TheRealReal Is a Great App-Based Alternative to Consignment Shops

What can you sell on TheRealReal?

TheRealReal advertises itself as a place to buy and sell pre-owned luxury items, and that's absolutely true, but the definition of "luxury" is broader than you might think. On its blog, the company says that in addition to the Hermès and Chanel finery you're envisioning, the company will also accept "commonly owned" brands like Kate Spade, Tory Burch, Ray-Ban, The North Face, UGG, Birkenstock, Reformation, Sezane, and Marc Jacobs. Run a search in the app for the brands you have cluttering up your closet, and you may be pleasantly surprised at what it will take.

In general, expect to be able to easily sell jewelry, clothing, handbags, shoes, and men's sneakers, though you'll find some home decor and coffee table books here from time to time, as well.

How selling on TheRealReal works

Other apps specialize in the resale of higher-end goods to and by everyday people, like Vestiaire Collective, but they are much more in the vein of resale platforms like Poshmark and Mercari, in that you list the items yourself, taking control of everything from the photos you upload to the price you set. While it's also a digital-first marketplace, TheRealReal functions much more similarly to brick-and-mortar consignment stores.

With TheRealReal, the most you have to do is gather up the things you want to get rid of, then schedule an in-home consultation with a fashion expert, or bring them to a TheRealReal store (provided you're in New York, Connecticut, Illinois, Texas, Florida, or California); you can also ship them to the company if you live somewhere outside of its operating area.

TheRealReal team handles everything else, from authenticating your items, to photographing and listing them for sale. The company will provide a realistic overview of the amount of money you can expect to make based on the condition and rarity of what you're offering, but otherwise, you do nothing but hand off the wares, as you would if you brought it all into a physical consignment store.

There is a difference, though: When I have used consignment stores in the past, I've gotten money upfront after selling them my item—a percentage of whatever they think it will sell for. If the store ultimately sells it for less, that's not my problem, as I've already been paid. TheRealReal only pays you after the item sells, and your cut is dependent on what it actually sells for, not the appraisal. You'll get your money around the 15th of the next month after it sells.

Whether this approach will appeal to you compared to other sales apps depends on a few factors. While apps like Vestiaire Collective make you do the grunt work of photographing, describing, and listing items, plus fielding offers, negotiating with potential buyers, and actually shipping out anything you sell, you maintain control of what you earn, as you can set your own price. Most apps, regardless of whether they specialize in higher-end items or not, do give you an estimate of the price you should list something for, but at the end of the day, what you charge is up to you. So while it offers less work, if you prefer to stay in control, TheRealReal might not be for you.

On the other hand, if you're just using resale as a way to clear out your clutter, this option is stellar. A huge draw of reselling is making space in your closet, but apps like Poshmark don't free up that space until the item has sold. Selling on TheRealReal might mean making less money, but the stuff will be gone right away. It's a trade-off worth considering.

After TheRealReal receives your items, it will get back to you with a proposed price and you can decline to list it (at which point your representative will work with you on a solution), but from there, the company is largely in control—and, in fairness, it does seem to have a good idea of an item's actual value, given what I see on listings that haven't been marked down. That said, the app frequently runs discounts and promotions, which do impact what you'll receive (garnering complaints from sellers from time to time).

Another issue with pricing is that it incentivizes you to stick with the app, and slows down beginners to do that. In other words, it might not be worth it to take this route if you don't have a lot to sell, because what you earn depends not only on the value of the individual product, but how much you've sold in the past. Here's a full breakdown of how the starting payouts are structured, but for clothing, you get 70% of the profit if something sells for over $5,000, 65% if it sells between $750 and $4,999, and so on down to 20% for anything that sells below $99, though the rates can vary for some categories, like handbags and men's sneakers.

Once you've racked up sales, you get a higher percentage. After your net profits exceed $1,499, you get a 1% commission bump; once they exceed $5,000, you get a 2% bump, and once they're above $10,000, it's a 3% bump. If you have a good amount of luxury items, this is fine, but if you're angling to sell mostly men's sneakers or Reformation jeans, you'll be at it a while before you start to see results.

What it's like to sell on TheRealReal

I have not yet leveled up my reselling game to the point where I am so overrun with luxury and brand name goods that I would consider calling a TheRealReal rep to come collect it all, but the volume of products available is massive enough to suggest many people are. A number of TheRealReal sellers have shared their experiences on reseller and fashion forums, and it's worth considering what they have to say before I jump into sharing my (fantastic) experience as a buyer on the app.

