Buy or Sell? A Newbie’s Guide to Consignment with the Real-Real
Image Courtesy: Fashionista
In the summer of 2015, I got my first ever job working at a consignment boutique in my town. It was during this time that I was introduced to the magical world of second hand designer goods, a place where persistence and patience often granted even broke teenagers like myself the opportunity to own beautiful luxury items worth hundreds or even thousands of dollars. I quickly became addicted to the hunt of finding unique pieces to add to my closet, a hunt that was admittedly limited considering the small size of this shop.
Image Courtesy: Atlanta Magazine
My world was turned on its axis when I discovered TheRealReal.com. Suddenly, there were thousands upon thousands of items to look through, with the ability to set specifications for what I was looking for. I couldn’t understand why anyone would choose to shop somewhere else when it came to designer purchases. It almost seemed too good to be true, and in some ways, it was.
Image Courtesy: Screenshot of My Personal TTR Page
The RealReal offers two services to its clientele: the opportunity to buy items and the opportunity to sell them. For people like me who were looking to build their designer closet from the ground up, The RealReal was the perfect starting point for purchases. However, for those who were looking to sell some of their excess designer goods, the choice on where to sell their goods became a bit more complicated. There are pros and cons to consignment over individual selling on platforms such as EBay and Poshmark. A major pro is that there is significantly less brain work needed in the process of consignment; you simply hand the goods off to your intermediary, and they handle the rest. If you choose to sell the item on your own, you are responsible for the process of listing, marketing, negotiating, packaging, and shipping (trust me, it’s much more complicated than you might think). There are two cons to take into consideration when choosing to sell with an intermediary: the commission rates and the possibility of damaged or lost inventory. The RealReal’s website has a very comprehensive guide to their tiered commission program.
Image Courtesy: The RealReal
The main takeaway? If your item is going to be listed for $750 or over, you will get a commission of 65-70%. When looking across the industry, this is a pretty decent commission rate (for reference, the shop I worked at had a flat rate of 50% commission ), but it should be noted that the commission hinges upon the price that the item is SOLD for, not what its value is. This is where the grievances come in for sellers. Last month I came across a video of a girl discussing the fact that she had made a whopping $17 on the sale of her vintage Manolo Blahnik kitten heels. As I learned from this video and the comments of many others, The RealReal often discounts the price of the items listed by significant amounts without the prior knowledge of the sellers. This is how a pair of $800 shoes gets listed for $250, discounted and sold for $85, and gives the seller $17 in commission. For the buyer of said kitten heels, this was an amazing deal, but the seller obviously could not say the same. It is with all of these considerations in mind that I recommend using The RealReal to buy, not sell. Happy shopping!
Image Courtesy: Glamour and Gains
Strike Out,
Elisabeth Olsen
University of Notre Dame
Editors: Isabelle Camilleri, Maddie Arruebarrena
