Random thoughts on buying and collecting

[crissy11]

I recently decided to organize my bags - I labelled all the boxes, making sure each box had only one purse in it's dustbag and organized by season. I have 14 at the moment - 4 for Spring/Summer and 10 for Fall/Winter. I actually (OK, this is going to sound oh-so-anal) did up a schedule by week and purse and will change over every Sunday morning. I did the schedule until the end of January and each purse only gets into rotation twice - that's not very much and I hate the idea of things not getting adequate usage. And it really got me thinking as to what else I really need - but then again, who needs 14 purses, right? We all know this isn't about need.

So that got me thinking about something mentioned in another thread. I have a price point in my head that I'm not comfortable going over per bag and it's $400. I had a brief moment when I considered the floral Sophia, but once I saw the modelling shots and figured out she was too big, I dismissed it and was a little relieved to do so.

But with 14 bags not getting into rotation that often, I'm wondering if I should change my mindset to buy 2-3 more expensive bags per year rather than what I did in this first 14 months of Coach collecting - which was buy 14 (plus all the wallets, scarves, keyfobs and other goodies). If I do that again this year, that means I could be close to 30 purses, and honestly, I'm not comfortable with that many bags - not from the financial standpoint - just the usage or lack thereof standpoint.

It seems like a lot of you ladies do spend the big bucks on bags - and lots of them - and that's great. I'm not independently wealthy, and I refuse to run a credit card balance for purses, so I only buy what I can afford and usually wait for PCE. And I guess I love a deal more than I love any individual purse, so it will really be a change in mind set for me to pay maybe $1000 for a bag maybe 2-3 times a year instead of what I've done this past 14 months where I bought 14 bags - mostly at 25%, 40% or outlet pricing.

I know for some of you ladies who have DOZENS of bags, my 14 must seem minuscule and you probably think I'm nuts for thinking so hard about it - but I need to find the right balance, and I guess I'm just trying to sort that out.

Does anyone else think so hard about this silly little topic or is it just me?

Thanks for letting me unload my thoughts here!!

 

[PickyCoachLover]

Well, even though I have a lot of bags, I have some for fall, and some for summer. I coordinate my bag every day to my outfit, so I change daily. It is a ritual for me...I get excited about breaking another bag out and using it everyday. I have a ton of bags (and wanting 4 more) but I keep them in a good rotation. Financially, we are not struggling at all because of my addiction (it could be worse...LV?) so we are good. However, I understand that not all people are in that same situation, and my advice is to do what you feel you need to do. It's impossible to keep up with Coach. So just get what you want, what you will use, etc... Don't buy bags just because they are pretty and let them sit in your closet because they are just not "you", kwim? Some people like having just a few, some like having a more variety. It's whatever floats your boat, and you should not feel weird/silly/whatever about how you feel.
If you want to just get two great bags a year, I think that is wonderful. But please do reveals when you get them! LOL!

 

[almabr06]

well, even though i have a lot of bags, i have some for fall, and some for summer. I coordinate my bag every day to my outfit, so i change daily. It is a ritual for me...i get excited about breaking another bag out and using it everyday. I have a ton of bags (and wanting 4 more) but i keep them in a good rotation. Financially, we are not struggling at all because of my addiction (it could be worse...lv?) so we are good. However, i understand that not all people are in that same situation, and my advice is to do what you feel you need to do. It's impossible to keep up with coach. So just get what you want, what you will use, etc... Don't buy bags just because they are pretty and let them sit in your closet because they are just not "you", kwim? Some people like having just a few, some like having a more variety. It's whatever floats your boat, and you should not feel weird/silly/whatever about how you feel.
If you want to just get two great bags a year, i think that is wonderful. But please do reveals when you get them! Lol!

ita....

 

[crissy11]

OMG I could never do every day, cause I also have to change out my wallet and my makeup bag - the wallet in particular is a pain with all the cards and stuff. I would rather do every 2 weeks, but that wouldn't get things into rotation enough, and I just don't have the inclination or patience for daily switch ups. I used to be a one bag per season girl!

I actually work with someone who used to buy Coach, and now she switched to LV - she just doesn't buy as many. Instead of 10 Coaches, she buys a couple of LV's. Not saying I want to do that, but I can see me getting more comfortable with that idea - the dollar amount per year doesn't change - just do you spend it on 10 bags or 4 bags or 2 bags?

