Scarves Is there a scarf slump?

#166
Cordeliere said:
The prices at TRR have seemed low to me lately. I hesitate to buy from them because they show so few pictures-often just one full scarf shot, one corner, and a shot on a mannequin. Maybe their prices have to be low to entice people to take a chance on a "pig in a poke" For those of you who are not native English speakers,:

The English colloquialisms such as turn out to be a pig in a poke or buy a pig in a poke mean that something is sold or bought without the buyer knowing its true nature or value, especially when buying without inspecting the item beforehand.

I did buy a very pretty shade of blue Coupons Indeins gavroche from them recently. It had the original paper tag on it and was a decent price. When it arrived, the color was much more teal and nothing like the pictures. Yes many sellers say it may look a different color on your monitor, but nothing I have ever purchased has been off this much. I returned it. I think I am not the only person to have bought that silk and returned. I originally saw it, then it was gone, then it was back.

Given that it is hard to know what you are getting from TRR, one has to be prepared to return the item. At least they take returns on silks and give you your money back.. That is not their policy on bags. I don't know if their current prices are a slump or if they have always been lower than ebay. If they had one of my grails at a good price, I would snap it up and return it if necessary. I would say TRR has a "risk" discount.
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Yes! I went there for the first time yesterday and was surprised by the low prices, but also annoyed at the absolute lack of decent pictures. Also things were on sale, and there was a no return policy. I did see a few things I was interested in, but I'm still hesitating.
 
#167
azukitea said:
I think this may partly be due to selling/buying on ebay as a platform, as there are many alternatives nowadays.
I do not think people buy high end items via ebay as often as they used to do. I certainly have stopped buying items more than £100 on ebay as there are too many scams.

Also I do not think H scarfs are selling well even from stores nowadays when compared to say 5 to 10 years ago. They are just not as popular.
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I agree with this!
 
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#168
Cordeliere said:
I don't know if their current prices are a slump or if they have always been lower than ebay. If they had one of my grails at a good price, I would snap it up and return it if necessary. I would say TRR has a "risk" discount.
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I think TRR's prices have generally always been lower than eBay, but I've noticed they dropped a LOT more in the last few months, with prices way below retail even on some of the more current and popular designs.
 
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#170
Notorious Pink said:
Just a heads up on TRR. I will say that every time I check their stock I see fake H items listed. Not many, but this is just as I’m scrolling and it’s very obvious stuff.

https://fashionista.com/2019/09/the-realreal-authentication-process-exposed
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Very interesting! "These people are not journalists and they are not credible." LOL.
TRR doesn't know if a scarf is 90 or 140, silk or cashmere. So many errors in the listings! I guess the horrible working conditions explains that.
Thanks so much. I am going to avoid the site, as I was doing previously.
 
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#171
momasaurus said:
Yes! I went there for the first time yesterday and was surprised by the low prices, but also annoyed at the absolute lack of decent pictures. Also things were on sale, and there was a no return policy. I did see a few things I was interested in, but I'm still hesitating.
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Remember the flap over TRR ? Person sent like 25 scarves for consignment, then asked for them back. (No clue why) They were received back in badly wrinkled condition. Consignor claimed to have sent unwrinkled scarves and the received scarves were described as "ruined". There was an an entire thread on that kerfuffle, may have been deleted now and consignor said the issue was resolved with TRR but declined to state details/how.
There are other less egregious anecdotes about their scarves being wrinkled upon receipt so the issue of storage wrinkles does not seem to have been addressed.
Wrinkles are not a deal breaker for some if they are paying a low enough price, but most dont want them at any price
PS they now have a brick and mortar store in NY , I cannot speak to how easy it is to examine the scarves or what percent of the inventory is there (they have other locations which are just for the internet trade)
 
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#172
I find the TRR’s prices either incredibly high or low for scarves and certain designs....and returns can definitely be a hassle if you don’t live in the US because you have to claim duties with your country’s customs office. Their pictures and descriptions are definitely VERY hit and miss. I’ve bought a few scarves from them but using my iPad so that I can really magnify the image as much as possible. I’d say the the level of risk is the same as eBay...but returns might be easier.
I’ve noticed that pricing for scarves on Ann’s fabulous finds has remained pretty consistent so I’m not sure about a slump and the scarf counter at my local H store is also always busy.
 
