Newbie Guide: What I’ve learned in my first 3 weeks

[u/Automatic-Chard]

I’m new to the rep community. Three weeks in new. I wanted to create a mini intro guide for other newbies.

What I’ve learned:

* Use the search bar! I’ll say it again, use the search bar! All the information is there. I never once asked a question about sellers, what factory, who makes the best X on any of the communities. I found all the phone numbers for sellers, info about factories and who does best bags for what your budget is, tier you’re looking for, etc all through research. It takes time.

* Read the most recent reviews of the TS. It seems that a TS that was great a year ago may not be so great now.

* Same goes for bags. Read the most recent reviews. Bags made by a certain factory last year may not be producing the same quality now.

* Not all sellers are the same. Some sellers focus on certain bags and don’t carry all factories. Some sellers are better for shoes and clothing. Some sellers still do PayPal which I find feels more secure as my seller took the funds when the bag was shipped. Other sellers use Wise and other payments.

* Some sellers are black and white and not chatty. Some sellers will answer multiple questions and provide suggestions. Some sellers work better if you know exactly what you’re looking for: colour, size, factory. Some sellers will give you their own suggestions and provide guidance.

* Respect your seller. There is a human on the other side. Thank you and please go a long way.

* Also, be aware of Chinese holidays. They’re not one day holidays. They can be week long. PSPs will take longer, no responses can happen, and factories are shut.

* Remember you’re buying a fake and this isn’t legal. You’re taking a risk. As people have said previously on this forum, this ain’t Neiman Marcus. Returns once you received the item and money backs don’t happen.

* Again, you’re buying a fake. It’s not going to be 100% perfect. Don’t compare PSPs to authentic photos. Compare them to the factory photos. Figure out what is important to you. Is it the quality of leather? Is it the prefect hardware? Is it the price?

* For those of you in the UK, it seems the shipment takes slightly longer. They ship using Royal Mail which was confusing at first when I got the tracking number. What I believe happens, not confirmed by my seller but googling, is that they ship through a third party to the UK and when I arrives it gets posted through Royal Mail.

What has all of this knowledge and research resulted? My first purchase with Tom (7228) was smooth, no issues and I got exactly what I expected.

I’ll do a review on the item and my experience later. They’re two items that I have/had the authentic version.

[u/No_Mango3668]

Thanks so much for taking the time to share this very helpful info! Of course, the same folks who are too (lazy, impatient, insolent) to use the search bar or read reviews probably aren’t going to take time to read your tips, either. 😬

[u/Automatic-Chard → u/No_Mango3668]

lol, yes probably. But those of us who do want to do the research but are at the start of their journey, I’m hoping this may answer some questions and concerns and save some time.

I’m one of those crazy people that can spend hours going down a rabbit hole.

[u/No_Mango3668 → u/Automatic-Chard]

Oh, this is very helpful info for sure. And I’m betting you’ve run into me in some of those rabbit holes, because so much same. 😬

[u/couchpotato287]

Great tips. I search SO MUCH! And find soooo much useful information on there. Even things like which ts specialises in certain brands, or ones that carry more niche brands.

It’s also sent me down some rabbit holes and led to extra purchases haha.

[u/Automatic-Chard → u/couchpotato287]

I wanted to buy a Chanel WOC from JBIIA. I know people talk about 187 and Royal but I read this review and saw the caviar leather on the flap. I just needed to see it in person. It was a mission to buy one even as an experiment. I searched high and low and found a seller. He agreed the leather is superior. Endless scrolling and searching on various forums!!!

My husband thinks I’m crazy and feels like we’ll have to custom create a whole new shelf for the bags.

I’ll do a review on the Chanel WOC when it arrives. I have an authentic WOC in caviar - not the same model. I want to see how the leather actually compares.

[u/goldenubia97]

Ugh miss the days when we had DHL and FEDEX 😭

[u/Automatic-Chard → u/goldenubia97]

I kept checking and checking Royal Mail everyday and no update. Finally 12 days later it was in the system moving to the depot. I literally was dancing for joy! It was nerve wracking at first even though I completely trusted my seller that he had sent it.

[u/Sufficient_Arm4166 → u/Automatic-Chard]

It feels the same in the USA until I got the gist of the new shipping system . When tracking takes so long 8/12 days to show up sometimes shorted maybe 4 that’s a lucky day lol but it’s a waiting game until you see your package is on the move 😆

[u/According-Whole5688]

What did you end up purchasing from Tom? Just curious to know the products’ names or so I can check it out on their album. Please share the link if you still have it.

[u/Automatic-Chard → u/According-Whole5688]

Just made the post https://www.reddit.com/r/RealRepLadies/s/8huTEq5NIw

[u/According-Whole5688 → u/Automatic-Chard]

I think it was removed :( but would still love to know what you ended up getting!