It's not so much a question of affordability, granted I can't afford $15K a year on purses (so long as I want to be debt free). I give myself a budget that I'm comfortable with and don't like to go outside of that because there are so many other things I love to spend money on.

I dunno, I haven't quite figured it out yet - but you are right about one thing and my DH has even noticed it - it's so easy to get swept up in the fury only to find out that you don't really like that particular purse - I have to be careful of that. And I don't like returning either.

________________________________________

[PickyCoachLover;16597264]Well, even though I have a lot of bags, I have some for fall, and some for summer. I coordinate my bag every day to my outfit, so I change daily. It is a ritual for me...I get excited about breaking another bag out and using it everyday. I have a ton of bags (and wanting 4 more) but I keep them in a good rotation. Financially, we are not struggling at all because of my addiction (it could be worse...LV?) so we are good. However, I understand that not all people are in that same situation, and my advice is to do what you feel you need to do. It's impossible to keep up with Coach. So just get what you want, what you will use, etc... Don't buy bags just because they are pretty and let them sit in your closet because they are just not "you", kwim? Some people like having just a few, some like having a more variety. It's whatever floats your boat, and you should not feel weird/silly/whatever about how you feel.
If you want to just get two great bags a year, I think that is wonderful. But please do reveals when you get them! LOL![/QUOTE]

 

[PickyCoachLover]

What I meant by the LV thing was...if I had started with LV instead of Coach...and bought the same amount of bags...it would be more ridic than if I had bought Coach. LOL! And that is exactly what would have happened to me...so I am glad I got into Coach instead of higher ends.
As for changing out everyday, I have small stuff...and only a few wallets that match multiple bags, only 3 cards (including license). So it's not that big of a deal.
I agree that if you think you can cut back by buying a higher end brand, then that would work. I just cannot do it, myself. LOL!
Whatever you decide to do, as long as it makes you happy...I think is great!

 

[crissy11]

What I meant by the LV thing was...if I had started with LV instead of Coach...and bought the same amount of bags...it would be more ridic than if I had bought Coach. LOL! And that is exactly what would have happened to me...so I am glad I got into Coach instead of higher ends.
As for changing out everyday, I have small stuff...and only a few wallets that match multiple bags, only 3 cards (including license). So it's not that big of a deal.
I agree that if you think you can cut back by buying a higher end brand, then that would work. I just cannot do it, myself. LOL!
Whatever you decide to do, as long as it makes you happy...I think is great!

Well I sure haven't figured it out yet, when I do I'll let you know. LOL. I'm not sure why this has been on my mind so much today!!

 

[katierose]

I think Coach is unique in that we can buy from the boutique or we can buy from the outlet.

I've been struggling with this question recently since I have a lot of bags now. On the one hand I love going to the outlet and getting that rare $800 bag for like $300 or less. The problem is that they don't often have those nicer bags, and then I usually wind up buying a lot of less expensive bags instead, and this leads to having a larger collection of bags. I've collected some nice bags this way, no complaints there, but now I need to rethink my buying habits.

This year I've mostly bought with PCE at the boutique and I've picked up some great bags. My thinking is that I'd get some TDF bags to add to my collection and I like doing that.
But I always read the outlets threads and then want to go pick up a bag at a great bargain too, LOL.

There's usually a thread similar to this one on the main Bag forum. "Buy one expensive bag or several less expensive bags?" But I'd love to hear what Coachies have to say regarding this.

RE: rotation. I change my bags every couple of days, depending on what I'm wearing and where I'm going. Sometimes I'll just use a bag one day before changing out, sometimes I'll use it for a few days, just depends. But I go through them pretty fast this way, so I feel like they are all getting used, and I'm enjoying each bag as I go along.

 

[PickyCoachLover]

My interest in Outlets has really dissipated. Last time I went, I only looked for FP deletes and fp stuff. The MFF just wasn't worth it to me anymore...because I have all of these awesome fp bags, ya know?
The only reason I want to go to the outlet now is the rumor of the MFF Sabrina. One poster said it might come in light pink patent...
But other than that, I do not care for the outlets anymore. I agree...yeah, u can buy two mff bags for the price of the fp...but then you see a fp u want but don't have room because of the two mff's....
I am slowly giving my mff away to relatives. I just do not use them anymore.
And I blame it all on TPF, for teaching me about all these different bags! I thought the outlet WAS the Coach store before I joined TPF! LOL.