In discussing their selling experiences, most sellers seem to agree TheRealReal is highly professional—you are assigned a rep who helps you through the process, and because the app employs experts who value and authenticate everything. Sellers do caution not to bother listing anything that might sell for below $200, since the commission payout isn't great (although it's not necessarily worse than the commission you'd get from a consignment shop). While you can't alter the price yourself, or stop an item from being discounted, there are some items that make more sense to list than others, like designer gowns, which tend to move more quickly on the platform. (As someone who has shopped for special-occasion dresses on TheRealReal, I regularly see them rack up hundreds of "likes" and quickly disappear, meaning someone has scooped them up.)

Sellers use words like "simple" and "convenient" to describe the process of having someone come get the items from their home or sending their goods straight to TheRealReal. To me, that's a major selling point: Your cut of the money might be smaller, but the effort you have to put in compared to other platforms is also much less. As I've experienced (and detail below), the customer service is also highly responsive. (One reviewer pointed out that one of their items went "missing" in a TheRealReal warehouse, and they were fairly compensated for it.)

Sellers say that yes, some listings will sit on TheRealReal for a long time, getting discounted a few times before selling, but point out that the amount of time they've waited for something to sell isn't significantly longer than on other platforms. One even noted that every Gucci belt she's sent in has sold in under a week. Be selective about what you send in, and be realistic if you send a lot. Trendier, more desirable items will naturally sell faster, and therefore be less prone to discounts.

What it's like to shop on TheRealReal

Selling on TheRealReal isn't for everyone. What about if you want to buy some nicer things? I find shopping there to be great, which is why I've done it for years and will never stop.

As noted, the app puts listings on sale all the time, which might not be ideal for sellers but is a big plus for buyers. I constantly add items to my favorites list (which TheRealReal calls "obsessions") and wait for them to drop in price before I buy. This does mean I sometimes lose out because someone else is willing to pay more, but that's the name of the game in resale. I still frequently succeed in getting outrageous deals on many of my "obsessions."

This tactic works well if you are looking for something plentiful on the app, like black skirts, or wear a rarer size. I wear a 5.5 shoe, so the competition for the heels and sandals I want is low, and they go on sale all the time. I can then turn around and list those shoes on Pickle, where other smaller-footed ladies are happy to pay a premium to rent shoes that actually fit.

To give you an idea of some of my more impressive gets, last week, I purchased some pink Gucci sandals for $119. In the past, I've gotten a House of CB dress for $23, a knit Moschino Couture sweater for $31, vintage Chanel pumps (with the CC logo hardware on the front) for $96, Bottega Veneta heels for $47, Louboutins in my exact size and skin tone for $66, and more. It's hard to say for sure what these items would or should normally sell for, since similar items on other platforms may be in different sizes or conditions, but without exception, each of them retailed for hundreds of dollars when purchased originally.

Of course, these are all basics and staples. If I wanted something specific, like a certain bag or something from a newer season, I'd be looking at spending a lot more. Not everything TheRealReal is at a wildly low price, but because it's all pre-owned, it'll still be at a discount. (Some bags in my list of "obsessions" are currently about $400, and I am waiting patiently to see if they'll drop in price.)

Credit: Lindsey Ellefson

I also like buying here because the items are professionally photographed, so I can get a true sense of how they look and any damage they might have. When buying on Poshmark or other apps, that's not always the case: People lie about the condition of their wares all the time, and opening a case against a seller or sending something back is a disappointing, aggravating, and time-consuming process. Very rarely does TheRealReal list something with an error in the description, but you do have to take some time to study the pictures for each listing.

When mistakes do happen, the customer service reps are responsive. I bought a pair of shorts a few weeks ago that were heavily discounted to the point they were labeled as unreturnable. (When something is reduced dramatically in price, you usually lose the ability to return it.) When they arrived, I discovered they were a different brand than what they had been listed as. I contacted customer service, pointed out the error in the listing, and was granted the ability to return the "unreturnable" goods.

What I love most about shopping on TheRealReal—besides the thrill of waiting for something I want to go on sale—is how easy it is to find what you want. You can save custom searches very easily and find them under your "obsessions" tab. Within the searches, you can filter by brands and sizes. I have premade search lists for everything from sweaters to dresses to shorts to slides to heels. Each one contains results only from the brands I selected and the sizes I wear, so I don't have to go through listings for anything that doesn't match my exact desires.

These features make shopping easier and, in a way, more fun. I don't have to search for shorts brand by brand, but can open my saved shorts list and see all the brands I like, in my size, and in one place. It's like shopping in a store made just for me.

Should you add TheRealReal to your resale apps?