High Thread Count Egyptian Cotton Bed Sheets – Part 5

High thread count bed sheets like 600tc, 1000tc, 1200tc are relatively new on the market and consumers have misconceptions about what to expect. Many shoppers expect a linear progression of increasing softness as fabric thread counts go higher. They assume, “if 600tc sheets are this soft, then 1200tc sheet sets must be twice as soft.” In reality they may feel very similar. The main difference is that 1200tc fabric is thicker, heavier, and drapes very differently than a 600tc sheet.

Because expectations are high and confusion abounds in the marketplace, pricing for high thread count bed sheets varies widely. Some pricing is quite high, perhaps taking advantage of consumers misunderstanding about high thread count sheeting; but some pricing is just too low to be believable.

On some auction sites you will find 500tc, 1000tc, and even 1500tc Egyptian cotton bed sheets being sold for less than half of their wholesale value, even below manufacturer’s pricing. Sellers accomplish this by switching labels. For example, a seller will replace the packaging label inside a 500tc or 600tc with a label that reads 1200tc. They are able to get away with this because auction sites do not actively regulate auctions and buyers can’t tell the difference.

Label switching is somewhat evil, but also just a bit of a game. For example, buyers pay the market value for a 500tc sheet set (in fact a very good price), receive a 500tc sheet set, but think they are getting a 1000tc sheet set. The markets on auction sites have reorganized themselves around this false economy of label switching. Honest retailers cannot compete with below-manufacturer-pricing, so the only sellers left on auction sites, in the Egyptian cotton bed sheets category, are sellers willing to switch labels.

You may get a good value on an auction site, but if you want to receive authentic thread count Egyptian cotton sheets, buy from a reputable online merchant or local store.