In April, Bedbath & Beyond filed for bankruptcy. “The company has secured a $240 million loan to help fund its operations during bankruptcy,” it said. CNNit also announced that it will be closing some stores — and offering special sales in the meantime.
Naturally, customers flocked to the store in hopes of finding a previously undiscovered deal.
The results are mixed. For example, a customer went into the store and found that blowout her closing sale only offered him a 10% discount.
Now, a TikTok user has sparked controversy after claiming that prices in local stores have not been reduced at all. In fact, TikToker says the price has increased.
In a video with more than 62,000 views as of Saturday, TikTok user Deidra (@deidra.bailey) shows off a welcome mat with price tags on it. The actual price has been smeared with permanent marker, but it’s clear that the price used to be $20 for her.
Deidra then pans to its current price of $28.
@deidra. Bailey Sneak 🤨 #bedbathandbeyond # liquidation sale #closed #bedbathandbeyondfinds #secretly ♬ Monkeys Spinning Monkeys – Kevin MacLeod & Kevin the Monkey
“When I go to the Bed Bath & Beyond liquidation sale, [notice] Some prices are marked up,” she wrote in the text overlaid on the video.
Questionable discounts are nothing new on TikTok. In December 2022, a user showed a package on Kohl’s that he claimed was 60% off the original price of $440. When she removed the sticker on the bag, it was revealed that her original price was actually $319.99 for her.
Below the Daedra video, a user provided a potential reason for the price change.
“This is not a sleeping bath problem,” commented one user. “It happens all the time. The price he raises by 20%, and there is a sale and he lowers it by 10% or 15%.”
“I worked at Bed Bath and it happens when a product comes in at the wrong price and we fix it before it even comes out,” claimed another. It happened long before we started closing.”
“Because it’s the price from the last few years. We just did a liquidation and it’s not marked up. All promotional sales go back to normal price,” suggested one-third.
Still, many users shared their thoughts on the lackluster selling price.
“I went there and couldn’t understand why people were selling so much,” said the user.
“I went today and it’s not worth it”
I reached out to Bed Bath & Beyond via email and to Deidra via direct message on TikTok.
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*First published: May 6, 2023 8:19am CDT
Braden Veera
Braden Bjella is a cultural writer. His work can be found on Mixmag, Electronic Beats and Schön! magazines, etc.
