She orders Saint Laurent shoes from The RealReal. Then the fit sends her into detective mode: ‘these are from Temu’

A TikTok user who posts as Ashley Liz Cooper under the handle @notashleylizcooper shared a video in which she claimed she had just been scammed by The RealReal. In the caption, she wrote that she ordered a pair of Saint Laurent shoes from the site and added broken-heart emojis along with the hashtag for the company. The video has gained 418,500 views, 19,300 likes, and 750 comments.

In the video, she stated that when she went to try the shoes on, they did not fit at all. She explained that if she knows one thing in this life, she knows her size in a Saint Laurent shoe. She held up a leopard-print pointed-toe mule as she spoke.

She then brought one of the shoes closer to the camera to show the insole. She said she started getting up close and personal with them and looking at the logo. She held up the received shoe next to another pair she indicated came from a store and pointed out differences in the printed logo on the insoles.

TikTok user compares logos and sole markings on the shoes

She claimed the logo on the shoe she received appeared thicker than the one on the pair from the store. She said this made her really paranoid, so she began examining the shoes with her friends. She then showed the sole of the leopard-print shoe and directed attention to the logo printed on the bottom.

In the video, she stated, “Look at the f–king logo on the bottom. The T is going to the side.” She concluded that the shoes were from Temu and that they were not Temu prices but RealReal prices. She said, “So these are from Temu and they were not Temu prices, they were RealReal prices. So I just got scammed.” Pricing discrepancies can spark outrage, as when a woman was stunned by a double-priced, half-sized filet o fish at McDonald’s. 

She added that she needed to see if the company would let her return them. She explained that this was the second time something like this had happened to her. She said a couple of years ago she bought a Louis Vuitton duffel from them and had a similar issue, but she thought she would be safe with shoes.

Holding both leopard-print shoes, she stated, “I don’t know if they need to hire me to be an authenticator because this is honestly f–ked. This is f–ked.” On-screen text in the video also repeated her claim that she got scammed by The RealReal.

Viewers responded with a mix of skepticism and advice under the post. Some expressed strong doubts about the platform’s practices. One commenter wrote, “The real real doesn’t authenticate their items.” Another stated, “Never use real real because it ain’t real.” A third shared a personal reaction, saying, “me questioning every real real purchase ive ever made lol.”

Others suggested handling the situation differently. One commenter wrote, “Allow them to fix the problem before blasting them. Real people work there, they make real mistakes.” Another advised, “Girl just connect with their customer service line. They’re very helpful.” Shoppers can face judgment or unfair treatment when seeking luxury items, as a Pennsylvania woman was allegedly told to leave a Chanel store. 

Some viewers pointed to larger concerns about buying designer goods. One wrote, “If you want anything designer now you have to buy it directly from the store and pay full price. Can’t even trust department stores.” Another described their own experience: “They sold me fake Prada shoes so I returned them to the store and reported it, then they resold the same exact pair to my friend knowing they were fake.”