answers to AUTHENTICITY questions!!!

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#1,336
angiebailey said:
I was reading Hyacinth pg 37 March 30, 2011 input on the No. UOJ-7785 serial number for Coach bags because I acquired one from Suited for Success here in OKC, Ok for free. (its a place that helps people with clothes and accessories to interview for work when you don't have the means)
Anyhow, I have had the bag for about six months and I was admiring it and wandering how much it was worth. So I got on the internet and plugged the number in yahoo and you guys came up and I found out it was a fake. I was devastated. I thought it was at least $500 but looking to see how close it was to $2000. It's very big and beautiful - black.
Well I had to get a second opinion so I called the official site COACH phone number I found on the internet and asked the lady if it was a fake and low and behold she said they DID use to use that number for their purses but it was an older number and that she could not authenticate it because I did not buy it at an outlet.


I wanted to let you know that. I'm so pleased that my purse is back!!!






Thank you so much.
Angie Bailey
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whateve said:
No one can authenticate a bag over the phone. The phone reps have no knowledge of how serial numbers are formatted and no knowledge of older Coach styles. All they can do is enter the style number in their system to see if they made that style. The rep ignored that the number you gave started with a U, which is always invalid. What she was checking was that Coach made a bag with the style number 7785, which they did, but none of them would have a prefix of UOJ ever.

If you want a real second opinion, post pictures of your bag and creed in our authenticate thread here: http://forum.purseblog.com/coach-sh...oach-read-1st-page-before-posting-889527.html

ETA: this page shows what style # 7785 has sold for recently on ebay: http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fro...lete=1&LH_Sold=1&rt=nc&_trksid=p2045573.m1684
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Angie,

Even if your bag were authentic style 7785, the original retail price of that bag was $148.

But I can guarantee with 100% certainty that your bag with serial number UOJ-7785 or U0J-7785 is fake.

Just an FYI, there are very few Coach bags that are worth $500 and I'd venture to say that there are NONE that will sell for $2000 on the secondary market.
 
#1,337
angiebailey said:
I was reading Hyacinth pg 37 March 30, 2011 input on the No. UOJ-7785 serial number for Coach bags because I acquired one from Suited for Success here in OKC, Ok for free. (its a place that helps people with clothes and accessories to interview for work when you don't have the means)
Anyhow, I have had the bag for about six months and I was admiring it and wandering how much it was worth. So I got on the internet and plugged the number in yahoo and you guys came up and I found out it was a fake. I was devastated. I thought it was at least $500 but looking to see how close it was to $2000. It's very big and beautiful - black.
Well I had to get a second opinion so I called the official site COACH phone number I found on the internet and asked the lady if it was a fake and low and behold she said they DID use to use that number for their purses but it was an older number and that she could not authenticate it because I did not buy it at an outlet.


I wanted to let you know that. I'm so pleased that my purse is back!!!


Thank you so much.
Angie Bailey
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Sorry, your purse is still fake.

You said your purse is "BIG AND BEAUTIFUL"? THE GENUINE STYLE NUMBER 7785 BELONGED TO A HAMPTONS LEATHER DEMI - "demi" is Coach's style name for a small bag style no more than about 9 by 6 inches. That doesn't sound very big to me.

You need to read my comments about Coach employee "authentications" in the Salearea Guide on Authenticity Guides at Ebay here:

http://www.ebay.com/gds/Coach-Authenticity-Guides-Facts-and-Myths-/10000000062607882/g.html

I'll Copy the important part here just to save you a step - I explain why some so-called "rules" are completely wrong and should never be depended on:

"THE "YOU CAN VERIFY IT'S REAL BY CALLING COACH OR TAKING IT TO A COACH STORE" RULE
OK, this is a tough one.
Coach's employees especially the SA's and store managers are lovely, hardworking people - but they shouldn't be trying to authenticate what they've never been trained to analyze. They have no training from Coach about even the most basic signs of fakes unless they're items currently on their shelves, they don't have the time to spend 4 to 8 hours a day studying photos, comparing details between multiple photos of the same style bag, keeping files of each and every style number and factory and manufacturing code they can find on Ebay, saving literally thousands of photos and tens of thousands of lines of text posted by Coach experts and poring over photos with a magnifying glass to spot discrepancies and incorrect details, and spending a small fortune on back issues of catalogs that tell them when something was made (their computer files don't go much past 2000) and what details a potential fake might be missing.

