I’ve been doing some clothing shopping on The RealReal lately, and I have to tell you- it has been hit and miss. Some items have been major scores- others have gone right back in the box to be returned. As I mentioned in my post on online shopping returns, The RealReal does accept returns on some things. But there’s a tight return window and they will charge you $12.95 for each return. So it’s worth doing your best to choose carefully and thoughtfully up front when clothing shopping on The RealReal.
Buying clothing secondhand has a lot of benefits- it is more sustainable and it can allow you to obtain much higher quality items than you might be able to afford full-price. It allows you to try a trend that you might not want to spend big bucks on (here’s looking at you, Golden Goose!) Plus it really is fun and satisfying to find a gem.
In contrast to shopping for handbags secondhand, where there’s a lot more uniformity in item naming (facilitating easier comparisons), buying used clothing is more of a free-for-all. The RealReal is not going to spend as much time detailing a random $50 Vince sweater’s size and style name- when that time could be spent on a $5000 Louis Vuitton handbag. So we need to be clothing sleuths to identify items that work for us at good prices.
It pays to be patient- and fast!
The RealReal claims that most items sell in 3 days or less. That’s probably the case for items from very popular brands, in good/excellent condition, and on trend. But by being patient, and being aware of some brands that aren’t as popular as those listed as “trending” or “emerging”, you can score some very good deals.
At the same time, if you find something you really like- in your size, in your desired condition, pop that sucker into your cart. You’ll have 20 minutes to decide before it becomes available for someone else. I’ve been known to put something in my cart multiple times while I do some additional research on it.
Dig deep for the really good deals
Start with a very high level search- “cashmere for women” or “merino wool sweater”- and you will wonder why you ever pay full price for knitwear. There are literally thousands of options out there. And while a lot of the “good stuff” goes fast (see my point above), a lot of it sinks lower and lower down the pages. Eventually The RealReal starts to mark items down, just to move it out. And that’s how I found a cashmere tank top for $20 🙂 So don’t be discouraged if you aren’t seeing anything you like on the first couple of search pages. Keep filtering and scrolling- it will feel like a bit of a treasure hunt!
Look for the details and condition
Read the description carefully.
Is the garment material what you were expecting? I noticed on a sweater I was considering that “leather” was listed in the material composition list. Ah ha! There were leather elbow patches that I couldn’t see, and I took it right out of my cart.
With tops- I am ok with some pilling on sweaters- that is easily dealt with. But stains under the arms? Nope. I’m not going to deal with that. Rips, tears- nope, nope. And generally I’m not interested in items in less than “very good” condition (but do take these ratings with a grain of sand. The person rating them probably spent 15 seconds assessing the condition.)
Really scrutinize the photo provided. Granted, this can be hard to do when an item is black- but zoom in and try to check out the details. Especially the back- I’ve been unpleasantly surprised by random cutouts and lace inserts (hello! It’s not 1986 anymore) on the back of perfect nice looking sweaters (from the front.)
Sizing can be challenging- but there are some tricks and rules
The sizing info provided by The RealReal can be super helpful- actual garment measurements- or very frustrating (“size tag missing, size estimated”.) So you may have to take things into your own hands. Here are a few tricks:
- Take a close look at what the item you are considering looks like on the mannequin. I’m guessing that the white plastic mannequin they use is roughly a small/medium. I am not a small/medium 🙂 So the sweater/shirt/jacket needs to look a bit oversized for me to even consider buying it.
- Also consider the length. I am a stickler for things being long enough– but not too long. Look at where the garment ends, relative to the wrists of the mannequin. Stand up and make sure that length works for you.
- There are some things I just won’t buy from The RealReal. Jeans and pants take too many try-ons to find the perfect ones. Even if I was ok with doing lots of returns, The RealReal isn’t going to have every item in a range of sizes. Shoes are also tricky-too tricky for me to bother with.
I’d like to make a blanket statement that higher end designers tend to run small and lower end designers run larger. That is sort-of true, but not always the case. Be aware that there will always be a bit of a gamble when clothing shopping on The RealReal with sizes.
Google every item you are considering
Googling items can really help with determining the usual retail price (am I getting a deal?) and sizing (especially if the retailer uses TrueFit.) Of course, it’s easiest if you already know what your size is in a particular brand. I’m a solid medium in Tory Burch- so I filter out everything else. Same thing with Vince and a couple of other brands. But when I recently found a great Jil Sander sweater (a brand new to me), I had no idea what size would work. Luckily, I checked out a few regular price items on the Neiman Marcus site- it made some recommendations based on my True Fit profile. And I was able to make the purchase with a bit more confidence.
And there are times when the price on The RealReal is HIGHER than you would find at full-price elsewhere. This seems to be an issue for really trendy items (like this jacket). It’s $380 on The RealReal but $280 on Net-a-Porter. This is a good example where a 30 second search could save you $100.
Are you a fan of clothing shopping on The RealReal? Any tips you would share for getting the best deals?
