AUTHENTICATE This COACH

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A similar question came up a few weeks ago (November 24) about the Legacy Zip's actual production dates, please read this too:
AUTHENTICATE This COACH


Excellent information, and I think your supposition is valid. O/T, Hyacinth, is there an actual list posted of eBay sellers who, shall we say, merit special scrutiny when it comes to authenticity? Or is just a piecemeal kind of thing when a poster here asks?

We really can't list any special sellers, although often when someone asks about an item we may refer to the seller as a Trusted Seller. These are people who we know are experienced with Coach and only buy from legitimate sources. There are thousands of honest sellers at Ebay and other auction sites, and listing only a few hundred that we know really isn't fair to the others.

But anyone can make a mistake, even Trusted Sellers, so we always urge people to have items authenticated. For instance, the subject of serial numbers and production codes is almost impossible to understand and every day I learn something new or have to revise something I thought I knew. I doubt that most full-time Ebay sellers have as much spare time to spend as I do on the subject, and it's understandable if a very accurate fake slips by them once in a while.

We DO urge regular buyers and sellers to keep their own lists of recommended and Not recommended sellers, and there are also places here for sellers to find names of buyers who should be blocked from bidding. It takes time and a willingness to read or at least scan all or most of the posts in this thread on a daily basis but it's really the only way to be accurate and fair to all sellers.

BTW, the Search feature here is also a good way to weed out some of the more notorious sellers, once you're comfortable using it. One problem is that sellers with things like asterisks, dashes and underscores in their IDs may not get picked up by the forum's search software, but we recommend Searching all the forums here for their IDs and also checking their FULL Feedback history at http://Toolhaus.org before bidding on anything at Ebay.
 
We really can't list any special sellers, although often when someone asks about an item we may refer to the seller as a Trusted Seller. These are people who we know are experienced with Coach and only buy from legitimate sources. There are thousands of honest sellers at Ebay and other auction sites, and listing only a few hundred that we know really isn't fair to the others.

But anyone can make a mistake, even Trusted Sellers, so we always urge people to have items authenticated. For instance, the subject of serial numbers and production codes is almost impossible to understand and every day I learn something new or have to revise something I thought I knew. I doubt that most full-time Ebay sellers have as much spare time to spend as I do on the subject, and it's understandable if a very accurate fake slips by them once in a while.

We DO urge regular buyers and sellers to keep their own lists of recommended and Not recommended sellers, and there are also places here for sellers to find names of buyers who should be blocked from bidding. It takes time and a willingness to read or at least scan all or most of the posts in this thread on a daily basis but it's really the only way to be accurate and fair to all sellers.

BTW, the Search feature here is also a good way to weed out some of the more notorious sellers, once you're comfortable using it. One problem is that sellers with things like asterisks, dashes and underscores in their IDs may not get picked up by the forum's search software, but we recommend Searching all the forums here for their IDs and also checking their FULL Feedback history at http://Toolhaus.org before bidding on anything at Ebay.

Hi, yes, I guess it was wishful thinking on my part about finding a list here of sellers to avoid. I imagine that such a list could be problematic on many levels.

As for searching the forum using a seller's ID, it is difficult for the reason you mentioned. So many do have punctuation in their nics.

One thing I've decided, which may or may not be fair to a seller, is to just use my back arrow on any listing that doesn't have more than a couple pics or whose description is minimal. And of course fb is crucial.

I'm very grateful to you and others who put so much time into helping authenticate these bags. Being new to this whole authenticity thread, I've wondered, though, about a couple of possibilities, Hyacinth. When someone posts a link to an auction she's interested in, doesn't she then risk drawing attention to it and perhaps either driving the bidding up or losing out on a BIN?

Also, I'm curious as to whether you all have had the uncomfortable situation where someone is questioning a seller's skill or veracity or complaining about a buyer, when it turns out that it is one of the members here.

Just thinking out loud. Thanks again for your time. ;)
 
Arggh, I did a dumb thing and bought something last minute on Ebay without a clear picture of the creed. I thought I could make it out and it looked like all numbers but I was obviously wrong. I could kick myself because I am quite certain I know what the verdict is on this one. I just received it today ..

