Online Bedding Boutique Takes Some of the Guesswork Out of Shopping by Adding Comprehensive Ratings for Their Sheet Sets (and Thread Count Doesn't Even Make the List)

In the world of online shopping, finding the perfect tactile product -- like a sheet set -- can be a guessing game. Various product guides and industry jargon glossaries can help, but ultimately shoppers need someone to be their hands for them. The bedding experts at Linenplace.com have put their extensive knowledge of textiles to good use by creating a comprehensive sheet rating system that is straightforward and intuitive. Their vice president also explains why thread count isn't the be-all and end-all of bedding.

New York, NY (PRWEB) November 21, 2006 -- The people at Linenplace.com are slapping themselves on the forehead for not having thought of this sooner. Rather than trying to persuade people to read volumes about the ins and outs of bed textiles before they make a purchase, why not use their own considerable knowledge as industry insiders to create a rating system that everyone can understand?

Several years ago, consumers started hearing a lot about thread count. Companies were marketing sheets much like they do horsepower -- the higher the number, the better. Right? Well, like horsepower and cars, thread count and sheets are a lot more complicated than just a number. In fact, thread count isn't even the greatest indicator of quality.

Factors like weave and construction, fiber size, etc. all greatly impact the look, feel and most definitely the price of a sheet -- but they don't mean much to anyone who doesn't spend an unhealthy amount of time with linens. For most people, it's enough to feel the fabric in person and go from there. Of course, when it comes to buying bed linens on the Internet, it helps to have more information to ensure you're getting a quality product for the right price. What online customers ultimately need, however, is someone to be their hands for them.

Heather Young, vice president of Linenplace.com and linens aficionado, really does spend an unhealthy amount of time around sheets. But she has put all of her knowledge to good use and created a comprehensive five-point system by which to rate all of the sheets sold on the luxury linens website. She and other employees with bedding expertise personally product-test each rated item, so ratings are never made up or "guesstimated."    

"It gets tricky when you're trying to explain to the customer that a 600 thread count sheet isn't necessarily superior to a 300 or even 200 thread count sheet," Heather explains. "There are so many technical aspects that tend to put people right to sleep." Not hard to sympathize with, especially with all that talk about beds and sheets.

While http://www.linenplace.com/ has its share of detailed product guides explaining different types of bedding as well as its take on thread count, the rating system is more intuitive and doesn't require any extensive research of industry jargon to understand. A five-point scale scores the five criteria most valuable to shoppers: softness, crispness, luster, weight and price. Customers can click on the rating for any sheet and see how it compares to others.

Heather is confident that the rating system will clear up some of the confusion about thread count generated by marketers and the industry: "Thread count should be less about the number, and more about how it translates to the feel and quality of the fabric. There are certain things you always want to look for in sheets -- like long staple cotton and high yarn size -- but ultimately it's about personal preferences and budget."

So if a person prefers to shop for bedding in, well, bed -- they should do the homework. Or at least find a trusted online store like Linenplace.com that will do the homework for them. They won't even have to give them lunch money.

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