TheRealReal CEO: 'No Other Resale Company Doing More To Remove Fakes'

Following a CNBC investigation that found instances of RealReal Inc REAL selling counterfeit merchandise, CEO Julie Wainwright said Tuesday that the company has the most rigorous authentication process in the marketplace.

"The RealReal has the most rigorous authentication process in the marketplace. We are the only resale company in the world that authenticates every single item we sell. There is no other resale company doing more to remove fakes from the market every day and put counterfeiters out of business,” Wainwright said in a press release. 

4,000 Items Rejected In October 

Hundreds of thousands of customers have instilled trust in the company, the CEO said: 82% of the company’s gross merchandise volume is from repeat buyers and 81% of GMV is from repeat consignors. according to Tuesday's statement. 

The RealReal’s Net Promoter Score is higher than retail giants Apple Inc. AAPL and Nordstrom, Inc. JWN, Wainwright said. 

“Doing anything to jeopardize this trust would not reflect our values, or frankly, be good for business.”

In October 2019, the company said it received 490,000 products for consignment on its platform and rejected over 4,000 items due to concerns uncovered during authentication.

Items that are considered high risk are sent to authenticators with significant experience who are highly specialized in specific categories, according to The RealReal. 

Resalers, Manufacturers At Odds

Part of the problem of preventing counterfeit luxury goods from appearing on luxury resale platforms is the general distaste for the industry by the manufacturers themselves.

In 2018, Chanel filed a lawsuit against The RealReal accusing the site of selling counterfeit handbags.

The company fired back and accused the luxury house of trying to keep its customers from purchasing discounted goods.

Prior to the company going public in June, The Wall Street Journal described The RealReal’s authentication process as “educated guesswork” and said it “gets almost no help from brands in identifying genuine products from copycats.”

The RealReal said it stands behind its products: “if our customers aren’t happy or if they ever question one of our products, we always make it right.”

The stock was down 0.93% at $18.16 at the time of publication Wednesday. 

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