I spotted this handbag on a girl today. At first I was like ooh, Coach, cute (I mean look at the colorful C’s)! But I quickly realized that this bag was a fake.
Wondering hot to spot a fake Coach purse, yourself?
Compare it to the Real, Authentic, and Not Counterfeit Coach Scribble Small Tote: the replica has smaller C’s and is wider and larger. The real Coach scribble tote doesn’t come in a larger size. The fake isn’t as boxy; it’s elongated. The straps also just struck me as not the same; not as nice; thinner?
The moral of the story? Do not buy fake designer bags, because Fashionistas - the ones who will care about those C’s or other signature prints, etc. - will know. Read more about the horror of knockoffs, here.
On the web page for the online sale of the exact bag pictured at top (NO! I am not going to give you a link!), this was written:
Buyer Question: is this authentic or a replica? Apr 18 08:22PDT
Seller Answer: i don’t know!
THAAAT’S a wonderful sign right there, folks! *sarcasm*
More goodies? Check this picture out:
ACTUAL TAG.
NICE! *uncontrollable laughter*
As for the real bag? Hamptons Weekend bags are crafted from ultra smooth, luxe fabric, with the softest leather handals. Drool worthy. Quality is everything. Is there really any more to say to educate today’s trend-seekers?
Buy authentic and quality bags!
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August 9th, 2005 at 5:26 pm
I also bought what was listed as an authentic coach scribble medium tote on ebay. When I recieved the bag my immediate thought was yuck! This is a horribly ugly fake. It smelled funky and although it had the right size c’s the handles had glue on them! Last time I checked coach does not use glue. The measurments were way off from what the real bag comes in and alough it had the tags it was obviously a bad fake. The guy had already sold three already to people who said they loved it on his feedback! Do they not realize what a crappy bag it is? They must not know coach quality. I have purchased beautiful coach bags on ebay from good sellers. People like this guy who buy fakes dirt cheap and sell them for close to full price are giving coach a bad name. Maybe some people are happy to pay less for the look withought the quality? Be careful when buying online. I have found that I have better luck when the seller has pictures that they obviously took themselves of the actual bag you are going to recieve. Be on the look out for sellers who are using a stolen pic from the coach website.
August 12th, 2005 at 6:02 pm
Actually, my mom’s medium tote had a spot of glue on the handle - but we bought it from Filene’s (big department store). It was probably some shipping problem. My mom didn’t even care. I insisted we get a further discount. It was her Mother’s Day present. But I hear you on that. I ALWAYS notice fake, fake, fake similar totes. Ugh!
Oh, I am absolutely for 100% only buying items with the actual item’s picture. And sometimes the seller took the pictures him or her self - yet you’ll notice other listings for the same bag, and they’re the same pictures. No! One boastful quality some bags bear is a unique look - whether it be a print, logo, even tweed. More important from even aesthetics and symmetry is that one of the bags NOT photographed could have things wrong with it. Ugh! Who knows? That pictured bag could be long sold - or kept by the eBayer! Ha. Tsk tsk. Something that’s also possible to run into is non-shipping sellers. Sigh!
I’m working on a similar posts with your tip about Christian Dior authentic vs. counterfiet RIPOFFS. Yes, I’m branching out to learn about all designers. I’ve moved on to Louis Vuitton, now. The bad thing is, I always find a bag I want to buy. He he.
Good luck with your bag purchases, and I hope this seller refunds your money! Feedback is your weapon, at the very least! (But not until you’ve gotten what you want out of the interaction. Get your money, and get your own feedback.)
August 29th, 2005 at 11:26 pm
I couldn’t agree with you more, my girlfriend loves coach bags, she found a few on eBay, but lucky it was an honest seller and it checked out that they were real coach wallets, then I go on to buy her a bag and you see the most silly colors that coach dosen’t even make. I noticed that on eBay, sellers with private feedbacks and sellers from China often sell the fake stuff, esp when they use coach.com pictures instead of their own. I feel bad for the victims that buy from eBay and end up with a fake one. That’s why me and my girlfriend buy coach bags from the coach store, you def. can’t go wrong from there, I enjoyed reading your forum, good luck in the future.
-Ted
September 12th, 2005 at 1:00 am
I feel that fake knckoffs are not bad at all, NOT ALL PEOPLE can afford the real thing. So when they got a coach or gucci bag that looks the same u feel alot better knowing u spent 60 dollers for the bag, and they have the same one at Foleys or Saks for 300 dollers or more, take your louis vuitton for example not everybody has 900 dollers and up to spend on a one, and for what your only gunna used it for like 1 month, then a new bag will come out and u will want a new one, ITS STUPID!!!!! I hope they keep makeing these fake bags cause i like them, and im not stupid to pay 300 dollers for the real one. i rather pay 300 dollers and get 6 bags then one.