 

[mayhurst]

This same question about the number of bags (and wallets, scarves, and key fobs) I have has entered my mind often over the last couple of months. I thinks it's great that you have a plan to enjoy your bags on a more regular basis. I decided to buy one or two bags with the upcoming PCE and forego trying to find treasures at the outlet because I know I really want one of the new Maggies and the volume of Coach I already have is almost embarrassing. I don't think that I will necessarily focus on more expensive bags, but will definitely assess just how much I love a bag before I buy it in the future...I really hate returning things either to FP or the outlet.

 

[dawnqueenb69]

I recently decided to organize my bags - I labelled all the boxes, making sure each box had only one purse in it's dustbag and organized by season. I have 14 at the moment - 4 for Spring/Summer and 10 for Fall/Winter. I actually (OK, this is going to sound oh-so-anal) did up a schedule by week and purse and will change over every Sunday morning. I did the schedule until the end of January and each purse only gets into rotation twice - that's not very much and I hate the idea of things not getting adequate usage. And it really got me thinking as to what else I really need - but then again, who needs 14 purses, right? We all know this isn't about need.

So that got me thinking about something mentioned in another thread. I have a price point in my head that I'm not comfortable going over per bag and it's $400. I had a brief moment when I considered the floral Sophia, but once I saw the modelling shots and figured out she was too big, I dismissed it and was a little relieved to do so.

But with 14 bags not getting into rotation that often, I'm wondering if I should change my mindset to buy 2-3 more expensive bags per year rather than what I did in this first 14 months of Coach collecting - which was buy 14 (plus all the wallets, scarves, keyfobs and other goodies). If I do that again this year, that means I could be close to 30 purses, and honestly, I'm not comfortable with that many bags - not from the financial standpoint - just the usage or lack thereof standpoint.

It seems like a lot of you ladies do spend the big bucks on bags - and lots of them - and that's great. I'm not independently wealthy, and I refuse to run a credit card balance for purses, so I only buy what I can afford and usually wait for PCE. And I guess I love a deal more than I love any individual purse, so it will really be a change in mind set for me to pay maybe $1000 for a bag maybe 2-3 times a year instead of what I've done this past 14 months where I bought 14 bags - mostly at 25%, 40% or outlet pricing.

I know for some of you ladies who have DOZENS of bags, my 14 must seem minuscule and you probably think I'm nuts for thinking so hard about it - but I need to find the right balance, and I guess I'm just trying to sort that out.

Does anyone else think so hard about this silly little topic or is it just me?

Thanks for letting me unload my thoughts here!!

I know what you mean~I have a total of 3 bags and I only carry my glam tote because it is the size I need on a daily basis.I feel bad that I never carry my 1st coach bag because it is suede and much too small..I have grown out of it.So she is tucked away, but I just cannot part with that bagAnyhow, alot of what you say is logical.I myself would rather switch out accessorie's, it is easier and less time consuming.I stick with carrying 1 bag and I don't get bored,(once I find one I love,lol.)I could buy more bags, especially at Outlet prices, or by doing what alot of you do, saving.I just prefer to get my use out of 1 bag at a time.We all know the Quality of Coach's bags and accessorie's.They can last as long as they are treated right I know alot of women love to have multiple bags, and switch them out often or by season, and I think that is great for them, but its just not me! Crissy, I think you have a Beautiful Collection, I say enjoy and have No regrets..You put alot of thought into your bags.So do what works for you and makes you contentWe all have different ways of buying, using, rotating,etc.

 

[NITE_FOXX]

i used to have 11 bags, then 18..... im down to 6. 4 very nice leather bags that were pretty pricey $700 to $1200. one that is a signature and the other is a patchwork. i realized i only use a few bags at a time so i just sold the rest. i thought it was pointless to have a bunch of things just sit in boxes. i loved to look at them but rarely used them lol. i think it is better to have a smaller amount of things they will be enjoyed alot more.

