Woman discovers sofa she ‘sold for $500 is worth more than $20,000’

A woman has learnt a hard lesson on the value of research after putting an item on sale without checking its true worth first.

TikTok user Jules Schreiner said she thought she got a great deal when she scooped $500 (around £350) for her unwanted sofa after advertising it on Facebook Marketplace.

That was until she found out the couch could be, in fact, worth forty times that amount.

In a now-viral clip, Schreiner explained that she put the piece of furniture up for sale after someone gave it to her for free.

A man bought it and picked it up "within seconds", much to her initial delight.

But then she spotted that he had posted about the brand on Instagram and so decided to look it up.

Her research revealed that the sofa was created by Vladimir Kagan, an icon of mid-century modern American furniture and interior design.

In the clip, she showed screenshots of other – smaller – pieces from the designer brand, all of which were selling for more than $14,000 dollars.

Items by the designer Vladimir Kagan brand still sell for thousands of dollarsjulesschreiner/TikTok

One that looked similar to hers, but was a slightly different style, was selling for a whopping $20,000 dollars – used.

In a caption to her video, Schreiner wrote: "Thought I had got a great deal on FB market place but ya know things are always too good to be true."

Her clip racked up more than 91,000 views and 2,600 comments in a week, as fellow TikTokers shared their sympathies and suspicions over the mishap.

“OK so from now on we are going to look for name brands on the things we buy,” one wrote. “Then we are going to GOOGLE THEM.”

Another thought of the sofa’s original owner, saying: “Imagine the person who gave [$20,000] away for free though!”

Fellow TikTokers pointed out that the sofa she sold didn’t match the $20,000 one she’d found onlinejulesschreiner/TikTok

Meanwhile, others contested Schreiner’s claim that the piece had been worth such an eye-watering sum.

“It’s not even the same couch,” one wrote, referring to the $20,000 dollar example she had displayed.

Another said her source – 1stDibs – was “not trustable” for checking the accurate value of vintage furniture.

A third pointed out: “It’s only worth that much if someone is willing to pay. I think you made out just fine getting $500 for [that] kind of discoloured used couch.”

While a fourth urged her to look on the bright side: “In fairness you all won from this,” they commented.

“The person got their couch for free, you made $500, and the last guy got a bargain.

“Win win win.”