‘Maybe she’s supposed to put it in water’: Woman makes fatal mistake of buying a bed from Temu, and you won’t believe what arrived

Every few years, a new website arrives on the internet, promising a range of tempting goods for dirt-low prices that are impossible to deny. Like clockwork, those sites experience a meteoric rise, as people rush to fill their carts, only to be exposed as an obvious scam. The goods that arrive look nothing like what was advertised, if they ever show up, and are often of truly abysmal quality. Not to mention the harm done to the environment and the workers who produce those goods.

Millions of people have been burned by sites like Temu and Wish, but few have experienced a reality check quite as hilarious as TikTok user @madybabee17’s sister, who recently made the extremely bold decision to purchase a mattress from Temu.

Now, anyone with an internet connection and low funds has likely considered Temu at least once, but a million horror stories — many of them hilarious, but also educational — have made us think twice. Not @madybabee17’s sister. She’s a courageous woman, a trailblazer… and one who’s likely to have a sore back for the coming holiday season.

The big reveal of the mattress that arrived for this poor sweet fool to enjoy is absolutely unbeatable, as the woman — clearly suffering from buyer’s remorse — flips the camera around to reveal a laughably undersized mattress. This thing is a toddler mattress at best, but it honestly looks like it would be more at home in a doll house. It cannot possibly reach past a grown adult’s waist, and the added effect of its intended frame — which massively dwarfs the pathetic mattress — only ramps up the comedy level of the video, as does @madybabee17’s reaction to her sister’s poor purchase.

Temu isn’t the most predatory site on the internet, but it’s most certainly a poor choice for any purchase you care about. If you’re just looking for a laugh and are willing to flush a few bucks down the drain, you may find plenty to enjoy in a Temu purchase, but if you’re actually in need of an item, it’s worth spending the extra cash to get something of at least marginal quality.

The low prices offered by Temu are partially due to the site’s side-stepping of the middleman. It connects purchasers directly with manufacturers, which allows those prices to drop, but a huge part of those low price tags comes from the actual quality. You simply can’t expect to get award-winning quality out of a $3 purchase, and yet people are still stunned when the laughably inadequate results of their shopping spree arrive.

Temu, Wish, Shein, and similar sites are not a good fit for anyone looking to enjoy a purchase long-term, but they’re not going out of style anytime soon. People continue to flood the sites with orders, and many of them end up disappointed. In at least a few instances, however — even when things go completely awry — there are clear upsides: If you’re looking to replace that doll bed or maybe get a laugh out of some very strange purchases, Temu might be for you. Just don’t expect to end up with a product that looks anything like what you ordered.