+
Pop Culture

Guy buys chair on Facebook Marketplace for $50 and finds out it could be worth $50,000

Best $50 ever spent.

facebook marketplace, sotheby's
@miztermiller/TikTok

Now THAT'S a deal.

Let's be real—buying secondhand allows us to save a few bucks, which is great. But the real thrill is the possibility of snagging that ultra-rare, one-of-a-kind item that’s worth a bajillion times more than we originally paid for it. Yes, that kind of shopping is a lottery unto itself. But man, what a jackpot, should you win.

And of course, it’s not a totally far-fetched fantasy. Costly things get thrown out or donated all the time, ready to be procured at the nearby thrift store, garage sale…

…or, in this case, Facebook Marketplace.


In February 2023, Los Angeles-based designer and container creator Justin Miller posted a TikTok sharing a listing he found for a dark tan leather wingback chair going for $50.

Miller immediately felt the piece was “unique” and dove into some online research. The brand, he discovered, was Frits Henningsen, with the design dating back to the 1930s. Miller would later discover (thanks to a helpful commenter) that the same chair showed up during Kirsten Dunst’s hour tour for Architectural Digest, where the actress mentioned that only 50 of the chairs were ever made.

@miztermiller Can’t believe I just found this amazing designer chair on Facebook Marketplace for $50! Could be worth $100,000 🙃 #homedecor#interiordesign#diy#homerenovation#thrifted#vintage#thrifthaul#facebookmarketplace#antiques♬ love nwantinti (ah ah ah) - CKay

With all that info, the prices for the chair were expectedly “insane,” ranging from $9,634 to $60,000, to even a whopping $223,943 for a pair of the exact same chair in the listing—meaning that, theoretically, one chair would be worth around $100,000. Yowza.

Of course, with a few scratches in the leather, Miller knew he wouldn’t be getting anywhere near $100,000. But still, he seemed in for a pretty penny. So he of course bought the chair and has documented the ongoing journey in subsequent TikToks.

@miztermiller Replying to @minnymau5 UPDATE on the $100k chair, and answering some questions! #homedecor#interiordesign#diy#homerenovation#thrifted#vintage#thrifthaul#facebookmarketplace#antiques#sothebys♬ love nwantinti (ah ah ah) - CKay

As he explained in an interview with Insider, the seller, located in Beverly Hills, gave Miller a quick heads up that the chair was potentially worth a lot of money. They had been tasked with selling a family friend's unwanted items in exchange for a percentage of the profits and had set up a yard sale, only to have to quickly pack everything up again after finding out that the city didn’t allow them. At that point, the only goal really was to sell everything as quickly as possible.

“She knew, she just wanted to get rid of it,” he said.

After procuring the chair, Miller submitted it to auction houses, and, according to Sotheby’s, it is estimated at…drumroll please…between $30,000-$50,000.

Best $50 ever spent.

@miztermiller Replying to @scramli3 Such a great find, and I love that you’ve been along for the journey. More to come! #homedecor#interiordesign#diy#homerenovation#thrifted#vintage#sothebys#antiques♬ love nwantinti (ah ah ah) - CKay

Miller is still waiting to get the final price for his chair, but he is undoubtedly patting himself on the back for trusting his gut. And he’s sure to post how much it ultimately sold for on his TikTok, which you can find here.

Meanwhile, if you need me, I’ll be perusing Facebook Marketplace.

True

In a flurry of heavy headlines that constantly inundate our feeds, acts of good connect us back to our faith in humanity. Witnessing just one person go out of their way to make the world a better place is a powerful healing salve against apathy. It reminds us all of what we are collectively capable of creating. This is the philosophy that Upworthy wholeheartedly believes in, hence why we’re always sharing uplifting stories of people giving kindness, generosity and support to their fellow humans.

That’s also why we’re partnering with P&G, the maker of some of our favorite household products like Tide, Always and Pampers, to bring you the 2023 Acts of Good Awards, and celebrate the individuals who are giving back and strengthening their communities.

Think of it like the Oscars of kindness. Half as formal but twice as feel-good.

Besides providing the world with brands we know and trust, P&G is a company doing good acts, whether it’s supporting hygiene education, helping struggling communities gain access to basic necessities or delivering essentials for families impacted by disasters.

Keep ReadingShow less
Health

Psychologist explains why everyone feels exhausted right now and it makes so much sense

Psychologist Naomi Holdt beautifully explained what's behind the overarching exhaustion people are feeling and it makes perfect sense.

