How to Sell on The RealReal in 2026: Commission, Pricing & Payouts

The RealReal (TRR) is a luxury consignment store. You hand over the item; its team authenticates, photographs, prices, lists and ships it, and handles buyers. In exchange it keeps a large part of the sale — as much as 80% on cheap items. For everyday brands, see our ThredUp and consignment guide instead.

What The RealReal accepts

TRR sells women’s and men’s clothing, shoes and accessories, handbags, branded fine jewelry, watches, men’s sneakers and collectibles, kids’ designer pieces, and home and art. It works from an Accepted Designers list on its site — check your brand there before booking anything. TRR’s pricing page names Hermès, Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Rolex among the brands that hold value best. Experience: what consistently does well is

• Handbags and small leather goods from houses like Hermès, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Dior and Prada.
• Fine jewelry from brands like Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Tiffany & Co. and Bulgari.
• Watches (Rolex, Cartier, Omega and similar), which get TRR’s highest commission rates.
• Designer ready-to-wear and shoes in good condition, ideally recent seasons.

TRR accepts items in fair to pristine condition, and it decides authenticity, quality and value at its sole discretion once the item arrives. It doesn’t publish a hard minimum value, but the commission chart does the job: anything that sells under $100 earns you 20%. Experience, not TRR data: contemporary brands (Theory, Vince, Rag & Bone and similar) often sell on TRR under $150, which pays 20–30% — usually better sold yourself.

The RealReal commission in 2026

TRR calls this its Earnings Guide: you earn a percentage of the net selling price (after any discounts, excluding tax and shipping). For clothing, shoes, accessories, unbranded jewelry, home, art and kids:

The bands up to $299 are the same in every category. Above that, higher-value categories pay more:

Loyalty bonuses

Your tier depends on your net sales: Trendsetter under $1,500 (no bonus), Influencer $1,500–$4,999 (+1%), Tastemaker $5,000–$9,999 (+2%) and VIP $10,000+ (+5%). The bonus applies only to items that sell for $200 or more, based on your tier when each item sells. TRR also runs first-time consignor offers (in September 2026, $100 extra site credit).

Worked example

A first-time consignor sends three items:

• A handbag that sells for $1,200: 65% = $780.
• A designer coat that sells for $400: 60% = $240.
• A contemporary-brand sweater that sells for $90: 20% = $18.

Total: $1,038 on $1,690 of sales, all paid on the 15th of the month after each sale. TRR kept $652 — 39% overall, but 80% of the sweater. Now sell the same bag yourself on eBay at $1,200: the handbag fee is 15% of the total sale including sales tax. At 8% tax that’s $1,296 × 15% = $194.40, plus the $0.40 order fee, leaving $1,005.20 before shipping (insured shipping might cost you $20–$30). That’s about $200 more — if it sells at your price, and at the cost of your time.

How to consign with The RealReal

1. Check the Accepted Designers list and estimate what each piece would sell for. If it’s under $150, sell it elsewhere.
2. Pick how to hand it over. Options include an in-home appointment with a luxury manager (who gives pricing estimates), a free virtual appointment by video, dropping off at a TRR store or consignment office, van pickup where available, or a free prepaid shipping label (UPS) to one of its authentication centers — the route for fewer than 10 items or if you’re outside a concierge area.
3. Prepare the items. Clean them, and include what you have: dust bags, boxes, cards, receipts, extra links for watches. Proof of purchase and packaging help authentication and value.
4. TRR evaluates and authenticates. Its team includes gemologists and horologists as well as brand authenticators. Then it photographs, writes up and prices each accepted item.
5. Track sales in your account. You can see listings, prices and sales under My Sales.
6. Get paid on the 15th for the previous month’s sales, by direct deposit, check or site credit.

Pricing, markdowns and getting items back

TRR prices with its own algorithm using past sales, demand, search data, condition and age. You can’t set the price or a floor. Over time, unsold items are discounted and can be included in site-wide sales and coupons, all of which reduce your payout. Experience, not TRR policy: consignors commonly see markdowns within the first one to three months; TRR doesn’t publish a fixed schedule, so read your consignor terms.

If you want an item back, TRR returns it at its own cost once it has gone 365 days unsold. Before that, it charges $20 for most items plus shipping. Decide which pieces you might want back before you consign them.

Buyer returns

Buyers must request a return within 14 days and send it back within 21. Handbags, swimwear, luggage, beauty, items sold at 40% or more off, items from TRR’s end-of-month sale and “as is” items are final sale. That makes handbags one of the cleaner categories to consign: once sold, they rarely come back.

The RealReal vs selling it yourself

On eBay, eligible handbags at $500 or more are routed through Authenticity Guarantee at no cost to you, so buyers get third-party authentication without TRR’s commission. The catch is everything else: photos, pricing research, questions, insured shipping and the risk of returns (see our eBay beginner’s guide). Poshmark works for mid-luxury with a flat 20% fee (see selling on Poshmark), and Grailed is the better home for men’s designer.

Consign with TRR when:

• You have several high-value pieces and no time to list them.
• You can’t authenticate or photograph luxury confidently.
• The item sells over $300, where the share is 60% or more.

Sell it yourself when the item is under $300, easy to price from sold listings, or you want control of the price.

Common mistakes

• Consigning contemporary brands that sell under $150 for 20–45%.
• Assuming the estimate is the sale price. Discounts and markdowns come off before your percentage.
• Leaving out boxes, dust bags and receipts, which support authentication and price.
• Consigning something you might want back before 365 days — it costs $20 plus shipping.
• Not checking sold prices first, so you can’t tell whether 60% of TRR’s price beats 85% of yours.