Consigning/buying with The Real Real TRR

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#2,206
(Cross posting this from the Balenciaga thread)
Two other authenticators posted in 'A Place For the Fakes' a very obvious counterfeit on tRR. I contacted customer service via email and provided an extremely detailed breakdown of all of the ways the bag was non-authentic. For example, this is what a bale should look like:
1681252440415.png
and this is what the fake bag's bale looks like:
1681252483951.png
Very obvious difference, right?
Wrong! Here was their reply:
"We stand by our original determination. The hardware and overall construction are consistent with the Balenciaga Classic City style. The hardware variations noted by the customer are due to the style. The item in question is a City bag, while the one the customer is referencing is a Town style."
The Real Real listed the yellow fake as a First; now suddenly they are calling it a City and claiming I called it a Town (I didn't). Further, Balenciaga used the same bales regardless of (raised hardware) style bags, so that nullifies that argument.

Moral of the story: their "authenticators" are clueless, and if anyone here gets saddled with a fake from them (a real possibility) good luck getting them to believe you. Buyer beware.
 
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#2,207
atlantis1982 said:
(Cross posting this from the Balenciaga thread)
Two other authenticators posted in 'A Place For the Fakes' a very obvious counterfeit on tRR. I contacted customer service via email and provided an extremely detailed breakdown of all of the ways the bag was non-authentic. For example, this is what a bale should look like:
View attachment 5761231
and this is what the fake bag's bale looks like:
View attachment 5761232
Very obvious difference, right?
Wrong! Here was their reply:
"We stand by our original determination. The hardware and overall construction are consistent with the Balenciaga Classic City style. The hardware variations noted by the customer are due to the style. The item in question is a City bag, while the one the customer is referencing is a Town style."
The Real Real listed the yellow fake as a First; now suddenly they are calling it a City and claiming I called it a Town (I didn't). Further, Balenciaga used the same bales regardless of (raised hardware) style bags, so that nullifies that argument.

Moral of the story: their "authenticators" are clueless, and if anyone here gets saddled with a fake from them (a real possibility) good luck getting them to believe you. Buyer beware.
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I am afraid to buy anything on the pre loved anymore, from anywher.
 
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#2,213
atlantis1982 said:
I didn't purchase it; I just emailed them they had a fake listed. (Actually, another authenticator contacted them as well, so they have two people asserting it's a fake.)
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I have been consigning with them since 2015 and used to send my white glove client manager stuff like this, she and now he flat out told me they will not pull listings based off "internet" opinions. When you have the item in hand (as a buyer) and send photos of the fakery they will "sometimes" listen.
 
#2,214
Loganz said:
I have been consigning with them since 2015 and used to send my white glove client manager stuff like this, she and now he flat out told me they will not pull listings based off "internet" opinions. When you have the item in hand (as a buyer) and send photos of the fakery they will "sometimes" listen.
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Interesting...The CS rep I have been dealing with has been nothing but communicative, which I appreciate. It's the "authenticators" that are completely ignorant. I can understand ignoring random internet opinions, but I literally spelled it out for them the way one would a child: very specific, complete with photo's highlighting the differences. Which tells me that, when presented with logic, these "authenticators" will double down and ignore it.
(I'm putting authenticators in quotes because one of the Balenciaga thread regulars said that these authentications are done by the copywriters, and that they have a certain quota of bags they have to deem authentic. Which makes complete sense given the styles/conditions/descriptions are all over the place. This person also told me that at one point The Real Real asked her to do authentications for them...for free.)
 
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#2,215
Loganz said:
I am sorry this happened to you, but I am also not surprised because it happened to me.
They took back a fake Birkin from me when I sent photos showing all the reasons it was not legit.
They issued the RMA and I thought they'd do the right thing, NO, they relisted it as soon as it was back.
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Are you serious!!! This needs to be reported. It's against the law to sell counterfeit items!!Unethical company!
 
#2,216
Gennas said:
Are you serious!!! This needs to be reported. It's against the law to sell counterfeit items!!Unethical company!
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The problem is that authenticity is literally opinion based. Unless Hermes themselves come out and says hey that's not our bag its TRR's opinion against the someone's else's opinion as to the bags authenticity.
 
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#2,218
When I became obsessed with Gucci Princetown mules last year, I bought quite a few from TRR. I spent hours studying the differences in real vs fakes, and tried to be careful about what I did buy. Although most of the shoes I bought I do believe are real, I did wind up with at least one pair that I'm convinced are fake. I don't buy them anymore...I see too many versions of the shoe that I've seen on the counterfeit websites. It's just too coincidental that those are the ones that wind up on the resale market. The thrill of getting a great secondhand deal is gone, I'm afraid.
 
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#2,219
Don’t know when I will learn my lesson. I see fake Marc Jacobs bags on their site all the time & I never hesitate to point it out on social media. They always give me their song & dance about their "experts" and "vigorous authentication process" which is a bunch of bull. Some of these fakes are so laughable it doesn't take an expert to spot one.

Well this time, it wasn’t a fake Marc Jacobs but a fake Tom Ford & the mistakes were blatantly obvious to anyone who SHOULD know about authenticating TF bags. it even has that "fake bag smell" (yuck!)

I reached out and requested a return. I got the choice of returning the bag and having one of their "experts" determine if it actually is real or fake or I could take it to the retailer and have them do it. That right there tells me that they know nothing about authenticating designer goods -- they should know that retailers will not authenticate anything that wasn't purchased directly from them (especially bags that are more than 10 yrs old!). I went round and round, providing photos - here's just one.

One of these is authentic, one is fake. There's another difference, that doesn't take an "expert" to see or know. Its so infuriating.
They sent me a return label -- guess I have no choice but to return it and HOPE they do the RIGHT THING instead of jerk me around.

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#2,220
Hoping that maybe -- just maybe -- someone from TRR keeps tabs in this site, maybe sees this post.
I'm not someone who's looking to scam them -- I'm not keeping their "real" bag and sending them a fake (kind of hard to do since the one I bought had some specific scratches they showed on the listing). I'm a longtime customer who's tired of all the fakes and HATE being scammed when I receive one!
 
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