Photo by Jamie Street on Unsplash

It seems like most people are feeling wiped out these days. There's a reason for that.

We're about to wrap up year three of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it's been a weird ride, to say the least. These years have been hard, frustrating, confusing and tragic, and yet we keep on keeping on.

Except the keeping on part isn't quite as simple as it sounds. Despite the fact that COVID-19 is still wreaking havoc, we've sort of collectively decided to move on, come what may. This year has been an experiment in normalcy, but one without a testable hypothesis or clear design. And it's taken a toll. So many people are feeling tired, exhausted, worn thin ("like butter scraped over too much bread," as Bilbo Baggins put it) these days.

But why?

Keep ReadingShow less

A collection of Christopher Walken's most iconic moments on film

Christopher Walken has had a very unique career. He won the Academy Award for his dramatic performance in “The Deer Hunter” and gave scene-stealing performances in “Pulp Fiction” and “True Romance.” But he’s also known for his brilliant comedic performances in “Wedding Crashers” and the iconic “More Cowbell” sketch from “Saturday Night Live.”

Walken’s unique speaking style has also made him a popular target for impressionists. He attributes his accent to growing up in Queens, New York, and hanging out with immigrants learning English.

However, you don’t want to impersonate Walken in front of Walken.

Keep ReadingShow less
@rexartistry/TikTok

One generation is way better about taking up space.

While millennials and Gen Zer’s often get lumped together as the “young group,” they are certainly not the same. (Although, it is kind of hard to tell with all the Y2K fashion floating around.)

But speaking as a millennial, we definitely have different approaches to life, a lot of which seems to come down to a sense of self-assuredness. That goes for shopping, socializing, self expression…and even going to the hair salon, apparently.

Alexis Rex (@rex.artistry), hairstylist and owner of Rex Artistry Salon in Maryland, gave a brilliant (and hilarious) demonstration of some key personality differences between her millennial clients and her Gen Z clients in a now viral TikTok video.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pop Culture

Someone questioned the Costco cake ordering system. You do not question the Costco cake system.

Lucy Huber was confronted by the Costco cake brigade when she posted about the antiquated way you have to order.

Photo by Annie Reneau

Costco cakes are huge, cheap and delicious. Every time.

Costco is known for many things—their employee satisfaction and retention, their amazing Kirkland Signature generic brand, their massive (and addictive) $4.99 rotisserie chickens, their never-going-to-raise-the-price $1.50 hot dog and soda meal and more.

But one favorite Costco feature that might just top them all? The Costco cake.

Costco cakes are legendary. If you've never had a Costco cake, I'm so sorry. If you have, then you know. They are the trifecta of awesome—huge, cheap and utterly delicious. I don't even like cake that much and I can't stop eating a Costco cake. Like, if you ordered a fancy cake from a fancy patisserie and it tasted like a Costco cake, you'd say, "Oh yeah, that was worth the $$ I just paid." Only at Costco, you'd get that delicious of a cake that would feed a thousand people for just $25. (Okay, 50 people, but still—cake for days.)

This is why people have a serious loyalty to Costco cakes, which writer Lucy Huber discovered when she dared to question the Costco cake ordering process on Twitter.

Keep ReadingShow less
Identity

Supreme Court uses a transgender woman's pronouns in a landmark decision

In a unanimous decision, the court sided with a transgender Guatemalan woman fighting deportation.

The United States Supreme Court

Amidst the backdrop of a passionate cultural debate over transgender rights, the Supreme Court has made a landmark ruling that uses a transgender woman's pronouns and chosen name. A ruling written by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson refers to Estrella Santos-Zacaria, a transgender woman who was given the name Leon Santos-Zacaria and assigned male at birth, as “she.”

The court sided with Santos-Zacaria, 34, in a case centered around a migrant’s rights to appeal a denial of protection from removal from the U.S. The court's unanimous ruling now gives Santos-Zacaria another chance to contest the immigration officials' rejection of her plea to stay in the U.S.

Throughout the 19-page opinion, Jackson used the term “her” to refer to the petitioner seven times and referred to her as “she” in the opening sentence.

Keep ReadingShow less
via Pexels

Not all trends in parenting are a good thing

It’s tough to quantify whether today’s parents are stricter or more permissive than previous generations, but the overall sentiment seems to be that parents are more lenient than they were a few decades back.

A poll by YouGov found that younger Americans are more likely than their elders to have been raised by “not very strict” or “not at all strict” parents. Thirty-nine percent of under-30s say that their parents weren't very strict or not strict at all, compared to only 15% of over-65s.

Keep ReadingShow less