A shopping trip for one piece of furniture turned into a strange story about clearance prices, customer service and a chair that appeared to have picked up some unusual damage in just a couple of days.
A woman who posts on TikTok as @ciprianamuhdi shared the experience in a video, claiming a manager she identified as being from TJ Maxx initially refused to offer another markdown on a chair she had been considering at HomeGoods. When she returned shortly afterward, the chair was cheaper but covered in red markings.
She was putting together a vanity at home and wanted a chair to complete it. At HomeGoods, she found one she recalled originally selling for around $375 to $400. By then, the price had dropped to somewhere between $250 and $275.
She decided to wait for another markdown
That was still too much, especially since she had built the vanity herself to keep costs down. “I like it, but not for no $300. Like, let’s be for real,” she recalled telling her partner.
The creator had also seen a TikTok claiming that the numbers on clearance tags could indicate when another markdown might happen. Believing the chair had not been reduced since January, she decided to ask a manager whether it was due for another price cut.
Clearance shopping has spawned plenty of TikTok advice, including from former retail workers. One former TJ Maxx employee recently shared what she described as “three secrets” customers should know when hunting for deals. Such tips can be useful, though they do not guarantee another price cut.
According to her account, the female manager inspected the chair but told her, “It’s been discounted already. Do you want it or not?” She explained that it had not been marked down in months, but ultimately decided against paying nearly $300 and left.
Two days later, she returned while looking for a different stool. The chair was still there, but its price had fallen to $199. “It was supposed to be discounted. Like, I fucking knew it,” she said.
Price changes can be especially confusing when shoppers return expecting a bargain. Clearance items can move through different price points quickly, leaving customers unsure why an item’s value has suddenly changed. That uncertainty can make changing price tags feel particularly significant.
However, the chair had also acquired red marks across the arms, side and front. She immediately questioned what had happened, saying they did not look like ordinary dirt or an accidental mark from another shopper.
A store employee reportedly tried cleaning it with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser before she asked to speak with another manager. She was willing to take the chair but wanted a lower price because she did not know whether the markings would come out. The male manager responded, “Understandable,” before agreeing to mark it down further.
She ultimately bought the chair for about $125 and said the red marks came off easily once she got it home. Her theory about the first manager took shape after her partner looked at the markings and suggested, “I bet you was that manager.” Her father later reached a similar conclusion, while friends she told about the incident apparently agreed that the manager had deliberately marked the chair because she expected the shopper to return.
She eventually embraced the theory that the manager had tried to “destroy it” because she did not want her to have the chair. “She just didn’t want you to have the chair,” she said. The video does not show who put the markings on the furniture, however, so the claim that the manager deliberately damaged it remains unverified.
Some viewers agreed with her suspicion. One commenter wrote, “Why tmaxx managers be spiteful like that.. like the money is coming out of their pockets,” while another offered a different explanation: “Employees don’t know when the items will be marked down. That is in fact true.”
Another commenter was more skeptical, writing, “You can’t accuse someone of doing something if you don’t have any evidence that she did it!”
What is clear is that the chair became cheaper between her visits, she found it covered in red markings, and another manager eventually sold it to her for $125. Whether the damage was intentional is something the video cannot establish.
Published: Aug 10, 2026 07:55 am