A warning about Foam Factory / Foam by Mail (LONGISH)

By dojimaster, in X-Wing

Placed an order a couple weeks ago for foam for a case I am setting up for my medical equipment with hopes if it was excellent, we would order some for my son (for his gaming stuff). They shipped very quickly and we were excited...... until we opened it.

The foam had been compressed to minimize the size of the box, and it was compressed to less than 40% of the intended thickness.

We were told to wait 48 hours to let it expand - okay, irritating, just use the box they should have and all would have been well. But if it works, okay.

It did not. The uncompressed foam is 1/8" to 1/4" too thin. We contacted them, and did NOT ask for a replacement, just a plain thin sheet to base the pluck foam on to reach the intended thickness.

I was sent this:

"Thank you for the pictures that you have provided, however the material falls within our tolerance levels for the product and I cannot offer any additional material to be sent out to you. Please see the following in regards to our tolerance levels for these products.

Dimensional Tolerances

Foam Type

Length

Width

Thickness

Weight

Standard Open-Cell Sheets

± 2"

± 2"

± 1/4"

x

Standard Closed-Cell Sheets

3" Over

3" Over

± 1/4"

x

Standard Closed-Cell Rolls

6" Over

2" Over

± 1/8"

x

Acoustical Foam

± 2"

± 2"

± 1"

x

Mattresses

± 1-1/2"

± 1-1/2"

± 1/2"

x

Mattress Toppers

± 1"

± 1"

± 1/2"

x

Camping Pads

± 1"

± 1"

± 1"

x

Comfort & Support Items

± 1"

± 1"

± 1"

x

Custom-Cut Cushions

± 1"

± 1"

± 1/2"

x

Custom-Cut Mattresses

± 1-1/2"

± 1-1/2"

± 1/2"

x

Pet Beds

± 2"

± 2"

± 2"

x

Fiberfill

3" Over

3" Over

± 1/4"

x

Hand-Cut Custom Packaging & Parts
(Less Than 5 sq. ft. Surface Area)*

± 1/2"

± 1/2"

± 1/4"

x

Hand-Cut Custom Packaging & Parts
(Greater Than or Equal To 5 sq. ft. Surface Area)*

± 1"

± 1"

± 1/4"

x

Machine-Cut Custom Packaging & Parts**

± 1/4"

± 1/4"

± 1/4"

x

Shredded Memory Foam Bag (15LB)

x

x

x

9LB-25LB

Shredded Conventional Foam Bag (8LB)

x

x

x

5LB-12LB

Shredded Conventional Foam Bag (30LB)

x

x

x

22LB-38LB

*Note: Custom projects involving labor without a design fee are typically hand-cut.
**Note: Custom projects involving labor with a design fee are typically machine-cut."

Okay. This was not anywhere we could find it before we ordered, but okay. So a "company policy" response but no meaningful resolution of a customer complaint. Lost sale for my son's stuff, and a word to the wise for you all. Perhaps some of you have had better luck, and if so, please feel free to offer a balanced view of Foam Factory / Foam by Mail. Sadly we cannot as our experience has been poor.

"Close enough is good enough" is apparently their motto. So buyers beware.

We did advise them I would post our experience here, so if this changes their tune, we will report back

Edited by dojimaster

Edit: Actually I didn't buy from them. I bought from someone else.

So I have a related story. I bought some foam from foamforyou, but I haven't gotten around to cutting it yet.

I bought several of the 24" x 72" sheets. Many of the sheets were not even 72" long! In my case it didn't matter because I'm cutting everything to fit in 15.5" x 12" battlefoam, so I only needed 62" length, but there is apparently little or no QA. I'm talking differences of 6", at least. I can go measure when I get home.

I got the charcoal firm foam. I did notice that it was super-compressed from shipping, but after a few days it had settled back to normal.

Edited by MajorJuggler

I did notice that it was super-compressed from shipping, but after a few days it had settled back to normal.

Yep. Foam Factory / Foam by Mail had packed/sealed it in a bag and then vacuumed out the extra air (or so it appeared). 3" thick were compressed down to less than 0.75".

Just plain / bad service.

I did notice that it was super-compressed from shipping, but after a few days it had settled back to normal.

Yep. Foam Factory / Foam by Mail had packed/sealed it in a bag and then vacuumed out the extra air (or so it appeared). 3" thick were compressed down to less than 0.75".

Just plain / bad service.

Wow, that is some serious compression! My foam was not nearly that compressed when I bought it from foamforyou.

I bought 2x 1/4" sheets, and 1x of 0.5", 1", 1.5", 2", and 3". They stacked them all on top of each other and then wrapped them around themselves the long way. They wrapped it very tightly, in flexible cardboard and clear plastic wrap, but it was not vacuum sealed. It took several days for it to fully uncurl and come back to normal, especially some of the edges that were kinked. I also let it sit in the packaging for over a month because we were in the middle of moving, but I think it's OK.

3" compressed down to 0.75" is insane though.