I talked about my experience consigning with the RealReal online here (and here for part 2). But I recently decided to try selling in-person at one of their stores because I was curious to see what that was like (and if they didn’t consign at my set price point, it would be easy for me to decline). I decided to go to the one in Marin Country Mart because of 1) their ample parking and 2) the chance to eat some Hog Island Oysters afterwards lol.
So what did I think of the experience?
It was great and now it’s my preferred way to sell handbags on the RealReal. I 100% believe you will get a better price when selling in person, especially if you’re friendly to the their valuation expert (and it probably doesn’t hurt to dress up a bit and carry one of your nicer bags). I decided to sell my Mansur Gavriel balloon bag (which I bought on TRR for $396-- 20% off their $495 list price) and the valuation expert took it for a $595 consignment. Of course it probably won’t sell at that price with all their discounts and I still only get 60% of the list price. But still that’s a more than generous list price.
The other bag I sold was my Ree Projects mini Helene bag. I decided to sell it because I hardly used the bag. It’s so deep that I have a hard time finding things in it. Also I bought another Ree Projects bag (a smaller crossbody this time, which I hope I will use more) as bday present for myself (one bag in and one bag out). The valuation expert wasn’t familiar with the brand but still gave me a $395 consignment price, which I also thought was fair, especially since it’s a relatively unknown brand. {And P.S. I bought my second Ree Projects bag from Saks which has some great discount on some of their stuff. With some gift cards I had, I only had to pay about $70 out of pocket for my mini Ann bag.}
I definitely think I got a better price for my bags because I went into their store. As a long time TRR stalker, I have seen some items priced way above similarly listed things, and I’ve always wondered what made them so much more. Well I think I found the answer: the seller went to sell in-person. Right now there’s only a handful of brick and mortar shops in California and NYC so I know it’s not an option for everyone. But if there’s one near-ish you, I highly recommend booking a valuation session. They also do valuation sessions for jewelry, which I think I’m going to try next time.
As for the in-person shopping experience, I wouldn’t recommend making a trip out to a store just for that (especially the Marin one). Since the store is so small, the inventory is rather limited (though the SF one is bigger and probably has more things). Also because the inventory has to be updated by hand, I found an item that was discounted online but still full price in store (so maybe if you do buy something in-person just double check the online inventory to see if its discounted there or if there’s a similar item for less). Also a pair of JW Anderson shoes I liked were selling above retail price so I don’t think TRR in-store is good for deals. The best deals on TRR come from sorting their online inventory from lowest to highest price-wise and seeing what’s the most discounted (hello $65 Row cashmere sweater).
But I have to say it was nice though to see some brands in-person. After see a Loro Piana cashmere sweater, I think the Quince luxe baby cashmere is more than comparable (the Loro Piana one wasn’t as thick as I thought it would be). And the Brunello Cucinelli cashmere sweater was only a tad thicker. Also the Row cashmere sweater I tried there was pretty unimpressive (especially compared to the first one I got). So I think if you’re there just to browse and learn more about some brands, shopping in-person could be fun.
trying Monse top, The Row cashmere sweater and Max Mara cashmere coat
And last but not least, they accept returns at the store so that you don’t have to pay for return shipping. So if you’re there to do a valuation and/or returns plus some browsing, it could be a very fruitful trip. But even if you can’t get to a store to do returns, as long as you have a personal Paypal account you can also get Paypal to refund you that pesky $11.95 shipping return fee (up to 12 times a year). Overall I know I’ll be back for future valuations and maybe some returns, but that’s also because I loved spending time in the area (yes to oysters and Shake Shack).
P.S. If you’re interested in my selling experience with Fashionphile you can read about it here.
{April 2024 Update: It’s been two years now and I still love going to TRR in Marin to sell my jewelry and bags. I meet the same wonderful people (Sarah for Jewelry and Kevin for Bags) and they always give me a fair price. And now whenever I go I’ll try on a couple hard to find Hermes bags as well. Anyway I just wanted to add here that for now TRR is giving $100 credit to anyone who’s interested in selling to them for the first time—either in person or via mail I think— if you use my referral link here (I will also get $100 credit if you choose to use my link so thank you if you do!).