RealReal shares plunge as poor training casts doubt on "no fakes" pledge...

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#3
About 2 weeks ago I contacted them about a fake Delvaux Brillant they were selling. I emailed, and called twice. It was finally taken down, not it appears as "sold". Once I reported it was fake, it took 3 days for them to suspend it on the sale site. I've also sent back maybe 12 bags (almost all Chanel) b/c they were the wrong color, wrong size, wrong material, grossly mis-described or falling apart (not in pics). Other than RTW, which seem to be pretty ok for the higher end designers, I don't think I would ever order another bag from there. I've never received a counterfeit, personally, but I've also never received a bag that was accurately described.

I have. a friend who was doing the IPO earlier this year, and a bunch of my other friends were all going to invest. Knowing what I knew, I said absolutely not.
 
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#4
Why do I have to think of "Dr. Conti" ...

Once the doubts set in, the "system" slowly crumbles.

--

As they say, trust is not gained easily, and personally I am (and always was!) highly skeptical of "2nd hand authentication" especially when done in large quantities under time pressure to keep up with online sales of "still in catalog"/ rather common/regular "luxury" products - that are faked in the thousands.

Kind regards,
Oliver
 
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#5
I have heard so many nightmare stories about fakes on the site which often go right back on the listings for sale.... terrible! I also know a young employee in the honeymoon phase of working for the company. She "authenticates" designer items all the time with no expertise or knowledge in the area... A love of fashion does not make one qualified to authenticate designer goods. I avoid buying anything from them because the proper checks and balances are not in place.
 
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#6
Do they take possession of all items and evaluate them? I was looking at a listing on TRR that was also listed on ebay, the pics were the same, so who actually has possession of that item?
 
#7
Personally I don't think it is at all possible for a business like this and of this size to effectively offer authentication. Same for Vestiare Collective.
I mean, they boast they have 100 staff authenticating the items. But the thing is, there basically aren't 100 people in the world with the skill and preparation to authenticate certain brands moreover in this time of superfakes and boom of the pre-sale market.
And even if there were, it is clear most of them don't work in sites like this. A simple amateur bag aficionado like many in this forum can do a search in TRR or VC and find a trove of fakes or items that are misdescribed (wrong leather, wrong year, wrong model...). They would arguably save themselves a ton of work if they did not list items which are obviously fake or wrong, but they don't because the truth is they don't have the expertise they claim they do.


Mrs.Z said:
Do they take possession of all items and evaluate them? I was looking at a listing on TRR that was also listed on ebay, the pics were the same, so who actually has possession of that item?
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It may be that the seller is selling both in TRR and ebay. If the item is sold in TRR, my understading is they have to send it to them first.
 
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#8
Oh No! I have been looking at a bag on Rebelle but was afraid to purchase because of the low site rating on here. The seller also has it on Vestiare Collective which I thought was ok but maybe not.
 
#9
I was just about to purchase a Chanel purse on TheRealReal yesterday, but got scared away from it due to:

1) Poor quality control, inaccurate descriptions coupled with lack of sufficient photos for buyer to determine actual condition
i.e. I just returned a Self-Portrait blouse from TRR that was described as "Very Good. Faint discoloration at interior lining." There was a ripped seam and basically holes in the back of the blouse, the item was damaged. I complained to them (including multiple photos of the damage) and returned the item. Today, I see that item has been relisted at the same price, with the same condition description "Very Good. Faint discoloration at interior lining." :annoyed:

2) For purses, at least for Chanel purses that I've been looking at, there is a strict final sale, no return policy AND no policy stating guaranteed authenticity. They have pages describing their authenticity process, but as I understand, echoing previous posters, the authentication is done by essentially amateur people who don't really have the qualifications required to guarantee authenticity. Amateur authenticators coupled with a strict no return policy and the lack of a "100% AUTHENTICITY or Your Money Back" promise makes me avoid at all costs. Even preowned, we're talking about spending thousands of dollars here with no guarantee.

3) Terrible customer service. If you have a problem with anything you purchase, good luck trying to get a hold of customer service. I was told emails get responses in 48 hours (quite slow), but I've sent emails to customer service (months ago) that have NEVER been responded to. I probably have a 30% response rate when sending emails. If you call, you can maybe speak to someone, but expect to wait a long time. The fastest I've waited was 22 minutes (yes, 22 minutes straight of listening to elevator music and a automated recording talking about TRR), and one time I called, the estimated wait time was 2 hours 40 minutes. They make it pretty impossible to get in touch with them to likely force you to give up on whatever issue you had.

The purse on TRR was described as "excellent with no signs of wear" and 5 photos that didn't help depict the condition. Luckily for me, the same purse was listed on Fashionphile, although only in "very good" condition, with corner wear described and pictured (they had 15 photos, including all angles of the purse). I ended up going with Fashionphile even though the condition of their purse was described as not as good. However, I'm already feeling better about it since Fashionphile has a generous free 30-day return policy, which gives me piece of mind. This is my first Fashionphile purchase so we'll see how it goes, but I only had to wait 5 min to speak with customer service on the phone about a question, so that's promising! Plus, I have the flexibility to return it if I'm unhappy for any reason
 
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#10
Real Real gives something like 10 days to return an item, no questions asked. That's the saving grace of their system. By saying this is I am not denying that there is a better need for authentication. I think a way a person may be able to surmise that there may be some issues with an item is to notice that it's gone from the listing then it pops up again. (On the other hand, if a "questionable" item never comes back, yikes, maybe I should have bought it when I had the chance. I am not referring to bags, only to the H items I have experience with.

I have waited 50 min on the phone for the post office. So, 20 min is nothing to me, comparatively speaking. But I agree that extended wait times are aggravating.
 
#11
One of the things I returned was a silver bracelet that looks plated, not sterling. I had other reasons for sending it back, the fit was not as described.
 
#12
eagle1002us said:
Real Real gives something like 10 days to return an item, no questions asked.
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I don't think this is accurate information. Chanel, Hermes, LV and other designer BAGS are final sale and have a no return policy. You can call and ask if they will allow a return but there are no bag returns allowed unless you are given an exception. It clearly states on almost every single luxury bag "This item is final sale and is not returnable."
 
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#13
eagle1002us said:
Real Real gives something like 10 days to return an item, no questions asked. That's the saving grace of their system.
Click to expand...

That is only true for items that are returnable. But the return policy differs by item/categories. For purses, at least all the Chanel, Prada, Dior bags I've seen, there is a strict final sale policy, under the shipping & returns section for purses, it says: "This item is final sale and is not returnable."
 
#14
pinkellephant said:
That is only true for items that are returnable. But the return policy differs by item/categories. For purses, at least all the Chanel, Prada, Dior bags I've seen, there is a strict final sale policy, under the shipping & returns section for purses, it says: "This item is final sale and is not returnable."
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Interesting ! I never look at their purses b/c buying a purse from a reseller is in my mind, dicey. Plus I have some experience with high-end purses but not enough to chance a reseller.
 
#15
ccbaggirl89 said:
I don't think this is accurate information. Chanel, Hermes, LV and other designer BAGS are final sale and have a no return policy. You can call and ask if they will allow a return but there are no bag returns allowed unless you are given an exception. It clearly states on almost every single luxury bag "This item is final sale and is not returnable."
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I never look at bags so I didn't know that. On the scarves and jewelry I've seen it has been possible to do a turnaround.
 
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