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The RealReal, a luxury consignment company with names like Hermes, Gucci, and Stella reign supreme.
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The recently publicly listed company says it's revolutionizing resale and expects to sell nearly $1 billion in luxury goods this year in retail stores and online.
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Anyone can consign by shipping to the company, dropping off at one of their consignment offices, or depending where you live and how much you're consigning, from your own home.
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Gavin Waters is one of The RealReal's so called luxury managers tasked with these home visits before the items are authenticated and listed for sale on the site.
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Hi.
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Hello.
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So good to see you.
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On this day, he's consulting with Erin Hazelton, a writer who is one of The RealReal's VIP consignors.
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You see anything here that screams, get out of my closet?
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This is a Chanel.
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Okay.
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You know, I kind of love this.
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So what about this Victoria Beckham bag?
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I hardly used it, but I love it.
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I think this half moon shape is sort of on the decline so I would do it now before it's an even lower price.
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I don't like getting rid of Alaia, but I think it's time.
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This is a hard one.
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So I feel like you know that rule if you've had it for two years and you haven't worn it.
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It's time to go.
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Yes.
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So what I'm looking for when I'm going through a consignor's pieces is definitely the brand value.
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I think if it's a brand that's super hot right now like Gucci, Balenciaga, Dior, it definitely helps to go onto our marketplace.
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But I think cut also has a big thing to do with it.
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What's the story with this?
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So, last year when I finished treatment for breast cancer, this is the outfit I wore to ring the bell.
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I get to do the first one.
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Ready?
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It's all Xs, goodbye cancer.
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That's gonna be in the collection forever, of course.
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But then there's a pair of pants that I wore the first day of chemo.
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- I don't know if I need to keep them. - Not that, that's memory.
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You know what, goodbye.
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Goodbye.
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I think when describing Erin's collection, you see so much of her personality and the fun pieces, the serious pieces, the dramatic pieces.
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It's really sophisticated.
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The materials, the quality are all incredible, but there's a large sense of fun with her.
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When you know Erin and you see her dressing, I think it just is such a personification of who she is and the life that she brings to everything.
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That was really beautiful.
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- Oh, I think it's true, no, I think it's such a privilege. - You're so nice.
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Who knew I would get emotional about clothes.
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That's a personal thing.
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I mean, I think, you know.
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My other children.
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You got a lotta kids in here.
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Seriously.
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I have been consigning for four years.
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I consign a lot so I have VIP status which means I get 70% return on any item that's over $200.
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Sometimes I get 20 bucks, sometimes I sell things and I get a lot more than that.
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These shoes for sure, I'm ready to part with.
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- I'm obsessed with these. - Oh no, don't do that to me.
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I know, I always make you second guess.
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I always thought about doing eBay, but just the work of like shooting it, dealing with people...
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Alright, good to see you.
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The RealReal takes a cut, but you don't do anything.
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Gavin comes here, takes the stuff, done.
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Hello.
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The pieces I got from Erin today as always is a great assortment.
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She's a smaller size which definitely helps.
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We got some Alaia pieces.
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Alaia sells really really well on our platform.
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It has a very strong almost cult following for the cut and the design.
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Those pieces are fairly close to retail and they sell pretty consistently on our marketplace.
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The RealReal has three brick-and-mortar stores in New York and Los Angeles and 11 luxury consignment offices across the United States.
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Authentication is an essential part of the company's strategy with its 100% authenticity guaranteed promise.
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I just left one of my VIPs.
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I want to see if you have a chance to look some stuff over.
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Sure, yeah, drop it off.
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Perfect.
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The RealReal says it authenticates thousands of items per day.
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Authentication is paramount to our business we're called The RealReal.
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It's so important that we put it in our name twice.
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Guaranteeing that everything we sell is the real deal, the legit article is so important.
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Authenticity is what differentiates us from a lot of other players in the market.
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But The Real Real's authentication strategy has ruffled some feathers.
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French fashion house Chanel has sued The RealReal accusing the company of selling fakes.
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Chanel's website states that there is only one way to ensure that articles are genuine, purchase them only in Chanel boutiques or from retailers authorized by Chanel.
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The RealReal says it unequivocally rejects Chanel's claims and will continue to accept pieces from all in demand luxury brands.
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Wetzbarger inspects one of Erin Hazelton's dresses, the Alaia.
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You wouldn't necessarily think that a brand like Alaia would be counterfeited, but it absolutely is.
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On an inferior counterfeit piece, they would have fewer seams, fewer pieces, to make it cheaper and faster.
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Often times on counterfeits, they'll use letter sizing, small, medium, large, extra large.
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But most French and Italian brands will use European sizing, 38, 40, 42, etc.
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So that's something to look out for.
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I've been in luxury resale for a long time and it started off as everyone's dirty little secret.
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Even consignors and customers didn't want to talk about it.
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But now people are proud and they're sharing their success stories.
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And brands are starting to come around, too.
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They know that if there's equity in their products in the secondary market, then their product is more popular in the retail market.
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You're not gonna buy a car you can't resell, you're not gonna buy a house that depreciates in value.
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It's the same way with fashion, people are making savvy investment decisions in their wardrobe knowing and thinking about the resale value.
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I think people are just slowly becoming more conscious about the environment.
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Clothes don't break down and you can donate them.
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But if they don't sell, they go into, you know, an landfill somewhere and sit there for years and years and years.
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Isn't that amazing?
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Wow.
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I mean, (mumbles), that is amazing.
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It's better than just sitting in somebody's closet.
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At least somebody else gets to wear it and feel good in it.
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You know what I mean?
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It has a second life.
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It's like, I guess, a piece of art.