How I decide what to sell to The RealReal
Do you want your dignity or do you want your $12 in commission?
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Last week I got a text from a friend who was introduced to The RealReal after reading this newsletter (a thousand apologies to her). She’s since been fully seduced by the siren’s call of Miu Miu flats and Celine totes for roughly the same price as four Hailey Bieber Erewhon smoothies. Shortly after, without consulting an expert (me), she decided to take a foray into the less fun side of TRR’s looking glass: selling. She was appalled at the fact that a dress she had probably spent at least $200 on would only net her a $19 payout, and that’s if someone buys it at full price (unlikely based on the brand, sorry!).
Now, if she had asked me first, I would have chuckled with the sardonic wisdom of an old, grizzled sea captain who has seen too many shipwrecks. Then I would have explained my process for determining what to sell to TRR, and the two distinct categories these items fall into:
I am confident this shirt will sell for at least $100 which means I will earn 30% commission (the minimum I would be satisfied with)
I no longer give a shit about this dumb shirt and will begrudgingly take $12 in commission to never have to see it again
Basically, anything that will most likely sell for less than $100 is not worth it if I care about getting a decent return (30% is my personal pain threshold, you might feel differently). How do I know when an item will list for more than $100? Well, due to their pricing system based off of some combination of algorithms and nonsense, I don’t - BUT I can make an educated guess based off of a couple of factors.
The first is the brand: is it a trending brand that the girlies have been salivating over like Pucci this summer, or perhaps an IYKYK brand that collectors search for, like a Kansai Yamamoto sweater? Is it a specific sought after item, like a vinyl Courrèges skirt? Maybe it’s something totally eye catching and unique like a Marni colorblock dress, or something timeless like Manolo Blahnik two tone oxfords or a vintage Celine button up. Is it seasonally appropriate, like knee boots in the fall? Is it in decent condition, even though we know that doesn't always matter? In short, have I thoroughly researched comps on the site to get a ballpark estimate? Can I be reasonably confident that the item is desired enough to be priced high and sell fast, before it can get marked down too much?
I also would have told my friend that before an item of mine ever makes it to TRR, it usually gets a debut on Depop first. The commission rate is a lot higher, but in my experience, the shoppers are more frugal (my kind of people, tbh). I did have some success selling more expensive items on Poshmark, however I will gladly pay to never have to use that clusterfuck of a website again. I only send them to TRR after some time has passed and there’s been little interest. Comps for my friend’s Maje dress on Depop range around $60-$100. If it was my dress, I would have listed it there for $70 and sent offers for $60 (imo, $60 is an optimistic sale price for TRR). Even if I had to aggressively mark it down to $40, that’s still about double of the high end of what my friend could make.
As for the other selling options out there: I have never heard anyone in real life say the words, let alone actually use, Vestiare Collective and refuse to believe it is a real place. eBay seems both too serious and too unrefined at once. ThredUp seems like an amalgamation of the worst qualities of the previously mentioned options, plus they’re lousy with fees in a way that makes TRR’s $15 shipping seem reasonable. Lastly, IRL consignment shops like Crossroads or Wasteland are wonderful places for public humiliation and rejection (nothing like a 23 year old employee announcing loudly they will not be taking any of your clothes, loser), and the things they do buy are priced much lower than TRR (if you’ve had a different experience with any of these, please let me know in the comments!).
Meanwhile, my experiences as a TRR seller have either been: A. a straightforward, fast sale and I’m satisfied with the commission, or B. Something goes terribly awry on their end which leads to absurd, Kafka-esque dealings with customer service that can take weeks to amend, and then after all that I am left very unsatisfied with the commission (I know the latter experience is fairly common, which is partly why the amount of new arrivals each day boggles the mind - which then in turn explains why in order to get that inventory, they practically stalk you via text and email like a deranged former lover). Anecdotally, I’ve heard many horror stories about selling to TRR, as I’m sure most of us have. But the same is true for any of the other available options, and with a bajillion new arrivals daily, clearly most sellers have had at least a satisfactory experience (if there is some secret and painless resale platform that I somehow missed, *please* let the world know).
So far, this all probably reads as a list of reasons why you shouldn’t sell there, so let me explain the pros:
Timing wise, TRR has highly anticipated daily drops rather than being totally random. This means there are legions of shoppers who log on at 10am and 7pm EST to get to the new arrivals first, unlike any of the other options.
I have no way of knowing which resale platform gets the most views, but judging by the amount of saves on any given TRR new arrival, it seems like they get a lot. They were the most mentioned shopping destination in Magasin's famed fall fashion spreadsheet. The same items of mine that languished on Depop for months then get dozens of saves on TRR overnight. The more eyeballs, the better.
On the other sites, your feed is primarily algorithm based, which is great when you on some level already already know what you want and have searched for it before. TRR’s being chronological means that someone is much more likely to stumble on my Missoni skirt while idly browsing. Somewhere like eBay or Etsy would require more intention with your search.
Unlike eBay or Etsy, it’s a place you go solely for fashion and you won’t get sidetracked looking for vintage Christmas ornaments or something.
Unlike Depop or Poshmark, I don’t have to photograph, list, store, and ship my unwanted clothes.
Unlike IRL consignment stores, TRR will take pretty much anything by approved brands, even if it is out of season, damaged, or not that cute.
TRR shoppers usually have bigger budgets (present company excluded), or at least higher credit limits.
TRR shoppers have reliable taste in certain brands and items so I can safely assume those will sell fast.
Compared to Crossroads, items are usually priced more fairly. Obviously, if they sit too long they can get heavily marked down (duh, kinda the whole point of this newsletter), which is not as fun when you’re the seller!
They might finally stop texting me!
As Miranda Priestly would say, that’s all.
Thanks for reading!
Xx Karina 🦐
I am having my first foray into selling on TRR after just shopping for years. It’s been more straight forward than anticipated, I’ve been pleasantly surprised. However, almost all items were ones I was happy to get any money back from, even $12, as you mentioned. I heard Cutting Room Floor episode with an exec of TRR and she said it’s like stock trading. The Armani and Tibi items I listed sold immediately. Since Giorgio Armani just passed—- sell the Armani now. Tibi’s latest show was well received at NY fashion week— sell now. It’s all good and well if you can make it work but of course also it’s mostly luck!
Btw I devour your articles and appreciate your dedication to TRR!!!!
This was so fun to read and something I needed months ago!
Another thing that annoyed me is that the $100 credit TRR gives you for consigning arrives really randomly and you have 3 days to use it, which is rude.