A woman believes her secondhand home decor purchase has a sketchier origin story than she was led to believe — and the internet is lovin' it.
On June 14, TikTok user Marlie Tressler (@martressler) posted her account of her furniture fail, and it has been viewed more than 329,000 times. In the video, she details the realization she had after finding the likely source of the used dining chairs she’s had for years.
“Three years ago I bought these shares off of Facebook Marketplace and immediately the guy deleted his Facebook page afterwards so that was a red flag,” says Tressler in the video, adding that she always wondered where they were from.
After showing one of the sleek, black-striped, wooden chairs in her home, the video cuts back to Tressler. “This is what I saw last night in this South Georgia McDonald’s,” she says alongside a laughing companion in the car.
The video then shows a McDonald's dining room and — wouldn’t you believe it — several of the same exact type of chair Tressler owns perched up on the tables.
“It’s identical. Those are stolen McDonald’s chairs,” Tressler says through laughter. “McDonald’s, I will kindly return these stolen artifacts to you. I do apologize. I know you’ve been spiraling out of control missing these chairs. Look no further.”
Neither Tressler nor McDonald's responded to TODAY.com’s request for comment.
But the true origin of the chairs cannot be confirmed, and many commenters claim that IKEA has sold a similar chair, though its website only reveals a tangentially similar model for sale.
Additionally, a reverse image search reveals that there is a similar chair for sale on Alibaba called “Wholesale Cheap Bentwood Mcdonald’s Fast Food Restaurant Dining chair,” so do with that info what you will.
Tressler’s video, which she captioned, “Love you @McDonald’s your interior designer slayed,” attracted a lot of comments, with users sharing their own theories as to the origin of her possibly hot merchandise.
“Marlie i’m dead af this is SO funny,” commented one TikTok user.
“At no time did I have any idea where this story was going. Not once. This is great,” wrote another.
“You better keep these chairs. You paid for them. They are yours now,” commented someone else, while another wrote, “I bet they’re super sturdy too!”
Several users commented that this story reminded them of comedian Carly Aquilino’s tale about buying a hand-shaped chair from Facebook Marketplace before later finding out it was likely stolen from a Planet Fitness.
And some folks have theorized that Tressler’s chairs may indeed be from McDonald's, but not stolen from McDonald's.
“Sometimes franchisees sell excess furniture or things they don’t need/want. That could be it,” commented one TikTok user. “Or the selling person has them from the same supplier.”
Regardless of her furniture's backstory, Tressler appears to be handling the ordeal with a sense of humor.
“4 for $100,” Tressler replied to a comment asking how much she bought them for. “A steal.”
This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY
