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The RealReal has a rating of 2.7 stars from 5,327 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally dissatisfied with their purchases. Reviewers dissatisfied with The RealReal most frequently mention customer service, good condition and final sale. The RealReal ranks 7th among Discount Clothing sites.
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The posted a prada bag with misleading pictures. Did not even show the creasing, tearing, discoloration and had it marked as "GOOD.". And they had a pay extra $30 to return because was a final sale. I thought its a prada bag that they have marked as GOOD. Why would I return. The bag came in the mail and looked like it was put through the washer. It looked horrible. Should have been graded as fair. I would have never bought. Please be careful if you see a good rating and an offer to pay extra so that you can return on a final purchase. Dont fall for it. Really disappointed. It was outrageous. I reached out to customer service and wanted a refund and all they would give me was credit. I do not want credit, I want a refund because it was completely false advertising and misleading. I will have to dispute with my credit card company. Very dishonest. Dont buy through them. I am deleting the app and will never buy through them.
Example: was looking at an anklet, shown on models wrist. Boots show all sides to see zipper and length. Show earrings and pendants etc in models hand with a darker background. The beige lady with beige dress all blends
STAY AWAY! They low ball you and then discount your items on top of that. The credit you do get is a ploy to get you to sell or shop. The items you do buy from them are dirty and gross! STAY AWAY!
My experience with The RealReal started off well, but quickly became disappointing. The ring I purchased was a meaningful gift, chosen after months of searching following the loss of my real wedding ring. I was later asked to mail it in, and after nearly three weeks, I was told that the pink diamond—which was the main reason I bought it—was only a marker. This was a major quality control failure.
What made it worse was the lack of accountability. Instead of taking real ownership, the process felt slow and dismissive. I had to ask for compensation myself, and the offer was a $200 site credit on a $3,000 ring, which felt completely inadequate.
For a company that claims to be a trusted luxury platform, this level of quality control and customer care is unacceptable.
I've shopped TRR for a few years, and I've never been disappointed! I stay in the handbag/handbag accessories lane. I've consigned with them a few times, too. They make the process very simple and stress-free. I placed an order last night (lol)!
I've been both a buyer and seller on The RealReal for years, but this will be my last experience with them. The company sold my items and owes me my commission, yet they refuse to release the payment by check as requested. The funds are stuck as a site credit, and despite repeated outreach, the only responses I receive are automated messages saying they are "working on it." This has been going on far too long for something so simple.
I don't know if they are dealing with an internal system or ERP failure, but this is not acceptable for a company of their size. They sold my product — they owe me the money. Period. I just want the commission I earned so that I can move on.
It's disappointing to see how much the service has declined. Until they fix these issues, I cannot recommend The RealReal to anyone.
Every time I buy a pair of earrings from them and I mean every time they are way smaller than listed. They are very dishonest in their descriptions. I called them and said the earrings were way smaller than listed and they said it was a final sale. You lied on the description. Nothing is final. They said they would refund me with a store credit. I said no. Won't be buying from them again. Ripped me off for 50.00 of my refund. They say free prepaid return shipping and then take it out of my refund. I'm reporting this company to FTC and FBI Internet Fraud and BBB. Stay away from this place.
Horrible company. They damaged my shoes and claimed that it was damaged when it was picked up by their employee. I have pictures of the shoes at pick up showing it in great conditions
Have purchased many of my favorite pieces from TRR. The items come as described and customer service is wonderful to work with.
Purchase two items from the real real online and never received my items. UPS took full responsibility and will be refunding me, but the real world has not signed paperwork from UPS which is delaying my refund this happened May 2025 and is still ongoing as of August 2 of 2025. UPS representative informed me that the real real did not disclose to UPS the value of the items and UPS did not deliver or get a signature.
The RealReal is the biggest scam I've ever experienced I had a very bed experience, didnt get the package and paid for it and the customer service didnt help me i was hour on the phone with the realreal pay for a watch and didnt recived it
I made a simple request. The request for return was granted. The tender used, however, was not. The tight-fisted effort to force my funds to remain with TRR was simply vulgar and out of tune. It was just a matter of time before, willingly, I would have returned and purchased more…willingly. Now TRR just feels average. Average quality control. Unsatisfactory customer experience and overall in very-bad-taste. This is a consignment store. One has to know their sphere so as to read the landscape accurately.
