To those who don’t have any idea on what The RealReal is, then take note that it’s a shop for luxury items. It is a store dedicated to operating in the industry of luxurious items – meaning that this is a shop for the rich. It is also a shop which aims to preserve the life of luxury items to bring out its true worth and not just the price that it originally had when it was first sold. This is a store that started in selling luxury apparel but got a huge sale of $100 million in 2017 due to the sale of watches and jewelry.

However, just like everyone else on the internet, there will be someone who will question the credibility of a good service especially when it comes to luxurious items. RealReal often faces a question about the authenticity of the items they are selling, leading to a chain of curious people who are wondering if these luxury items are just imitations of an original brand. Gladly, the luxury store made sure that the myth will be debunked quickly through the means of their own investments.

An Innovative Approach For True Authentic Service, Not Just Items

As a result, the luxury online store employed experts in jewelry called gemologists in studying the true quality of accessory sold in the store. The store also employed art curator and brand authenticators to confirm the product’s authenticity. They even employed horologists to observe luxury watch brands and even luxury item enthusiasts/collectors for most bags. This resulted in a group of ten people wearing gloves like an inspector to enter the store for the sake of validating the authenticity of a certain client’s purchase this last May 2018.

The inspection was very careful like a crime scene. Store employees even asked everyone to stay a safe distance from the inspected bags. One of the inspectors, a manager for evaluating handbags, stated that it was her first time holding a small bag worth “ten thousand”. This was actually a venture done by Julie Wainwright, the founder of RealReal. She did this by letting the professional team of ten people investigate the products on her own shopping cart.

What Started Out as a Way To Sell Stuff…

Wainwright believes that this should be done for the sake of helping second-hand buyers when picking an original luxury item. She states that in this way, the buyers will feel like they are one of the people who are luxurious enough to purchase such a designer item. She also added that this is something that renown shopping websites like Amazon cannot do. Wainwright also said that it’s a hard thing for those websites to do anything that’s more than service for the masses, unlike her store which offers a brand-new level, or perhaps a higher class, of online shopping.

The luxury online store started out as an idea to sell luxury items when Wainwright went to a Silicon Valley community in 2010 with her friend. They stopped at a boutique containing designer items. However, the items are consignments that Wainwright’s friend eventually bought. She was surprised by the action of her friend but eventually became an idea as the consignments are luxury brands such as Gucci and Prada. As a result, Wainwright researched second-hand luxury and its market right away.

This led her to start this amazing and crafty business by selling some of her old designer bags and clothing. She did it on both online and local stores, along with a few failed attempts from the shops to understand the real value of what she was doing – something that will earn her huge. That’s why she rented an office warehouse by 2011 to start its operations as RealReal.

…Gained Huge Profit and Fame

Now, The RealReal currently has over 500 employees based in areas such as New York. She even opened a shop at some of her preferred locations to provide more convenient services to the people who wish to experience the wonders of owning a legit luxury item. This is how Julia Wainwright offers authenticity: through the means of real items with efficient service quality.