-Justin
September 12th, 2005 at 3:16 pm
I’m sorry, Justin, but you don’t need to buy designer if you can’t afford it, but more importantly–can’t RESPECT it! Designer bags, even if they’re “it” or trendy, are not meant to be tossed aside in a month. All that hand craftsmanship and genuine leather is meant to last a long time. My fake leather brand name school tote has a lot of wear & (literally) tear on the strap and the “leather” is bent on one spot. (I bought it mid last semester). Next time, I’m either getting a Liz Leather (Liz has new genuine leather bags! When the one I liked at the department store gets on the website, I’ll post about it! I digress.) or Coach bag when it is REALLY falling apart. It’ll be worth the money!
There are some nice and stylish BRAND name bags for $60 or less (or more) and some are made of genuine leather. A Liz leather satchel or tote is under $150. If it’s the look you’re after–the possibilities are great. I loove Guess bags! And Nine West is a popular choice. They even have their own signature prints.
Finally, Justin, have you read this? DO IT! and listen.
Really, paying anything for a knockoff is stupid.
November 15th, 2005 at 7:50 pm
My friend has a bag and i was wondering if it says that its made in the U.S.A is it really real or just really fake?
November 16th, 2005 at 4:34 pm
It’s supposed to be a COACH? COACH bags are manufactured in China.
November 19th, 2005 at 12:21 am
For the Coach bag the manufacturer location depends on its age too. Older ones were manufactured in the USA. Newer ones are from China or other countries- Coach has something like 74 factories, all outside the U.S. I notice as soon as they closed their last U.S. plant the quality of the bags substantially declined.
November 19th, 2005 at 12:23 am
Thank you. That’s amazing info, but it’s actually quite sad.
November 23rd, 2005 at 2:06 pm
I just received an “Authentic Coach” used bag that I purchased for $100 from an Ebay seller with great feedback. It’s a nice purse, but doesn’t have the Coach “stamp” or serial number in it anywhere… Did I buy a fake? Any help is appreciated.
Thanks.
November 23rd, 2005 at 5:05 pm
If it’s a current or recent bag (I just don’t know about older ones, but I don’t see many on eBay, if any), and it doesn’t have the “stamp” with serial on the back of the interior, it’s fake. E-mail me (top of the sidebar: contact) the listing page, and I’ll take a look to give you tips on spotting them.
I’m sorry for your troubles!
December 2nd, 2005 at 5:32 am
I worked at coach for awhile, and I always buy designer bags for my mother and girlfriends… I can spot a fake a mile away and coach bags are the easiest to tell!!! Sometimes the C’s are backwards, or too many, too small, often they will mix two styles together…. and it’s obvious that Coach never made that style… be careful…. look on the coach site for pics and make sure the bag is the same… or go in a coach store and try the bag on… check out the details and compare…. =)
December 13th, 2005 at 4:36 am
hello was wondering If a registration card comes with a coach bag, does that make it real, and is their a place i can check the serial numbers?…I wanted to buy one on line, but wanted to know if theirs a way to check before i buy with the serial numbers they show:)
December 13th, 2005 at 2:52 pm
COACH bags come with registration cards. You are meant to fill it out, send it in, and receive customer support, along with a catalog. Not a big deal to do, but one should hope all new bags come with one.
The serial number could be a copy of a real bag, I say, so in my opinion, it’s no proof.
December 14th, 2005 at 12:04 pm
I’m planning on buying a Coach bag and after reading several pages on how to spot a fake online, I just cant tell from some pictures.
I found this one website Overstock Auctions
One
Two
Three
Four
Can someone tell if the above ones are fake or real? Seem too good to be true. Any help would be appreciated, thank you.
December 14th, 2005 at 1:48 pm
I’m unsure about Overstock Auctions, in general. I know eBay at least has some protection from the company.
About the bags:
One: fake, the Cs just don’t seem right to me. I’ve seen many fake ones that look like that.
Two: Poor picture, low bid.
Three: Store/website picture, not picture of actual bag. This would be fake or a non-sender. The person could take your money and run with no actual product of any kind.
Four: Poor picture. It’s really true, because some fakes are so good that you’ve got to look VERY closely. With mini signature, it can be really tough. The best place to start is to look across the top of the bag (not really easy with a hobo, but you’ll get what I’m saying) and see if the Signature is perfectly horizontal.