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#173
I wouldn’t buy anything expensive on RR.

I once saw a nice looking Lindy, and due to their no return policy, requested additional pictures. So glad I asked! The bag had a lot of damage that was not shown on their website photos.

I went to a pop up store they had - the scarfs were often quite worn, not a quality level I would purchase.

With them, you take your chances, so keep expectations low. If it isnt too expensive, I would risk it. But they are not nearly as good as other resellers.
 
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#174
marietouchet said:
Remember the flap over TRR ? Person sent like 25 scarves for consignment, then asked for them back. (No clue why) They were received back in badly wrinkled condition. Consignor claimed to have sent unwrinkled scarves and the received scarves were described as "ruined". There was an an entire thread on that kerfuffle, may have been deleted now and consignor said the issue was resolved with TRR but declined to state details/how.
There are other less egregious anecdotes about their scarves being wrinkled upon receipt so the issue of storage wrinkles does not seem to have been addressed.
Wrinkles are not a deal breaker for some if they are paying a low enough price, but most dont want them at any price
PS they now have a brick and mortar store in NY , I cannot speak to how easy it is to examine the scarves or what percent of the inventory is there (they have other locations which are just for the internet trade)
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I did hear that there is a store in NYC. I might check it out sometime.
Yes, I remember that kerfuffle, and also many reports of fakes. It's why I've never checked the site until this week.
 
#175
Let me ask another way: Are people still looking for vintage designs? Or does everyone already have most of their grails? I feel like people coming new to the brand are interested in the latest designs, not the oldies, so it's just a few of us who are still collecting older pieces.
I make soooo many impulse purchases, both old and new, and have generally been able to re-home those that haven't worked out for me. But lately I think my eBay sales have ground to a halt. Is there a slump in interest/sales of older designs?
 
#177
momasaurus said:
Let me ask another way: Are people still looking for vintage designs? Or does everyone already have most of their grails? I feel like people coming new to the brand are interested in the latest designs, not the oldies, so it's just a few of us who are still collecting older pieces.
I make soooo many impulse purchases, both old and new, and have generally been able to re-home those that haven't worked out for me. But lately I think my eBay sales have ground to a halt. Is there a slump in interest/sales of older designs?
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Hmm, I still look for some older designs that I missed. Mostly, moussies, However, I have so many scarves now, that if I never find one at a price, condition and seller that meets my goal, I am OK also. In general, I won’t pay more than current retail.
 
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#179
momasaurus said:
Let me ask another way: Are people still looking for vintage designs? Or does everyone already have most of their grails? I feel like people coming new to the brand are interested in the latest designs, not the oldies, so it's just a few of us who are still collecting older pieces.
I make soooo many impulse purchases, both old and new, and have generally been able to re-home those that haven't worked out for me. But lately I think my eBay sales have ground to a halt. Is there a slump in interest/sales of older designs?
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IMHO there are oldie grails & new grails

Oldie grails = the 1930s - 1960s rare ones, there will always be a market for those at a LARGE price, they were produced in small quantities, and have always been sought after. DIfferent market

New grails - scarves from the internet era, a design less than 15 years old. The new grails were done in large quantities - not HTF like the oldies - but the audience is similarly large. IMHO, must be a BIG FAT figural design - finesse / pen and ink are non starters.
Ex TOITS DE PARIS has been chatted up here recently, the design never was a big deal when issued, and some cws were widely panned at issue. But now it is hot.
I think online exposure eg here, authentication thread, a blog, IG is essential to the New Grail market. Chat drives the market. The last new grail that I have seen is SAMOURAIS and that was a bit ago. But, then the BIG FAT figural designs are infrequent these days eg Honore is gone
 
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#180
There are still some older designs I am looking for but they are lower tier wants for me, mostly because I have all the 90s I can wear. The passage of time has diminished my lust for them. Still looking for some CSGMs and moussies that I like and missed but wouldn't call those grails either.

I have one grail that I have seen listed twice in the last 3 years. Green Jade had it for $800 two years ago. AFF had it for $325 a couple of months ago and someone beat me to it. I don't think it is indicative of a slump. Just one was ridiculously priced and the other was a pricing anomaly for a design that AFF didn't recognize as a grail to many. Or maybe the seller didn't.

If there is a slump, i am hoping it brings me my grail at a good price.
 
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