And to make it worse, the info on their computers is very limited - they can look up a style number of most recent full-price items and tell you when they were made and what colors were available. But the full-price stores' computers don't have records of the Made-For-Factory items at all, so any item made for and bought from the outlet won't even be in their system. When told that they can't find it on their computers, the person who brought the item in naturally assumes it must be fake.

And if it has a legit style number - let's use the Big Daddy of Fakes, NT-4903 as an example. If someone brings a fake with that number into a store and the personnel punch in the style number it comes up as a Sonoma Flap bag. So the number's in the system and it must be real? But the store personnel may have never seen that style bag since it's 15 years old and they don't realize that it isn't a Sonoma Flap and doesn't look anything like one. The computer has no information at all on the prefix, which can't be looked up for any item (the prefix is where all the factory codes are). The fact that N isn't a valid month code, T isn't a valid plant code, and there's no year code at all between the two letters means absolutely nothing to their computer.

So because of no training and no effective computer records, my estimate would be that from what I've seen or read in these forums by posters who have already gone through this kind of experience, at least 80 percent of items taken to a Coach store are misidentified, and almost always it's genuine bags especially older classic leather bags or bags from the outlet stores being ID'd as fakes. So buyers unfairly accuse sellers of selling fakes, honest sellers get claims filed against them for refunds, maybe receive negative Feedback, dinged stars, and may lose some of their discounts or have their fees raised and even get put on listing restrictions. And many of them did nothing wrong.

It's even worse by phone. If the store employees can at least see the bag, how is someone at the other end of a blind phone line supposed to be any more accurate? Even if she knew as much as some of our Ebay Coachies, she's still literally working blind without being able to examine the item. What's even more disturbing is that employees who are unable to effectively authenticate anything still keep doing it, especially when Coach's website clearly says "Coach DOES NOT authenticate merchandise or determine whether serial numbers match actual Coach items" So why doesn't Coach enforce that rule?

I'm sorry to have to say it, but one of the worst places anyone should ever have any Coach authenticated is a Coach store. And thinking that a style name given over the phone by an employee who just punches 4 or 5 numbers into a computer is a valid authentication is just wishful thinking."

......................................................

and then read this post at Ebay's Fashion Forum where a Coach employee gave the same kind of useless "authentication" to one of the posters there. The bag they "autheticated" is a total fake with a completely invalid serial number AND it was made in Korea. Coach has NEVER made bags in Korea:
http://community.ebay.com/t5/Fashion/help-with-coach-backpack/m-p/24295071#U24295071

Post photos of your bag in the Authenticate This Coach thread and we'll tell you what else is wrong with it besides the number and the size.

And if you STILL don't believe us, here's an Internet Archive copy of Coach's website from October 20, 2002, showing style number 7785, the same style number that's in your fake. LOOK AT THE PHOTO AND THE MEASUREMENTS.
 

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#1,339
Hello.

http://i62.tinypic.com/25q8wo7.jpg

Can someone tell me if such a bag exist?
I bought it on eBay auction for 1.299$ about a month ago but haven't been able to check it because I was on vacation and just came back
Now I'm quite afraid that such a bag doesn't exist?
As far as I know this supposed to be Chanel classic mini flap in lambskin? But it's different than the ones on Chanel website, the umm lining near closure. Is this a vintage? Or 2.55?

I'm so confused. I would appreciate help! Thanks
 
#1,340
Lolaxoxo said:
Hello.

http://i62.tinypic.com/25q8wo7.jpg

Can someone tell me if such a bag exist?
I bought it on eBay auction for 1.299$ about a month ago but haven't been able to check it because I was on vacation and just came back
Now I'm quite afraid that such a bag doesn't exist?
As far as I know this supposed to be Chanel classic mini flap in lambskin? But it's different than the ones on Chanel website, the umm lining near closure. Is this a vintage? Or 2.55?

I'm so confused. I would appreciate help! Thanks
Click to expand...

You probably should take this question to the Chanel forum. This is Coach.
 
#1,341
I have recently come across a red pebbled leather and suede back pack it looks like its authentic but not able to find out much about it or how much its worth. The numbers are F6B-9016. Another question is how can I upload a photo on here.
 
