Wednesday, December 24, 2025

How I Got AI to Help Me Sell My Old Couch

The Barr family purchased a new couch recently, and we’ve been trying to sell the old one. My wife posted in a local email group and a potential buyer got in touch with a question.

“Do you happen to know the model? I would love to look it up online rather than asking you lots of questions. 🙂 Thanks!” she wrote.

This is an old couch, so all product codes dissolved in the sands of time years ago. So, I took two photos of the furniture, uploaded them to Gemini, and asked for help. The Google chatbot sent back its best guess in seconds:

Tillary Sectional: This is a very popular, modular West Elm sofa that was available around that time.

Appearance Match: The low back and deep seat are very characteristic of the Tillary. The Tillary is known for having interchangeable backrests that can be moved or removed, and your sofa’s armless chaise and backrests look like they might be loose cushions or pieces, which is a key Tillary feature.

Note: Search results show the Tillary was being reviewed and discussed around 2014, making it a strong possibility for a 2013 purchase.”

Gemini also shared other useful tips on how to identify the product, such as “Some West Elm couches have a zippered compartment on the back or bottom where extra components (like legs or connectors) are stored, and a tag may be inside.”

That was enough to find a product match and send all the details over to the buyer. We closed the deal, for $200, on Tuesday. That’s enough for 10 months of a Gemini Pro subscription.

This holiday period, the Barr family plans to spend a lot of time slouching on our new, fancy couch. I call it the “AI bubble couch.”

Sign up for BI’s Tech Memo newsletter here. Reach out to me via email at abarr@businessinsider.com.



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