Kumika M.

I used to love NAP and found their selection and service very good, but have found that since they sold their company the quality has gone down. I have continued to purchase from them if I find something I really like, but this is just unforgiveable.

In 2017, NAP started charging sales tax for purchases from other states such as MA. MA charges no sales tax on apparel items under $175, and starts charging when the price exceeds that. So for example if you buy something for $200, you get charged 6.25% of $25. (You can easily find this information online: http://www.mass.gov/dor/individuals/taxpayer-help-and-resources/tax-guides/salesuse-tax-guide.html#apparel)

They have been charging sales tax on the whole amount if the item is over $175. Earlier this year, I pointed this out to them, and they said I was right and they would refund me (but I ended up returning the items so it was a non issue). Now it is the end of May, and they still have not fixed this issue. I find this borderline criminal and extremely dishonest of them, especially as they have been notified of the issue. They are essentially overcharging certain customers for tax in certain states!

Other sites such as Neiman Marcus calculate the amount correctly (I even put the same dress in my cart to double check!) You would think in today's world with the technology we have this would not be so difficult. So if you do decide to purchase from them, double check the math and be careful!

I have never in my life had such a terrible shopping experience, or dealt with a customer service team this disinterested in helping you. I placed an order for items "in stock" and would ship within 24 hrs, yet it did not. My credit card was immediately charged (this in itself is a poor practice, your credit card should only be charged when the item ships, most retailers I purchase from adhere to this principle). I emailed customer service who kept on insisting that they had taken care of it- yet nothing happened for days. At this point, we were getting nowhere, so I asked them to cancel the items (I ordered them from another store and got them in a day!) - two women wrote back to me saying they cancelled the order yet the online status in my account did not change. Then they shipped the item! They refused to send me a return label, saying I need to ship it myself and they will only refund part of the shipping costs despite acknowledging it was their error over and over again. (Note this is inconsistent with what their website says). And now they are saying they will only refund the shipping costs as store credit! This is after weeks of emails going back and forth, being lied to over and over again -- why would I ever risk another order from them? I have never come across such a terrible online experience before. At the very least the customer service does not care to help you at all, and feeds you lies to just be able to send a reply. I suspect they shipped the item to force it on me so I would pay for it and are doing everything possible so to disincentivize me to send it back. I have raised a dispute with Amex as I am not getting anywhere with them. I would absolutely advise staying away from these people.

I decided to try The Real Real to help clean out my closet. I also have worked with Yoogis, Fashionphile and a few others. The RealReal to me is one step before giving things away to Goodwill.

When you sign up for the first time, a sign up rep will email you to help you with questions. The person I got was sloppy only answering half the questions (even when I made it easy for her to answer giving bullet points/numbering them) and not very clearly. She also stopped answering once I sent the items in. If you do want to try them, I recommend properly reading through the seller terms - the site is definitely pro-buyer.

I submitted 10 items for my first try, most were new, some with tags. They will still only list it as "Very Good" with signs of wear - which they also used to describe a bag that was used a few times. The sign-up rep will also suggest you look through the website to get a sense of what types of prices your items will be listed for (common sense), but what she does not tell you is that when it goes on sale, it might immediately be applicable for a 20% coupon or whatever sale they are doing. If you want your items returned/they're not accepted, there are fees you will have to pay. They also put up one of my dresses backwards on the mannequin - when I emailed customer service about this they did not reply.

Again - I would say this is a good last step and easy place to send your designer items if they are going to Goodwill anyway. But for things that have value, I've had a great experience with both Fashionphile and Yoogis which both have better consignment terms (better prices, lower fees, sometimes offering buyout). I recommend you try those first. I think most people have an inflated idea of what their second hand items are worth, but I do also think that The RealReal prices below those prices as they are incentivised to move things quickly. And their customer service towards consigners need improvement - without consigners, they do not have a business, so they should value the relationships. But if you want something quick and easy and don't expect much out of it, The RealReal might be for you.