The RealReal IPO'd on the promise of authentication — then sold fakes

The RealReal was an American online luxury consignment platform founded by Julie Wainwright. The company's core promise was authentication: every item listed on the site was inspected by experts before being sold. In June 2019, The RealReal went public on Nasdaq under the ticker REAL, raising $300 million. Prior venture funding totalled $288 million.

The authentication promise was the entire business model — it was the reason customers paid a premium over eBay or Craigslist. But in 2018, Chanel sued The RealReal, alleging the site hosted counterfeit Chanel items and misled customers about affiliation. In 2019, Forbes reported that a $3,600 bag sold as an authenticated Christian Dior was counterfeit.

In early 2020, a class-action lawsuit alleged that authenticators received little training and had strict quotas, increasing the risk of counterfeit or mislabeled items. In 2021, Forbes reported a customer paid $1,000 for Christian Dior sneakers that a third-party authenticator called a 'lower grade replica.' The RealReal refunded the customer.

Founder and CEO Julie Wainwright stepped down in June 2022. Two more CEOs followed by October 2024. Revenue in 2021 was $600 million. The company that had gone public on the promise that every item was real was spending its post-IPO years explaining why some of them were not.