 

[Sunshine Suz]

Well, I struggle with this too. In my first 1-1.5 years on tPF I bought so many bags. I seriously don't know how many. I bought them on eBay and through craigslist. A few at the Outlet and none at the boutique.

Now very little turns my head and I find myself mostly using the same 4-6 with a few others thrown in on random occasions. There are a couple of newer bags I like but my price point is even lower than yours crissy11.

So, do I sell what I don't use, most likely at a loss? Do I hold onto everything and see if my tastes change? (Somehow that seems unlikely). I've watched many of the Coachies that posted regularly when I joined move onto to LV and Bbags. Again, with my price cutoff I doubt I'll be venturing into other brands.

Maybe I'll make a rotation schedule to prompt me to change bags more frequently. Hhhhmmmmm. I'll get back with y'all.

 

[crissy11]

I was thinking about you as I was posting these threads recently - I think I've taken over your role for asking questions! But I really do like to hear what others think and if other people mull over the same things that I do!

Sometimes I miss the days when I had one bag that I loved for an entire season - I seemed to be more contented then in a way. Now I just get confused and I even start to feel guilty sometimes - you know when you see things on TV that are just horrible in the world and here I am struggling over which purse to use next.

I know what you mean~I have a total of 3 bags and I only carry my glam tote because it is the size I need on a daily basis.I feel bad that I never carry my 1st coach bag because it is suede and much too small..I have grown out of it.So she is tucked away, but I just cannot part with that bagAnyhow, alot of what you say is logical.I myself would rather switch out accessorie's, it is easier and less time consuming.I stick with carrying 1 bag and I don't get bored,(once I find one I love,lol.)I could buy more bags, especially at Outlet prices, or by doing what alot of you do, saving.I just prefer to get my use out of 1 bag at a time.We all know the Quality of Coach's bags and accessorie's.They can last as long as they are treated right I know alot of women love to have multiple bags, and switch them out often or by season, and I think that is great for them, but its just not me! Crissy, I think you have a Beautiful Collection, I say enjoy and have No regrets..You put alot of thought into your bags.So do what works for you and makes you contentWe all have different ways of buying, using, rotating,etc.

 

[crissy11]

i used to have 11 bags, then 18..... im down to 6. 4 very nice leather bags that were pretty pricey $700 to $1200. one that is a signature and the other is a patchwork. i realized i only use a few bags at a time so i just sold the rest. i thought it was pointless to have a bunch of things just sit in boxes. i loved to look at them but rarely used them lol. i think it is better to have a smaller amount of things they will be enjoyed alot more.

I think a lot like you, 6 sounds like a good number to me. Did you regret selling any or are you still content with downsizing? I think it's good that you were able to do that. Since I've only been at this for a year, I'm not quite ready to let go of any just yet. But I can stop buying more right!!

 

[crissy11]

I highly recommend a rotation schedule. I printed mine out and posted it next to my purses. It also gives you a great awareness of how often you use your bags and how many you have.

I wish I could tell you what to do with your bags - for me nothing is as distasteful as things not getting used, but I also understand having some sentimentality over some bags - it's a tough one.

But that's what I'm wondering now. I could probably buy 2-3 LV (just as an example) per year instead of 10 Coach - or maybe 1 of the more expensive Coach per season.

I only get to an outlet once a year, so it's not like that's a big draw for me, but it is definitely fun to go once a year and go a bit nuts!!

QUOTE=Sunshine Suz;16598264]Well, I struggle with this too. In my first 1-1.5 years on tPF I bought so many bags. I seriously don't know how many. I bought them on eBay and through craigslist. A few at the Outlet and none at the boutique.

Now very little turns my head and I find myself mostly using the same 4-6 with a few others thrown in on random occasions. There are a couple of newer bags I like but my price point is even lower than yours crissy11.

So, do I sell what I don't use, most likely at a loss? Do I hold onto everything and see if my tastes change? (Somehow that seems unlikely). I've watched many of the Coachies that posted regularly when I joined move onto to LV and Bbags. Again, with my price cutoff I doubt I'll be venturing into other brands.

Maybe I'll make a rotation schedule to prompt me to change bags more frequently. Hhhhmmmmm. I'll get back with y'all. [/QUOTE]