Aussie influencer responds after ‘disastrous’ second-hand rug fiasco
- Replies 7
Social media influencers have a huge following that extends far beyond their reach to their followers. With one upload of a photo or video, they can boost a company’s brand in an instant.
With this in mind, they have an important responsibility, to be honest and transparent with their audience when it comes to reviewing products or sharing experiences.
Unfortunately, one Aussie influencer recently encountered a lesson in the power of transparency when she attempted to sell a second-hand rug as ‘brand new’ to her followers.
Aussie influencer Sarah Stevenson, who runs @Sarahs_Day account online, came under fire recently after she uploaded a post on Instagram which features the rug’s dimensions with a descriptive note calling the rug ‘basically brand new’.
However, another social media account @AussieInfluencerOpinions pointed out that the rug has appeared in her photos since April 2020.
‘We only rolled it out in Foxy‘s upstairs room for a week or so but he didn’t like the pink in it,’ she said in the video.
It was reported that the rug retailed for $849 online in the same size that Sarah was offering. However, it was unclear how much she ended up selling the item for.
Following this ordeal, people flocked to the comments to slam the woman, who had more than a million followers online and a reported net worth of $2 million. Feminist writer Clementine Ford even called her out as a ‘cheapskate’.
‘Presumably, she was given this for product placement? Just give it away,’ she added.
‘Second-hand embarrassment for her,’ another commented.
‘It looks old and gross,’ someone else responded. While one wished for Sarah to just give away the rug for free to someone who could use it.
‘Feel sorry for the poor person who just got stitched up and purchased this off her,’ one wrote.
People also questioned why Sarah even needed to sell the rug given her wealth.
‘She’s buying her dad an Aston Martin and her husband a $200,000 boat. You’d think she could just give it away to charity,’ one stated.
While one said that Sarah selling the rug on her Instagram account ‘drags down her page’ and ‘makes it look a bit cheap and tacky’.
According to her claims, the rug seems to also have been used in other areas of the house aside from her child’s room.
Sarah said that although she’d owned the rug for quite some time now, it had barely been used. Therefore, it was ‘basically brand new’.
Sarah hit back at the criticism and explained her side of the story via a video she uploaded online.
‘First of all, good to see this is newsworthy. There are lots of things going on in Australia at the moment, clearly,’ she said in her video.
Sarah added: ‘Maybe I'm wrong here, but my interpretation of "basically new" is good as new or immaculate condition?’
‘We rolled it out for literally a week. Kurt hated it. Fox hated it. So, we had it in our apartment, we had it out for a little bit, Kurt hated it so we boxed it up,’ she explained.
Sarah mentioned that in their new house, the rug was rolled out in her son’s room but he didn’t like the colour, so they stored it away in their back room instead.
Sarah recalled that her husband wanted her to sell the rug or get rid of it. ‘My sisters didn't want it so I figured I would just sell it, like, I didn't care. I wasn't asking for the price that I bought it for, I was like, yeah, it's basically brand new like name a price and come and pick it up,’ she claimed.
The influencer’s followers jumped to her defence, saying that Sarah should be allowed to sell the rug if she wanted to.
‘It’s so silly, that rug was in great condition. I would not have felt duped,’ one admitted.
Another wrote: ‘I 100% agree with your interpretation of new/basically new. I thought this was common knowledge.’
What about you, members? What’s your definition of ‘basically brand new’? Let us know in the comments below!
With this in mind, they have an important responsibility, to be honest and transparent with their audience when it comes to reviewing products or sharing experiences.
Unfortunately, one Aussie influencer recently encountered a lesson in the power of transparency when she attempted to sell a second-hand rug as ‘brand new’ to her followers.
Aussie influencer Sarah Stevenson, who runs @Sarahs_Day account online, came under fire recently after she uploaded a post on Instagram which features the rug’s dimensions with a descriptive note calling the rug ‘basically brand new’.
However, another social media account @AussieInfluencerOpinions pointed out that the rug has appeared in her photos since April 2020.
People questioned whether Sarah was telling the truth. Credit: sarahs_day/Instagram
‘We only rolled it out in Foxy‘s upstairs room for a week or so but he didn’t like the pink in it,’ she said in the video.
It was reported that the rug retailed for $849 online in the same size that Sarah was offering. However, it was unclear how much she ended up selling the item for.
Following this ordeal, people flocked to the comments to slam the woman, who had more than a million followers online and a reported net worth of $2 million. Feminist writer Clementine Ford even called her out as a ‘cheapskate’.
‘Presumably, she was given this for product placement? Just give it away,’ she added.
‘Second-hand embarrassment for her,’ another commented.
‘It looks old and gross,’ someone else responded. While one wished for Sarah to just give away the rug for free to someone who could use it.
‘Feel sorry for the poor person who just got stitched up and purchased this off her,’ one wrote.
It retails for $849 but it was unclear how much it was sold for. Credit Juno Beni
People also questioned why Sarah even needed to sell the rug given her wealth.
‘She’s buying her dad an Aston Martin and her husband a $200,000 boat. You’d think she could just give it away to charity,’ one stated.
While one said that Sarah selling the rug on her Instagram account ‘drags down her page’ and ‘makes it look a bit cheap and tacky’.
According to her claims, the rug seems to also have been used in other areas of the house aside from her child’s room.
Sarah said that although she’d owned the rug for quite some time now, it had barely been used. Therefore, it was ‘basically brand new’.
Sarah hit back at the criticism and explained her side of the story via a video she uploaded online.
‘First of all, good to see this is newsworthy. There are lots of things going on in Australia at the moment, clearly,’ she said in her video.
Sarah added: ‘Maybe I'm wrong here, but my interpretation of "basically new" is good as new or immaculate condition?’
The rug appeared in a photo from 2020. Credit: sarahs_day/Instagram
‘We rolled it out for literally a week. Kurt hated it. Fox hated it. So, we had it in our apartment, we had it out for a little bit, Kurt hated it so we boxed it up,’ she explained.
Sarah mentioned that in their new house, the rug was rolled out in her son’s room but he didn’t like the colour, so they stored it away in their back room instead.
Sarah recalled that her husband wanted her to sell the rug or get rid of it. ‘My sisters didn't want it so I figured I would just sell it, like, I didn't care. I wasn't asking for the price that I bought it for, I was like, yeah, it's basically brand new like name a price and come and pick it up,’ she claimed.
The influencer’s followers jumped to her defence, saying that Sarah should be allowed to sell the rug if she wanted to.
‘It’s so silly, that rug was in great condition. I would not have felt duped,’ one admitted.
Another wrote: ‘I 100% agree with your interpretation of new/basically new. I thought this was common knowledge.’
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