I bought a diamond bracelet which was listed as 6.2 ct. But the image showed much smaller. So, hoping the image was just wrong, I e-mailed customer service three times to confirm that the bracelet was indeed 6.2 before and was confirmed yes-6.2. They use foreign call centers so I was a bit skeptical, so, since It was at the Palo Alto store, I left a messgae there - can someone just lay eyes on it to confirm? No response. I decided to purchase after the third CS "confirmation". I received bracelet today, and as feared, it is no where close to being 6 ct. If anyone had even looked (like I asked!) it is obvious. How can I ever trust a "valuation report" when this was clearly incorrect. I kept asking and no one checked! At least they should have gotten a response from their brick and mortar! TRR prides themselves on authentication and yet they either committed fraud or were grossly negligent in their process to make such a glaring error. I have asked for a full refund (including shipping charges) but no response yet. (Oh! And the labels were completely unattached. Just laying in the box. If TRR gives me trouble saying I took them off-I will lose my mind. And they lose a customer forever.) Point-I love their jewelry but if TRR doesn't have control over their authentication, or doesn't care, then how can a customer trust in their purchase? Especially ones for thousands of dollars. Are they real diamonds? How can you know for sure if anything is accurate when this was so easy?
Buying second hand items at a discounted price was beneficial for buyers and environment although some items are final sale and unable to return and unable to use... a total waste of money. In addition, the company gives such small reimbursement (4 brand-name items sold and commission was $6) to sellers that does not make sense of selling through them. I rather donate these items instead of giving money to TRR.
I made a purchase that turned out to be a frustrating experience from start to finish. The shoes didn't fit, and the return process was so costly it nearly matched the original purchase price—making it pointless to send them back. On top of that, I was charged almost $100 in duties, which felt excessive. I also received a pair of white pants with visible yellow stains—completely unacceptable under any standard of quality control. Combined with the high import fees, poor product condition, and lack of a practical return option, this was a one-and-done experience for me. Never again.
It's not worth purchasing from the US either these high duties. You're better off just finding Canadian thrift stores.
Everything is waaay overpriced for the condition of the items most of the time. You know its bad when you have to run 50% off just to compete with other websites. The quality has gone to $#*!. Very deceptive descriptions, conditions of items are not accurate at all! Dont tell me a pair of sneakers is in very good condition, but when i get it the inside smells like feet, and the bottom of the shoes still havwe dirt on them. It wasnt like this until about last summer. That is when the quality dropped significantly, started overpricing the hell out of items, the descriptions are extremely inaccurate. This site isnt really worth it anymore. It used to be GREAT.
DO NOT CONSIGN with this company. If you do not want to give away your things do not do business with them! They are very very dishonest. No transparency!
Selling on The RealReal is the biggest scam I've ever experienced. I consigned a brand new Max Mara skirt and ended up with a pathetic $10 commission (isn't it too funny?). Then came Salvatore Ferragamo sunglasses — guess what? They sold them, and I got just $12. Are you serious?! This is insane daylight robbery. They market themselves as luxury resale, but treat sellers like they're dumping garbage. The commission structure is laughable and insulting. If you value your designer items, just consider The RealReal a donation center for luxury fashion, because that's basically what you're doing. I STRONGLY advise DO NOT SELL HERE unless you're okay with watching your expensive pieces go for pennies while this company pockets the rest.
I send for consignment several itmes with The Real Real. It's been a nightmare. On their website, they mention that the processing time is 2-3 weeks, but in my case, I've been waiting for 6 weeks. When I ask for the status, they just tell me to wait longer and to be patient, but they never tell me when they'll resolve the issue. The customer service is terrible. I don't recommend it at all. They just kidnaping your most valuable stuff.
Bought a pair of Celine sunglasses because I scratched the lens on mine. They were final sale which would be fine if they were authentic, but they were not. I tried to return and they did not stand by the product. They offered to "reauthenticate." You can't reauthenticate something for me when I have an authentic pair purchased at Nordstrom and they are not at all the same. I exchanged about 6 emails with customer service, requesting even a store credit, to no avail. Will never shop here again (and I'm a serious consumer, ha).