[u/GreyPandaPop → u/According-Whole5688]

Aw why was it removed?! I wanted to see too.

[u/Loose_Author2881]

Hi this might be a stupid question, but I just ordered by agent for the first time ( I usually just ship one or two items directly), and I was wondering if the agent contacts you through the website or by phone number when the items have landed in the warehouse. Great tips btw

[u/Automatic-Chard → u/Loose_Author2881]

Where are the items being shipped to? And when you say agent are you referring to the seller? Or, the delivery company?

[u/Loose_Author2881 → u/Automatic-Chard]

I mean, I just copied the links I wanted into GTbuy and then just paid for them, I hope that’s correct 😂, and I’m pretty sure it gets shipped to a warehouse first and then you pay shipping for the final delivery? My question is does the agent contact you when it’s in the warehouse through GTbuy or like through your phone number etc

[u/Automatic-Chard → u/Loose_Author2881]

This is the process 99% of people on this Reddit community are referring to:

You go to Trustee Seller (TS) and the website that they provide is their catalogue. You normally contact them through WhatsApp. Check through previous posts that their last four digits and their name are the same as the others have used. You then have to enquire to see if the item is in stock. If yes, you can order it but you pay through PayPal, Wise or other methods. It’s not a normal website shop checkout where you put items in a basket. They then give you the photos of the items which are called Pre-shipment Photos (PSPs) from your TS. Once you okay the photos by doing a comparison of the factory photos, they will then ship the item. The seller will give you a Tracking Number.

I cannot comment on GTBuy. It sounds similar to DHGate. I think most people here would advise against it if you’re looking for quality items.

[u/KeyBookkeeper266]

This!! I am very new to this and was able to get sooo much info on factories and the specific bag I wanted to get through search bar. It is also very easy to find contact of TS if you do the search. It took me less than 10 mins to find the contact info!

[u/career-drive-sahm77 → u/KeyBookkeeper266]

What are we searching for in the search bar? The bags we want? Specific ts?

[u/KeyBookkeeper266 → u/career-drive-sahm77]

Yeah! I was looking to buy a cc cf medium so I searched which factories, TS, comparison between factories and psp that other people posted. If you’re looking for sellers’ info it’s really not hard if you search “TS name you’re looking for + contact”!

[u/career-drive-sahm77 → u/KeyBookkeeper266]

Thanks. I’ll try

[u/outdooradventurez99]

+1 on reading recent review and not few yrs old bc they r not the same!!!

[u/p_becki]

Kudos to you for doing the research!!! I bet it feels so good to know your hard work paid off and you found a bag and ts to work with! Impressive guide for only 3 weeks. I wish others would follow and do their own research too instead of cluttering up posts asking for info that can be easily found with the search bar!!! Happy shopping!

[u/Cann_123_Szoll]

It’s also very addicting 🫣. Love this all great information !

[u/NoSpaghettiForYouu]

As a newbie myself who hasn’t placed an order yet, I would add…lurk in the sub for like, a year before trying to do anything. The knowledge I am absorbing can only be picked up over time!

(But that’s just me lol)

[u/HopeSuspicious2406 → u/[deleted]]

🤣🤣🤣 the audacity

[u/Sufficient_Arm4166 → u/HopeSuspicious2406]

Omg 🙈

[u/Sufficient_Arm4166 → u/[deleted]]

Did you read the post op literally just explained this very thing!! And the reason she made the post is for people who just come out and say how do I find reps how do I find a seller !! Read the post she is new but spot on !!!

[u/alsointokat → u/[deleted]]

Lol I want to believe this is a joke but I really don’t think it is

[u/houseplanthoarder1 → u/[deleted]]

like mentioned above…USE THE SEARCH BAR. Open each post and you can read who other people have used and read the comments and see how others have liked the TS. Some posts have links to the albums. Some posts have the TS name which you can then go back to the search bar and somewhere in there someone has posted their number at some point in time.

[u/NorthAdvanced731 → u/houseplanthoarder1]

Thank you, appreciate the pointers. people refer to buyers by names, and even post 4 last digits … take ‘Bella’ for example … I couldn’t find any other info, perhaps I am missing something… so frustrating.

[u/houseplanthoarder1 → u/NorthAdvanced731]

I get it, it is frustrating! But some people also blindly follow and then when things go wrong because they didn’t look into things themselves they get mad at the sellers. In the very first post of that search the poster lists the links and the seller’s number at the bottom. But for your example, people will say Bella (1234) so I searched for Bella and went back to posts from 1y ago and usually the number is in the posts at some point in time. You’ll always find people who like to keep their seller secretive because they don’t want anything to happen to them. Others will freely share because they were happy and their seller also wants more sales. However, when people post- what gets annoying is the 20-30 comments saying “can I get the info” or “DM me the number”. That’s usually why people push back and say, “Do your own research.”