Handbags

[Mindy D]

Just before Hurricane Irma I received my first email inviting me to a 50% off sale at The Coach Outlet online. I've been eyeing a bag, The Edie 31, for a few months, but held off because the bag doesn't zip closed. I'd been back to the regular Coach website numerous times trying to decide if I wanted to order. When the sale email came in I went to the outlet site to check for an Edie. None were left. I decided; heck, I haven't received a nice bag in a long while ( I did order an Oryany here at the Q, but that's another story 👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻). Due to Irma's impact, mail from UPS was being held by UPS until they could get through the streets to deliver. I just received the two bags I ordered at 50% off. I was expecting Coach quality. Both bags are leather and the packaging was nice but....Let me continue, one bag, is supposed to be made from Coach's "Crossgrain Leather." After ordering, I found out that this was really just Coach's version of Saffiano, though nowhere near the quality of luxury bag Saffiano. The bag is nice, but it doesn't stand out by the virtue of high quality...which I was expecting. If it didn't have a Coach logo on it, I would have expected to be charged around $120-$150 for this quality at retail. The Coach price tag, still attached says $325. The second bag was purchased because I need a smaller black leather bag. This one is in pebbled leather. In the past, I have loved Coach's pebbled leather for its high quality. I've also loved the higher mid-price bags for their hardware. This bag will fit my needs for serviceability, but  

it certainly doesn't smack of quality. I was so excited to get new bags. My reaction is better than "Meh," but it's nowhere near "Takes my breath away." I'll have to fork over bigger bucks to get the higher priced Coach bags. I'm still going to hunt ebay for two new bags that were discontinued about two years ago. The photos I have of these two look like the old Coach to me. EDITED for errors.

[Vivian]

Many manufacturers have a separate quality line, a lower one, for the items sold at their outlets. There's an outlet mall a little over an hour from where I live. I used to go there once or twice a year, but after buying a couple of items that turned out to be really bad after a short amount of time, I stopped wasting time, money, and gasoline. When I read about these separate outlet lines, I had my AHA! moment,

[Kachina624]

Doesn't Coach make a line of bags of lesser quality for their discount stores?  Maybe if you want First Class Coach quality, you're shopping at the wrong place.  IMO Saffanio leather always looks like cheap vinyl.  I don't know how they'd make it look expensive.   I'd return what you got and save up for bags that make your heart sing. 

[GarlandGal]

@Mindy D I live near a Couch Outlet and have found that most of it's bags are now made specifically for outlet stores, and they are not the same quality as those found in boutiques. I miss the days when good bargains could be found!

If you look at the lable inside the bag and the seriel number contains the letter "F", it was made for Couch's factory outlet stores. The retail price on the tag means nothing.  According to a very helpful Couch sales rep, the bag never saw the inside of a boutique, and was never meant to.

[Skyegirl21]

The Coach outlets sells lower quality, lower priced products that are similar design to their high end items, but don't cost hundreds of dollars-  sorry, I know it's a little disappointing..

[millieshops]

My experience is also that what's offered at the outlets isn't the same quality that's offered elsewhere. I used to go, but not so often any longer. There are lots of sales -  I'd rather wait for that  than settle for what I can most often expect at the outlets.

I was in a Lord and Taylor today -  first time in several years.  They had lots of beautiful Coach bags, but the sale prices today were more for Dooney as well as Kors.  I ended up with an Anne Klein that wasn't on sale, but the cashier "found" a coupon so I was happy.  Hadn't intended to shop, but I'm glad I did.

[grandma petes]

I worked at Macy's in handbags for several years. I can truly attest to the fact that the quality of Coach has suffered greatly. Many times we would unpack boxes of Coach, only to have to send them back to the vendor due to poor quality. Quite often there would be marks in the leather, the tops of the bag by the zipper or snap closures wouldn't line up causing the bags to be lopsided. It use to be such a desired brand, but when they became popular with all age groups, I think quantity outweighed quality.

When Saffiano leather was first introduced, we couldn't keep it on the shelves, now we can't give it away. Plus, Coach, Michael Kors and Dooney kind of blew it when they opened their Outlet stores. Many people don't realize that those brands make bags specifically for their Outlets and they are no where near the quality people think they're getting.

[jannabelle1]

I've bought two bags from a Coach outlet mall 3 years ago and haven't bought any since. I think I got caught up in the hype of the outlet mall and thought I was getting a great deal.....of course that wasn't so. The quality wasn't there. I used to love Coach when the styles were classic and the leather was beautiful. That ended a number of years ago.

[faeriemoon]

In addition to selling "outlet only" inferior quality merchandise, I think their quality in general has gone downhill.  Other than their really high end pieces, their quality does not justify their pricing.

[Laura14]

I don't care for Coach's outlet bags.  Instead I wait for the higher end bags to go on clearance at the department stores or take advantage of the invites to the Coach outlet website sales where you can usually score a great deal on the higher end bags.  I just grabbed a Mercer at a steal at Macys because it was the last one.  They also had a burnt orange Edie with a chain strap on clearance that was lovely!

I don't think it's much of a sale but Coach.com just came out with their Fall Sale so if you are looking for anything above the outlet level, depending on price, everything excluding Selena and their 1941 line is 20-30% off.   Edies are included!