Welcome to tPF. I commend you for being one of the few shops that actually authenticates before attempting to sell items.I own a consignment store, and up until now have only had Coach shoes come in, all I've been able to easily authenticate by searching for the styles online.
I got in 2 bags the other day and have had a hard time authenticating them, and without being 100% positive that they are authentic, I refuse to sell them. I've looked through a bunch of the tips here to help me decide if they are real, but a couple things that bother me... one of them, the stamped leather creed inside (The tan one, not the red one), you can't read what it says, like the imprint has come out almost, or it wasn't stamped hard enough? The other problem with the other bag is that from what I've seen the double C's should make a broken infinity sign (sideways 8) however, it's a patchwork style and one of the fabrics used, they are completely connected. I haven't seen anywhere where that was mentioned?
I tried to get some good overall photos as well as close up photos of some of the details on the fabrics, hardware, stitching, creeds, etc. If you need anything else just let me know!
If you happen to know what they retail for (assuming they are authentic) that would be helpful too
I appreciate any information you can give me!
I've posted a number of photos of both bags in my photobucket album: http://s798.photobucket.com/albums/yy261/TwiceLovedBoutique/Coach Bags 2011/
Please be careful in assuming that guides you read are accurate. Anyone can write and "publish" a guide whether they know anything about the subject or not. In fact, there are guides that are merely "copy and pastes" of other guides and some of the plagiarized guides copy inaccurate information.
Additionally, much of the information (even in good guides) might be obsolete if the author doesn't update her guide regularly. Coach (and probalby other designers) make changes to previous "rules" so what may be accurate on some styles is inaccurate on others. Just about every "rule" has exceptions and if you aren't aware of the exceptions, you might incorrectly assume that an authentic bag is fake or vice versa.
As for your bags:
The signature tote is authentic.
The patchwork bag is a fake.
