Anthropologie Finds Itself in #Couchgate After Selling Free Sofas, Then Cancelling Orders

For a brief period an almost $8,000 sofa was “free” online at Anthropologie. Here’s how the boho retailer landed itself in what the Twitter-verse has dubbed #Couchgate.

On Thursday morning, Anthropologie had listed the Edlyn chaise sectional for zero dollars, plus $150 delivery fee. The sofa actually retails for $3,298 to $7,798, but for a brief window, it was relatively free. People then posted about their good fortune on Twitter:

But not long after, people started receiving cancellation notices, and those who (almost) won the bargain shopper Olympics were not too pleased about it.

Business Insider reports that the retailer’s “terms of use include a policy that allows the retailer to refuse or cancel orders for products listed at ‘an incorrect price due to photographical error, typographical error, or error in pricing information from our suppliers.'” They also note that a spokesperson told them in an email that “We sincerely regret that a technical glitch on our website caused some furniture pricing to be listed incorrectly.”

As of this writing, the apparent website glitch that caused the $0 price has not been publicly addressed or explained by Anthropologie outside of the statement above, nor have those who purchased it received apologies or explanations beyond a generic cancellation stating that “the item(s) below reflect product(s) that are no longer in stock.”

This isn’t the first time a retailer has gotten in hot water over a sofa; earlier this year, West Elm pulled their Peggy model and offered to accept returns after an essay on Hairpin and quite a few unhappy Peggy owners made their voices heard. Who knows, perhaps the latest #couchgate folks will be similarly vindicated.