Things to think about when consigning expensive items to the big consignment houses.

[lulilu]

If Resale Companies Go Bankrupt, Who Is Left Holding the Bag?

Resale companies may be at risk of bankruptcy, and if they were to file, it is unclear what will happen to the consigned fashion/luxury goods.

www.thefashionlaw.com

 

[papertiger]

I'm so pleased you posted this because the (pre-loved) market has been talked-up for years. These companies are already too big, and they expect to be huge. Once they've got your stuff, not only may they go broke, but the way they treat your things - when condition is so important, you will never know until you get your item returned.

Not only is the business labour intensive, but it's totally variable. Reebonz totally lost everyone's confidence, now RR(?). This is the reality of preloved wanting to go huge. The only reason VC is so big is they let their sellers do most the work and just take a cut.

I gave things to be consigned I never got back, nothing outrageous but it all added-up. Another place let my mink jacket get stolen (no compensation). Another place squashed my Saint Laurent shoes under other stuff so I took them back. Those were smaller companies. I would be even less inclined to send off my expensive thing(s) to goodness knows where hundreds of miles away.

 

[caannie]

I think many of us went the consignment route or the direct sale route to places like Fashionphile and TRR to avoid the changes on eBay. Now Ebay is starting to look like the safer option. I think the days of selling to buy something better are coming to an end. There's no longer a guarantee that if you buy something you don't like that you can flip it.

 

[A bottle of Red]

I think many of us went the consignment route or the direct sale route to places like Fashionphile and TRR to avoid the changes on eBay. Now Ebay is starting to look like the safer option. I think the days of selling to buy something better are coming to an end. There's no longer a guarantee that if you buy something you don't like that you can flip it.

Why does eBay not have the same issue? Are they not considered a consignment place ?

 

[xincinsin]

I was lucky. I had consigned some items with Reebonz. One sold. I took back the rest and used the store credit to get something nice from them. Less than a year later, it folded. I heard those who still had items consigned or store credit were left in the lurch.

I bought from VC and had many issues with items shipped from Europe. The seller has to ship to VC, which then supposedly authenticates the item before shipping to me. The problem was always due to VC.

 

[caannie]

Why does eBay not have the same issue? Are they not considered a consignment place ?

When you sell an item on eBay it remains in your possession until it's sold. If eBay goes bankrupt you still have your item. It's just a venue, while TRR and consignment services actually take your item from you and sell it for you. If they go bankrupt you have to worry about getting your item back.

 

[jellyv]

Why does eBay not have the same issue? Are they not considered a consignment place ?

Ebay never has physical custody of the goods on the site. They can go bust or have losses, but you'd still have your property. The one exception is when they accept bags for a short timeframe for authentication, but that's a tiny, marginal aspect of their process and assets.

 

[nicole0612]

Thank you for starting this thread. This is so timely. I was about to send in an item to one of the resale sites, but wavering about it. It’s just not worth the risk!

 

[A bottle of Red]

Oh that is a huge difference and scary to think a company can just go bankrupt and you lose your items

 

[lulilu]

I believe the president (owner?) of TRR stepped down and a new person was put in place on Feb 3. Maybe things will improve.

 

[xincinsin]

I'm veering towards direct sale now. A couple of Japanese reseller companies have set up shop locally. One of them Ecoring has a collection point a stone's throw from where I live (15 mins walk to the mall). I've bought a couple of items from them at good price points. Of course that also means if I sell to them, they will offer low. Better to get back some money for what is essentially deadstock than to brave the perils of selling the stuff myself?

 

[Jktgal]

I was lucky. I had consigned some items with Reebonz. One sold. I took back the rest and used the store credit to get something nice from them. Less than a year later, it folded. I heard those who still had items consigned or store credit were left in the lurch.

I bought from VC and had many issues with items shipped from Europe. The seller has to ship to VC, which then supposedly authenticates the item before shipping to me. The problem was always due to VC.

A few months before they closed, I purchased and returned something, narrowly missing that boat of uncertainty.

 

[Jktgal]

A few months before they closed, I purchased and returned something, narrowly missing that boat of uncertainty.

I think many of us went the consignment route or the direct sale route to places like Fashionphile and TRR to avoid the changes on eBay. Now Ebay is starting to look like the safer option. I think the days of selling to buy something better are coming to an end. There's no longer a guarantee that if you buy something you don't like that you can flip it.

There used to be a thread called "post your items on sale" and it was really helpful to know that the person selling is also TPFer. I made a couple of purchases knowing so. Sadly that thread was closed, doesn't seem to be an explanation why.

 

[xincinsin]

There used to be a thread called "post your items on sale" and it was really helpful to know that the person selling is also TPFer. I made a couple of purchases knowing so. Sadly that thread was closed, doesn't seem to be an explanation why.

Someone posted about it recently in Feedback. Said it was closed after the latest tpf update and Vlad had promised to start something new in its place.

 

[xincinsin]

Someone posted about it recently in Feedback. Said it was closed after the latest tpf update and Vlad had promised to start something new in its place.

This was the thread in Feedback Dropbox. Perhaps we will get good news here soon.

Post your auction items

@Vlad are we going to get back some way of letting the general PF population know when we have items listed elsewhere? It’s very frustrating that we are missing that opportunity to sell our items to other members.

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