Facebook Marketplace is a popular place to search for used items, but the results can vary.
A woman documented her ‘new’ mattress from Facebook Marketplace horror story in a series of viral videos with millions of views.
Shopper buys ‘new’ mattress
In the first video, TikTok user Rose (@rosek292) shared in the text overlay, “felt something on my son’s mattress. Guess what we found.” On the side of the mattress, her boyfriend peeled open a small hole.
Using the tip of a pair of scissors, tore an opening bigger. Once the hole was big enough, he pulled out a black lighter. “What the [expletive]?” the content creator gasped in utter disbelief.
To her horror, a flame appeared after her boyfriend tested it out. “And it works and everything?” This left the couple confused. “I don’t know how they put it in though,” her boyfriend responds. “How? Maybe when they made it, their lighter accidentally dropped in there,” Rose proposed, assuming an employee’s lighter from the mattress manufacturer dropped inside.
@rosek292 Felt something weird on top of my 3 yr olds bed and cut a little piece to see what it was and it was a lighter but there is no zipper on the whole mattress. How could this happen!!??#mattress ♬ original sound – RoseK
The couple investigates further
After unearthing the lighter, the couple investigated the mattress even more. “We are opening it outside just in case there is fiberglass in there,” she explained in the text overlay.
Then, Rose’s boyfriend finished cutting one end of the mattress with the scissors, ripping it open with his hands. “Is there anything in there?” she asked, peeking inside it. When he pulled the first layer of the mattress and the foam out of the way, there was a stained mattress underneath.
“It’s an older mattress with stains and all. This was a new mattress!” she exclaimed. The content creator zoomed in on the brown stains under the foam and across the older mattress. “Look at all of those stains. What the heck? The fact that someone was sleeping on this is crazy.”
@rosek292 We wanted to see if there was anything else inside the mattress and I was reading about how some mattresses are refurbished so we wanted to take a look. We were going to get rid of the mattress either way because it was extremely uncomfortable. Im very surprised how dirty the mattress is….. and they just put a new cover over it. I got this mattress new about a year ago and we took the plastic off just recently. #mattress ♬ original sound – RoseK
A refurbished mattress?
But the situation continued to devolve. “What does it say?” Rose inquired, noticing a tag at the bottom layer of the mattress that read “Orthopedic.”
“It’s a different tag from the outside tag,” she guesses. To confirm it, she unveiled the outside tag: “Premium Best Posture Support.”
Next, the content creator showed more stains on the bottom layer of the mattress. “Look at all those stains! And this is a new mattress!” However, the “new” mattress was an old refurbished one tucked inside a zipper bed sheet.
@rosek292 #mattress ♬ original sound – RoseK
What are the stains?
However, Rose’s concerns still don’t stop there. “Is that blood? It looks like blood!” she said, skimming over the stains. Next, the content creator turned her focus to the inside of the mattress.
“Is there anything in there?” she asked, examining the springs. Fortunately, the couple doesn’t find anything strange inside it or anywhere else.
@rosek292 Part 4 what else is in the mattress? #mattress ♬ original sound – RoseK
Since a viewer recommended pouring peroxide on the stain, the content creator tested it. Bubbling indicates a blood stain. To her relief, it didn’t react.
@rosek292 Replying to @Mama Bee Part 5 I am going to try to post another video explaining where I got it and why I opened it up. Please let me know if you have any more #questions.#mattress ♬ original sound – RoseK
Viewers are horrified by the mattress
“A refurbished bed is crazy work,” one viewer wrote.
“New fear unlocked,” a second commented.
“This video has left me with my jaw dropped. I have never heard of a refurbished mattress until now, that should be disclosed when bought!” a third stated.
“People make me SO MADDD…. Ooooo I hate people so MUCHHHHHHH,” a fourth remarked.
What prompted Rose to tear the mattress?
In an update, Rose shared what led to this. “The mattress I actually got on Facebook Marketplace and the mattress was completely new,” she recalled. “My son starts sleeping on it and I notice something in the mattress. In fact, her boyfriend was the one who suggested ripping it open. “Then, I told my boyfriend about it and he was like, we should open it up.’”
Lo and behold, that was how she found the lighter. “So, a lighter came out,” the content creator said. Due to the suggestions from viewers, Rose decided to examine the rest of the mattress. “Some people in the comments were talking about fiberglass. So, I was like, ‘I don’t want my son to use this anymore,” she explained. “Others were saying there might be more in it. So, I’m like, ‘You know what. Let’s take it out, open it up.”
“That’s what you guys saw. A used mattress,” she added. Unfortunately, Rose attempted to reach out to the seller to no avail. “I also try to find the person that sold it to me and I cannot find that person anywhere in my messages,” she revealed. “I don’t know if maybe they blocked me or deleted their Facebook.” So, what did the content creator do with the mattress? “It’s just gonna go into the garbage and my son’s just gonna get a new mattress,” she concluded.
@rosek292 Part 5 #mattress ♬ original sound – RoseK
The Daily Dot reached out to Rose via TikTok comment and direct message as well as Facebook via press email.
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