Don't Be Fooled - Anonymous employee The RealReal Employee Review

1.0
9 Jun 2016
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Working with high profile clients and merchandise. New office actually in SF.

Cons

Everything. This place is honestly the worst company I have ever worked for. Upper management has a very old school approach to everything and whenever a problem arises the classic excuse used over and over is "we are a start up" yet nothing operates like a start-up. It is a very traditional corporation environment. Colleagues are awful. Everyone has an attitude of arrogance and entitlement and the only time you bond with people is by talking poorly about the company and other colleagues. Very similar to being in a high school or some type of juvenile organization. This makes working cross-functionally a nightmare because everyone thinks their tasks are far more important than the next person, instead of working together as a cohesive unit. I would over hear people talking poorly about other colleagues and interview candidates and not just stating their professional weaknesses, but actually picking apart their personalities, outfits, and other non work related things. Perks were stripped away without anything replacing them (pretty sure this is a huge 'no, no' for companies trying to boost moral) and reasoning would be blunt or nonexistent. No free food, no gym memberships, the worst vacation and PTO plan, career development is not offered often and openly, a snack shop you must pay for, etc. Basically nothing is given to you besides a job, which I was very thankful for don't get me wrong, but when you know there are other companies that offer every perk you can imagine it makes it hard to stay motivated and willing to come to work. The pay is another huge issue. People are paid way below SF standards I have a friend working at an ACTUAL start up in the same position that I was in and is making 20k more a year. That is a very significant amount for living in the most expensive city in the US. The turnover rate is astronomical. I think in the year I was employed there over 50 people left, and not just in the hourly warehouse jobs, but in the actual HQ offices. Including a chief officer within the company which generally... is not a good sign. The actual work is not distributed well. Some teams have people completely slammed with a heavy workload and others you seen Facebook and shopping websites up on every screen during the day, but they do not promote within unless you have been there for 2+ years and there is no training development. Management does not listen to feedback, so many of the same complaints from employees and users on the site, yet nothing is ever changed or reworked. Management also doesn't receive feedback from their teams... Another huge red flag if you aren't running the other direction already. If you think you will be working in "high-end luxury fashion" you are seriously mistaken, because the only thing similar to working at a fashion house in NY is the snobby people, but at the end of the day this company is an online thrift shop. Finally, the CEO. Julie is a very seasoned CEO and it shows in many ways. Some great and some terrible. The way she addresses the company is very condescending at times and you can see eye rolls throughout the room. Doesn't really make you want to give it your all when you are reminded how dispensable you are by your leaders. If you are still reading this considering a job at The RealReal SF, NJ, NY, wherever, let me be complete clear with my final thoughts: DON'T DO IT.

Explore other reviews about The RealReal

5.0
8 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Overall, the receiving team is very sweet and engaging. They try to help you when you need it or ask for it.

Cons

When you don't reach your goal, they do get on you/

2.0
13 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Pay and commission can be good, but the structure is unnecessarily convoluted and not as generous as it seems, and you will have no work/life balance if you want to actually make consistently high commission. If you have a true passion for luxury and fashion, you do get a lot of opportunities to handle and interact with special/rare items, and depending on store location you can meet a lot of interesting industry people and celebrities, especially during Fashion Weeks

Cons

Poor and unsupportive management with extremely unrealistic demands and expectations; you will get virtually no training, but are immediately expected to know how to do everything. The overall company culture is just unpleasant and very cliquey, and there's constant employee turnover. The online customer service system is terrible, so you will frequently have to handle customer issues that have nothing to do with you/your sales.

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