The New York Times reported in December that investigators had seized fake luxury goods worth half a billion dollars. The iconic American brand Coach was founded in as a family-run workshop in a New York City loft located on 34th Street in Manhattan. Coach does not sell products at flea markets, through street vendors, or in kiosks in malls. In addition to the official Coach website , you can buy authentic handbags and shoes at Zappos , Nordstrom , and Saks Fifth Avenue.
If a deal or price sounds too good to be true, it probably is. For discounted luxury bags and shoes, we recommend Amazon and Nordstrom Rack.
Coach prides itself on being a company that creates handcrafted bags. Established in , the brand has held quality craftsmanship to the highest regard. The same is still true today. One of the first things you should check is the overall craftsmanship of the bag. A poorly made bag will have ill-fitting leather pieces that cause the product to bulk in areas. Check that the outer shell is made from high-quality leather material. Overall, it should smell and feel like genuine leather. If your bag is second hand, real leather will stand the test of time, growing beautiful aging marks such as tiny creases at the most.
For bags with rings, the leather loop where it connects should feel snug. This prevents the handles from moving around loosely. Counterfeit bags usually have a lot of space inside the loop. When spotting counterfeit Coach bags, the difference between beautiful and sloppy stitching is a dead giveaway. While most Coach bags are now made in China — which is basically the motherland of counterfeits — Coach still prides itself on quality stitching that runs beautifully across their products.
Although Coach is by no means perfect in their stitching, the hiccups are minor compared to counterfeit ones. Fake Coach bags will have stitching that is blatantly bad with some stitches running over each other.
The spacing between the stitching is also often uneven. Coach hardware is usually made out of brass or nickel. A great way to tell whether your bag has quality hardware is to check its weight. Authentic hardware should feel solid and heavy, while the hardware on fake bags is light and made from cheap metals.
If your bag has rings connecting the handle to the body, check to see if the rings are solid and seamless. On rare occasions, Coach will have rings with seams but they are beautifully polished and aligned.
Be wary of Coach bags with plastic over the hardware. Counterfeit bag makers do this in order to prevent humidity from tarnishing the low-quality metal. Check to see if the zipper snags.
Real zippers should unzip easily. Coach tags are usually made out of leather hanging from a beaded chain. However, recent models have made use of metal tags as well. Due to certain styles like those having invisible zippers or diagonal darts , this has not been a consistent standard. From examining the seams, to looking for reconstituted or fake leather, with a little practice, you can clearly identify a fake Coach checkbook wallet from the quality product.
If you are buying the product online, verify serial numbers, sales associate identification or proof of purchase to determine the original purchase date of the Coach checkbook wallet. Authentic Coach checkbook wallets never feature glue at any of the seams. If you notice any clear glue residue on any part of the checkbook wallet, it is a fake Coach product.
The inner and outer stitching of the wallet has straight seams, and no hanging threads. But, t he stitching along the outer seams of a real Coach wallet is well-done and even. Fake Coach vendors price the replica wallets at prices below the retail value of an authentic Coach product. Peruse the Coach website for pricing information and a list of authorized resellers. If the wallet is real leather, the material is smooth. Last Updated: October 25, Approved. This article was co-authored by wikiHow Staff.
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Learn more Due to their popularity, designer bags are often replicated and Coach bags are no exception. Knowing how to spot a fake bag can be extremely helpful if you're looking to purchase one outside of a department store or the official Coach website.
Being aware of a few Coach specifics like patterns, logos, and identification can help spare you a lot of wasted money and future trouble. Support wikiHow by unlocking this staff-researched answer. To spot a fake Coach bag, look for common indicators like low-quality or synthetic leather and poor or uneven stitching. Next, make sure the Cs in the CC pattern are all horizontal, facing each other, and touching. If the pattern has any variation, the purse is fake. Real Coach bags should also have Coach labels, hardware engraved with the Coach logo, and matching leather logo tags attached to the purse with a beaded chain!
For tips on identifying sketchy vendors and deals, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No. Log in Social login does not work in incognito and private browsers. Please log in with your username or email to continue. No account yet? Create an account. Edit this Article. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. By using our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Cookie Settings. Learn why people trust wikiHow. Download Article Explore this Article methods. Tips and Warnings. Related Articles.
Article Summary. Method 1. All rights reserved. This image may not be used by other entities without the express written consent of wikiHow, Inc. Examine the craftsmanship. There should be little wear to the bag and the material should be sturdy.
Coach products are made from expensive and authentic materials. For example, they use real, high-quality leather. So if the bag appears overly smooth and plastic-y, or seems to be made from canvas, it's likely to be made from a synthetic like pleather, which would make it a fake. Look at the stitching. The seams and stitching of Coach bags are even and clean. Each stitch should be the exact same length. They should also be straight and not over-stitched i. This means you will see only one line of thread, not multiples stitched over each other.
Check the lining. Most Coach purses will have a solid-color, satin lining. However, bags without the 'CC' print on the exterior may have it on the interior instead. This may not always be the case, though, as some bags may not have the CC pattern on either the outside or the inside. Keep in mind that a Coach bag should never have the CC pattern on both the inside and outside. Method 2. Look at the 'CC' pattern. Bags with the signature C design follow a very set arrangement.
For example, both Cs should be horizontal, facing each other, and touching.
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