December 14th, 2005 at 3:22 pm
Thanks a lot, Ella
Thats what I figured about the first one, the C’s just didnt seem right even though the seller advertises it as 100% authentic.
The actual Overstock store has authentic stuff, but unsure about the Auctions. I called them and they told me that the sellers have to go through a screening process before their products can be approved, and if their reviewers decide it’s a scam it wouldnt be posted on the website. But if the product turned out to be a fake, then I’d have to deal with the seller to get the product returned, Overstock can’t do anything about that. But I’ve been reading on their message board that some sellers don’t even bother replying to messages. So, I’ve decided to get the bag at Dillards, the local dept store.
Thank you for your help
I just bought 2 BCBGirls bags, they were awesome! I think I’m slowly becoming a handbag fanatic 
December 15th, 2005 at 3:11 pm
Also researching a coach auction - held this up to a coworker’s real bag, and it seems legit. Need a 3rd opion though (worried about pic quality).
http://tinyurl.com/9pdge
Please help!
December 15th, 2005 at 4:49 pm
My mom has the exact same purse, except the straps are NOT brown, they’re black. So, I’m wary. She actually wants to sell it, if you want to purchase a used quality bag. I’d definitely carry it, myself, in its condition. I’d put it up on eBay, so we can get protection. I bought it in Macy*s, myself, for her Mother’s Day present.
I’m not just trying to sell to you, heh heh. But I am unsure, I didn’t think the straps would be brown.
December 15th, 2005 at 5:31 pm
Thanks Ella,
I am wary too, asked the seller to post more pics. My coworker’s straps are brown as well and she got her’s from a coach store here in CT (I think she bought in 2004), so I’m not worried about that, but definately still raising an eyebrow until I see more -thanks for the info! I think I’m just going to wait until spring when they hit stores again.
Thanks again!
December 17th, 2005 at 4:02 am
What do you think of websites that say they are outlet stores? For example:
http://www.bonafideluxury.com
Are the bags they are selling authentic?
December 17th, 2005 at 10:44 am
Ah, they are selling my favorite Chelsea Bouclé Demi, one I never want to part with. The thing you can see is, they show COACH’s website pictures, not their own. It is in fact MOST clear with this Bouclé Demi, because COACH changed the design AFTER the website photo was taken. The actual bag does not have an adjustable strap or those brass-hardware rings (shame).
That’s a bad thing, folks, look for original pictures.
Also, the description is wrong: “# Back open pocket
# Turnlock closure” Um, no, that’s the Chelsea Leather Demi.
(There is good news about the Bouclé Demi; it is on sale at department stores, now!)
The other thing is, and this is BIG, is that COACH does not allow anyone to sell their bags online, but for www.coach.com! Not Macy*s, not any department store ‘tall! They want to control the market to keep their bags viewed as high-end designer.
Any discount COACH bags, or any COACH bags at an online STORE, other than COACH, the borrowing sites, and eBay (and most on eBay are fakes, as I noticed with a search for a Coach Carryall!) are NOT genuine and are fakes.
April 3rd, 2006 at 1:41 pm
I am searching for an authentic Gucci boston bag on Ebay. I can’t tell by the pictures, the fake or the real deal. Can someone give me a little insight on buying AUTHENTIC Gucci?
April 4th, 2006 at 5:20 pm
Honey, I was going to do an entire post on this, but it’s just too difficult. The odds are against you, and I advise against going eBay. I, too, wanted a Gucci Boston bag (with green!) or maybe one of their cool hobos. But if I can’t go eBay, I can’t afford, and for a long time, at least, I must give up that dream. Either pay or no Gucci is my advice.
Anyone else?
May 25th, 2006 at 1:49 am
I just HATE FAKE bags. What is the point of having a fake bag? Who do they think they are fooling? Like you said before, the people who care about the C’s or LV’s know what is real and what is fake. I just think it’s so sad that they spend $60-$80 on a fake coach bag, when they can get a nice guess purse. Having a desinger purse means it’s quality, the straps won’t be falling apart in a month. I wish there was some way to end this madness.
April 13th, 2007 at 3:13 am
oh my god with fake asses purses i just bouhgt like 4 purses and like 4 wallets and they all look original to me i dont know but pretty sure they are real i did get them real cheap cause i know the guy that sells them they might be fake but i dont know i need more info on how to tell if they are fake cause they have the coach name all over it inside on the handles the tags the stamps and yea one of them do have serial numbers and others just a number but what im gonna do to just get my doubts clear im going to the coach store and ask and yea compare them i think i did get ripped offf damn i hate it but dont people that make coach purses cant copy the actual name or else they get sued?
can somebody get back at me pls asap!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1