They say one man’s trash is another man’s treasure—a literal statement in the case of this TikToker who found an expensive designer couch on the NYC sidewalk.
Racking up an astonishing 41 million views over the weekend, this TikTok by @yafavv.mandaa is an incredible illustration of what happens when rich people casually throw away their designer goods. Like the viral 2022 story about someone finding a $4000 vintage lamp, this TikTok had people wondering why the couch had been thrown away in the first place.
“Hi guys, this is me finding an $8000 couch in the middle of the street,” the TikTok begins, showing @yafavv.mandaa looking excited next to a bright blue couch. Researching it on her phone, she identifies the couch as an item from Sacha Lakic’s Bubble collection.
It was raining when she found the couch, so it was pretty dirty. But her family picked it up and gave it a deep clean, and the TikTok ends with the couch safely installed in her apartment—and looking great!
@yafavv.mandaa got my dream couch for free🥹 #nyc #nycapartment ♬ vlog, chill out, calm daily life(1370843) – SUNNY HOOD STUDIO
As the story spread on TikTok, it provoked mixed reactions from excitement to concern about a) bedbugs, and b) the possibility that the couch’s original owners were just moving house and meant to come back for it.
Meanwhile, on Twitter, one popular response theorized that the couch was actually a cheap knockoff due to the fabric quality. Another joked that it was haunted. But most reactions were about, yes, bedbugs and safety concerns: “sometimes u just gotta stop and think. what could possibly make someone throw an $8,000 couch out on the street?”
As is often the case when a TikTok attracts this level of attention, @yafavv.mandaa returned to share a follow-up video addressing people’s concerns. First up: The bedbug situation.
After receiving a deluge of comments warning about bedbugs (a valid concern for any piece of furniture left on the sidewalk), @yafavv.mandaa explained that in addition to thoroughly washing the couch, she’d also left it at her father’s workplace for two weeks before transferring it to her apartment. (She argues that this is long enough to know if bedbugs are present, but just FYI: Those little monsters can actually lie in wait for months!)
@yafavv.mandaa Replying to @Habibi the long awaited couch update 😙 #nyc #couch ♬ original sound – yafavvmandaa
“I personally think it was thrown out because it has a lot of rips that I’ve covered with pillows,” she points out. “And it has some stains.” So there’s no particular reason to believe the couch was dumped because it had a bedbug infestation.
“It was thrown out in front of a very rich building,” she says at last. “So I took the opportunity and brought it in. Rich people throw out all their furniture all the time because they get new furniture every other year.” As a final response to commenters who theorized the couch was fake, she shows off its designer label.
The Daily Dot has reached out to @yafavv.mandaa via TikTok comment.
