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Is Your Coach Bag A Fake?

Coach… sigh. Design, quality and durability make them the quintessential handbags. Unfortunately, for many of us the prices aren’t quite so ideal ($1200 for a Coach handbag? WTF?), so when we spot one for a great price, we want to pounce. But before you purchase what looks like a Coach bag, make sure it actually is one. Ask yourself these five questions.

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Is Your Coach Bag is Fake? Ask Yourself These Five Questions

1. Where Am I?

Seriously. Ask yourself. You can only find Coach in certain places: Coach stores, Coach factory stores, Coach.com, Coach catalogs, authorized department stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Dillards (and their outlets), discount retailers like TJ Maxx and Marshalls and limited duty free locations (luxury boutiques). Yes, you can find real Coach elsewhere, like on ebay.com, but we’re warning you, detecting a fake gets trickier from here.

2. Are The C’s Lined Up?

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Inspect the bag carefully. If the bag is printed, the C’s will not even be the tiniest big crooked. When the purse is upright, They will be in a perfect line. The slightest deviation means you’ve got a fake.

3. Where’s The Dust Bag?

If you’re in a store, ask to see it. If you’re shopping online, make sure it’s included with the purchase. Sleeper Bags or Dust Bags should be dark chocolate brown with a red drawstring. In the bottom right the words in all caps “COACH EST.1941″ written in white.

4. Is There A Logo Tag?

Coach also commonly uses logo tags that are attached by a beaded metal chain. Usually, the tag should match the trim of the bag. The words “COACH” should be raised, not imprinted. Do your research to make sure that the tag goes with the bag you are getting– It is not uncommon for counterfeiters to mass-produce them. Keep in mind that tags are never made out of hard plastic. It’s always leather.

5. Is The Zipper YKK?

Remember that familiar phrase from your childhood, X-Y-Z? It’s time to start putting that to use again. Most authentic Coach purses use the zipper brand YKK– the highest quality of zippers available. So, look carefully at your zipper pull. If your bag is authentic, you will see the tiny  letters ‘YKK’ on your zipper pull. Fake Coach purses do not have the YKK zippers. Can’t tell? Don’t buy it. Walk away and wait until you’re sure.

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Kimberley Page

Sunday 19th of January 2014

Hello all. We recently got a Coach outlet in Nebraska. Some of the Coach purses there are NOT worth buying at any price. The colors do not look enough like the Coach store variety. Outlet malls have what Coach considers their seconds. That do not make it into a Coach Store. They also make purses & etc. specifically for the Coach Outlet's. Generally the quality is the same, they are just a lower version of what the store contains. The biggest & easiest way to spot a fake are the "C"s. If they don't line up, then there's something wrong.

Peggy

Wednesday 15th of January 2014

I bought my first Coach purse from the Outlet store and the hang tags don't match the trim on the purse, and I didn't get a dust bag. Is that normal?

Jennifer

Thursday 4th of April 2013

I just bought a coach bag from the factory website but when I got it it has to little plastic tags in it one in the bag saying bad in china. And the WRISTlet says made in the phillipinness. Are the real? I have the thing saying they came from coach one way. But why r the plastic things in the bag?

COACH4ME

Friday 15th of March 2013

PANTHERFANKASAY@GMAIL.COM

Meredith

Wednesday 25th of July 2012

Anyone who buys REAL Coach bags (like me) can spot a fake from a mile away...knockoffs are easy to spot.

Kimberley Page

Sunday 19th of January 2014

I would have to agree. Once you've been in a Coach shop you know what's real.

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