Woman's Theory About Why 'Thoughtful Gift' Is Up for Sale Goes Viral

A woman has spoken to Newsweek about her theory behind why a "thoughtful gift" for a college student has gone up for sale on Facebook Marketplace.

Jennifer, who doesn't wish to share her surname, went viral on TikTok last month, with her video (@jennay4399) racking up 1.9 million views.

In the video, the 25-year-old shared a photo of brand-new items that were initially purchased for a girl's college dorm room. The coral and mint-colored products range from alarm clocks to reading lamps, storage boxes, and more.

An extract from the seller's description points out the items were purchased for a "graduation gift but went a different route." However, Jennifer, from Illinois, believes this isn't the case.

She told Newsweek, "After reading the item description, it got me wondering what the story was behind the items being put up for sale.

"I wondered if the items weren't liked due to the dated color scheme."

In the video, which has more than 107,000 likes, Jennifer says, "This is probably a mom who bought her daughter a set of dorm room stuff and thought it was, like, so cute, and this is, like, such a cute little idea. But was, like, getting stuff based on what she thinks is like cute for a college girl."

She assumes the items were in fashion in 2012, but because it's "not in style anymore," her daughter is refusing to use them.

Jennifer sympathizes with the mom and says she would "never do that" to her mother, but she admits she probably would have when she was 18.

"I want to give this mom a hug," she said.

Despite feeling sorry for the mom, Jennifer, a private music instructor, had no intentions of buying the $140 bundle.

"I do not need for them," she told Newsweek. "However, I did consider reaching out to the mom to ask what the full story was behind it after my TikTok began gaining traction."

Since being posted online on April 20, the video has received over 750 comments.

One TikTok user said: "As someone whose mom constantly buys gifts she KNOWS I won't like then guilts me, I literally needed therapy. I now take the gifts, say thank you, and donate them instantly."

Another user said, "I remember my mom bought me a comforter set for my college dorm room and even though it's not something I would've picked personally, I still used and loved it because she picked it out."

A third commenter wrote, "I understood this as went in a different direction as in didn't go to college lmao."

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