? That way you can even specify headboard style and put drawers underneath if you wish. As for mattresses, we have a 200x200 European bed and I'm just now in the process of shopping around for a new mattress. Several places have told me that they can special order a large mattress (up to 200x220) for me so it isn't impossible to get the size you want. Not sure about box springs, though.

Just as an example, never bought anything through this web site, but take a look at the Matrazen & Liegen web site. They are currently advertising a sale on several brands, including the To Sleep Gold Line (18 cm hoher 7-Zonen Kaltschaumkern) which costs 616 euro for a 200x200 and 759 euro for 200x220. (plus shipping)

Like people say, you can get these type of beds in the UK, and it would be much cheaper to have it shipped from there. And I agree, the beds here suck.

Found this place in DE.
http://www.unitedfurniture.de/
Mainly for US service personnel, but it looks like they ship to anywhere in Germany for $80!
Personally I didn't find one that matched my taste, but at least they have US beds including mattresses.

Have heard the Marriott hotel chain sells its very comfy beds internationally.

Erm, why don't you check the simmons site if you want a simmons bed Simmons International , you can email them & ask where the closest supplier is.

Sealy UK

Here's a website for Sealy also, doesn't seem to be one in Germany, Sealy.de is a dog site

This thread has been a great help to me in getting some ideas of where to get beds. Once I thought of the hotels I realized that both Mariott and Westin have very good beds in california king size available in Germany for similar prices to what they cost in the US. United furniture has some nice beds. I'm probably going to go with a combination. Thanks to you all.