Answer: Do not buy from them! Their return/refund policy is skewed to their benefit. In my case, I bought a Louis Vuitton bag and when it was received it was not in the condition advertised or the photos did not highlight the real wear of the bag and they refused to make a refund or credit. It's their lost because I have since bought many bags on Ebay which offers guarantee of refund should item be faulty or misrepresented. Also, on Ebay you can judge by seller feedback whether the seller is reputable and PRICES are so much less than on the REAL REAL. Their name should be changed to the REAL GREED!
Answer: Hi Samantha. The RealReal does sometimes ask for additional information from customers for a one time security check. Most times, this is for new customers who have never shopped with us before, orders with vastly different billing and shipping information, or are international customers with unverified credit cards. We will ask for some sensitive and personal information for the purposes of verifying the identity of the purchaser but we will not ask for a Social Security Number. Was your father attempting to complete his purchase via Affirm? Affirm is a third party company we work with that offers financing on purchases. If your father was attempting to complete a purchase via Affirm, they do require a SSN for a soft credit check for the loan approval and repayment options. As Affirm is a third party, we do not have access to any of that information so it is secure with Affirm. Of course, no one is required to use Affirm for check out, rather it's just another payment option we offer. Please feel free to reach out to us if this does not answer your questions or if you feel that the explanations provided were not applicable to your situation. You can reach out to our Customer Service Department at (855) 435 5893 from 8am to 5pm (PST). If you would like to speak to a supervisor directly, please feel free to ask for Caitlin from our NJ office. She is available from 9am to 6pm (EST) and of course you can reach us via email at: [email protected].
Answer: If you like to be frustrated, disappointed and want to take a few years off your life, then yes consign with the real real.
Answer: I do NOT recommend selling through TRR. Read all seller reviews. This a speed selling co trying to cash in on a quick commission. The prices they assign are RIDICULOULOUS at best. They are not there to get you a good price but a fast buck for themselves. They priced a brand new prada bag with a label on at $625. Minus 20% permanent discount, 60% of that, I receive a whopping $312. After 10 days wait of processing and seeing the prices assigned I pulled my items. I was shocked and even more upset. I rather give the cloths to charity or sell them myself. I think it is insiders who buy the best items at dirt cheap prices they assign themselves. As a buyer just today I receive a wrong item. They were going to research the problem and find the item I purchased, a coat. They sent me a dirty silk top... This is after waiting for 10 days to get the wrong item. This co is just very bad. Customer service is spotty. Some reps are just dreadful. They sound like this is a summer gig and they got no training, you can never speak to a supervisor, none is ever available, Read the reviews and decide if you still want to use this co. If you do, you will be disappointed,
Answer: Hello, We are sorry to hear of your concerns. If you can please send us your order number or email address we will happily research this further.
Answer: Hi Frank, Thank you for reaching out. We apologize you have seen more negative than positive reviews. We would be pleased to advise you on our consignment process and share a little more insight about the RealReal.
Answer: I don't work for The Real Real I am just a satisfied customer, very satisfied! I see all the complaints, and just shake my head. Knowing how people can be, and also knowing the complainers are the ones who write letters, I can only assume they are "out of touch with reality", or POSSIBLY are competitors who are just being difficult to try and hurt the site. Remember, anyone can write anything, that does not mean it is true, nor are ALL the facts being presented! As for me, I am willing to show, and prove who I am, and the great products and service I received.
Answer: This happened to me only one time, and I have sold quite a few items with them. As soon as I received the quote for a pair of earrings. I contacted them immediately and said I felt the price was to low due to various reasons, and they got back to me the next day with an adjusted price. I have never experienced what you are describing above as a bait and switch scenario, and I always check the similar or same items they are selling. I would just call them and ask for the details as to why the other item is higher. Sorry you had a bad experience!
Answer: File a complaint with the US Customs office in your area and your state's attorney general. Also for many types of goods, they will destroy the counterfeit goods and give you a letter stating they have done so. This is ironclad proof for the bank dispute.
Answer: I have returned things with no hassle at all.
The RealReal is the leader in authenticated luxury consignment. With an expert behind every item, we ensure everything we sell is 100% real. As a sustainable company, we give new life to pieces by brands from Chanel to Cartier, and hundreds more. Exten...
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