No need to apologise. These authentication threads and forums are a bit different from most others on the internet in that, in order to prevent misinformation or inaccurate authentications, each brand's authentication thread is set up so that only members who are recognised as proven experts in each particular forum's brand are allowed to post opinions regarding the authenticity of their brand. The "authenticator" under their avatar indicates who the site's authenticators are, and because there have been problems in the past with non-authorised members posting incorrect information, the requirement is strictly enforced. There is so much bad information about
Coach and other popular and luxury brands floating around on the internet and in various Groups that too much of that bad and just plain dangerous information would get posted as Fact or as an actual legitimate authentication if we didn't. The credibility of tPF as a source for accurate information and dependable authentications is very important to the members and site managers, especially the ones who take advantage of its free authentication service.
Something new members especially need to be aware of -
every individual brand's Authenticate This (often abbreviated as "AT") thread has its own requirements and Rules, decided on by the authenticators of that brand. Usually the first post in every Authenticate This thread lists the Rules and should always be read or even RE-read carefully before requesting an authentication opinion. Requests that don't meet the requirements set out in Post number One of the specific brand forum will often simply be ignored. We all have very good reasons for requiring the listed information and photos in our own areas of expertise, so please give us the tools we need to help us make an accurate assessment of the items you need to know about.
For Coach items specifically, I've also written a set of Guides that include
accurate information, from dates when Coach changed certain features to several lists that include the most common MISinformation found on the internet about Coach products. They do NOT tell anyone how to know what "rules" prove a Coach is authentic. There's no such thing. I strongly recommend that new members read them and Bookmark the link or remember where to find it. I did the research myself over several years and have kept it updated as much as possible.
If and when you read the Salearea Guides - and read them slowly and carefully - you'll probably understand a bit better why so much other information and so many Coach "authenticity guides" simply can't be trusted and can lead buyers and sellers into making expensive mistakes.
Now that ebay is removing the guides they've been hosting for years, those who use those guides have been forced to either save them on their computers or print them. Tonight I found that the Salearea guides (including the Hyacinth/Salearea collaboration ones) have been saved to Salearea's...
forum.purseblog.com
Right after it starting on Page 3 of that thread is the Daria 48 Fake Coach Numbers List which concentrates on some of the most common fake serial numbers found in mostly vintage (20 years old or more) and Classic (roughly the early 2000s) Coach bags:
PART 1 - posts 37, 38 and 39
@Hyacinth I was just reading your excellent Italian coach guide above and I have a question. I am currently rehabbing a Gramercy Top Handle 7002 bag from 1999 (that you graciously authenticated for me) see below for one of the auction pictures. I am trying to figure out the color name for this...
forum.purseblog.com
and
@Hyacinth I was just reading your excellent Italian coach guide above and I have a question. I am currently rehabbing a Gramercy Top Handle 7002 bag from 1999 (that you graciously authenticated for me) see below for one of the auction pictures. I am trying to figure out the color name for this...
forum.purseblog.com
and
@Hyacinth I was just reading your excellent Italian coach guide above and I have a question. I am currently rehabbing a Gramercy Top Handle 7002 bag from 1999 (that you graciously authenticated for me) see below for one of the auction pictures. I am trying to figure out the color name for this...
forum.purseblog.com
and
PART 2 - post 40
@Hyacinth I was just reading your excellent Italian coach guide above and I have a question. I am currently rehabbing a Gramercy Top Handle 7002 bag from 1999 (that you graciously authenticated for me) see below for one of the auction pictures. I am trying to figure out the color name for this...
forum.purseblog.com