#1,343
butterflyko said:
I have recently come across a red pebbled leather and suede back pack it looks like its authentic but not able to find out much about it or how much its worth. The numbers are F6B-9016. Another question is how can I upload a photo on here.
Click to expand...
Post your pictures in this thread: http://forum.purseblog.com/coach-sh...oach-read-1st-page-before-posting-889527.html
The first post will tell you which pictures we need.
This thread should help you post pictures: http://forum.purseblog.com/feedback-dropbox/posting-photos-25.html

Welcome to the forum!
 
#1,345
fancypantsmom said:
It would be great if all ebay sellers would read about how to authenticate! I saw a court bag made in Hungary... assume fake? I never heard of a Hungary Plant....have you guys?
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No, don't assume it's fake.

The bag might be authentic. Coach does/did make bags in Hungary but you'd need to post on the authenticate this coach with pictures/links to the actual bag to know whether IT is authentic. (Counterfeiters can copy anything so we can't authenticate based on descriptions.)

http://forum.purseblog.com/coach-sh...-page-before-posting-889527.html#post27792584
 
#1,346
fancypantsmom said:
It would be great if all ebay sellers would read about how to authenticate! I saw a court bag made in Hungary... assume fake? I never heard of a Hungary Plant....have you guys?
Click to expand...

Start by reading the Salearea Coach Guides posted at Ebay:

http://search.reviews.ebay.com/members/salearea

Or you could have just entered "Hungary" in the Search box at the main Coach forum or even at this one.

Don't ever assume something's fake just because you haven't seen it before.
 
#1,347
butterflyko said:
I have recently come across a red pebbled leather and suede back pack it looks like its authentic but not able to find out much about it or how much its worth. The numbers are F6B-9016. Another question is how can I upload a photo on here.
Click to expand...

Have you checked the Forums' FAQs? Instructions for posting photos, images and attachments are right there under "Reading and Posting Messages"
 
#1,348
fancypantsmom said:
It would be great if all ebay sellers would read about how to authenticate! I saw a court bag made in Hungary... assume fake? I never heard of a Hungary Plant....have you guys?
Click to expand...
Actually, I should have made this comment earlier. Buyers should also do their homework, especially prior to assuming something is fake.

As Hyacinth pointed out, a search of the forum or even a Google search of "Coach bag Hungary" would have pulled up posts:
https://www.google.com/search?q=coach+hungary&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8#q=coach+bag+hungary

There's a wealth of information here and I agree it's sometimes tricky or difficult to find it but you'll really learn a lot!
 
#1,349
I have a question and please excuse me as I am fairly new to Coach bags.

Reading these boards and the wonderful Salearea guides, I am learning a lot about how to spot fakes, there are a lot of details to look at regarding vintage and signature fabric bags. My question is.... do new styles of bags, still get counterfeited? I imagine your answer as yes of course, so are there some new styles that seem to come up being fake more than others? Some styles to be extra cautious?

I am an impulse buyer (my fault of course if I get a fake), just hoping for a "stay away from". ;)
 
#1,350
WishingonaCoach said:
I have a question and please excuse me as I am fairly new to Coach bags.

Reading these boards and the wonderful Salearea guides, I am learning a lot about how to spot fakes, there are a lot of details to look at regarding vintage and signature fabric bags. My question is.... do new styles of bags, still get counterfeited? I imagine your answer as yes of course, so are there some new styles that seem to come up being fake more than others? Some styles to be extra cautious?

I am an impulse buyer (my fault of course if I get a fake), just hoping for a "stay away from". ;)
Click to expand...

New bags are still routinely counterfeited. The fakes usually hit full saturation (street vendors, eBay, and other online sites) about 3 to 6 months after a bag is introduced. The basic rule of thumb: The more popular a bag, the more likely it is to be counterfeited. If you Google your favorite bag, chances are several sites selling counterfeit versions will also appear. Unfortunately, there is no "sure fire list". I have seen fake Swaggers, Rhyders, and everything Signature. There are also lots of counterfeit key fobs, scarves and jewelry items. Some were near exact and some obviously fake.

The folks around here are very knowledgeable and generous with their advice. If you really want something, post in the authentication thread. They respond a lot faster than most on TPF.
 
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