1. Name: Stewardess Bag
2. Link: http://vintagelovegirl.blogspot.com/2011/12/stewardess-bag.html
3. Comments: Letter S in the creed
Puffy font
And if I remember Hyacinth's teaching right (and I wrote it down): Stewardess purses were just made through the late 80s. If that is so then there should not be any made with the numbers 9525, right?.
Thank you, I am already cringing and kicking myself so don't be afraid to give the verdict with a scolding... :)
 
Arggh, I did a dumb thing and bought something last minute on Ebay without a clear picture of the creed. I thought I could make it out and it looked like all numbers but I was obviously wrong. I could kick myself because I am quite certain I know what the verdict is on this one. I just received it today ..

1. Name: Stewardess Bag
2. Link: http://vintagelovegirl.blogspot.com/2011/12/stewardess-bag.html
3. Comments: Letter S in the creed
Puffy font
And if I remember Hyacinth's teaching right (and I wrote it down): Stewardess purses were just made through the late 80s. If that is so then there should not be any made with the numbers 9525, right?.
Thank you, I am already cringing and kicking myself so don't be afraid to give the verdict with a scolding... :)

I can't help you with authentication, but I can tell you that Coach sells the Stewardess as one of its Originals, with the description that it's been part of the Coach Collections since 1977.
 
I can't help you with authentication, but I can tell you that Coach sells the Stewardess as one of its Originals, with the description that it's been part of the Coach Collections since 1977.

Thank you ms_sue - that helps with that last part in the model number never coming up on the creed . still worried about the S as it doesn't work for a month .. and the font ..
 
Arggh, I did a dumb thing and bought something last minute on Ebay without a clear picture of the creed. I thought I could make it out and it looked like all numbers but I was obviously wrong. I could kick myself because I am quite certain I know what the verdict is on this one. I just received it today ..

1. Name: Stewardess Bag
2. Link: http://vintagelovegirl.blogspot.com/2011/12/stewardess-bag.html
3. Comments: Letter S in the creed
Puffy font
And if I remember Hyacinth's teaching right (and I wrote it down): Stewardess purses were just made through the late 80s. If that is so then there should not be any made with the numbers 9525, right?.
Thank you, I am already cringing and kicking myself so don't be afraid to give the verdict with a scolding... :)

Not quite right - the one you posted about IS fake, the faint rectangular margin around the entire serial number is another problem.

But -
Coach resurrected several of its retired styles including the Stewardess 9525, the Classic Shoulder Bag 9170, the Casey Bag 9923, the Compact Slim Satchel 9425, the Large Saddle Pouch 9585 and a few others I can't find at the moment as "Catalogue Exclusives" in Fall and Winter 1997, so although those styles mostly never made in into the 1990s in their original incarnation, Coach DID bring a few of the older styles back from the dead at least one time before the current "Classics". But a Stewardess Bag marked 1995 is definitely El Fake-o, sorry.
 
Not quite right - the one you posted about IS fake, the faint rectangular margin around the entire serial number is another problem.

But -
Coach resurrected several of its retired styles including the Stewardess 9525, the Classic Shoulder Bag 9170, the Casey Bag 9923, the Compact Slim Satchel 9425, the Large Saddle Pouch 9585 and a few others I can't find at the moment as "Catalogue Exclusives" in Fall and Winter 1997, so although those styles mostly never made in into the 1990s in their original incarnation, Coach DID bring a few of the older styles back from the dead at least one time before the current "Classics". But a Stewardess Bag marked 1995 is definitely El Fake-o, sorry.

Thank you Hyacinth for confirming (without the scolding :smile1:) and for the information on the comebacks! That is helpful! I'll work on a refund with the seller ... :)
 
Hi, yes, I guess it was wishful thinking on my part about finding a list here of sellers to avoid. I imagine that such a list could be problematic on many levels...

...I'm very grateful to you and others who put so much time into helping authenticate these bags. Being new to this whole authenticity thread, I've wondered, though, about a couple of possibilities, Hyacinth. When someone posts a link to an auction she's interested in, doesn't she then risk drawing attention to it and perhaps either driving the bidding up or losing out on a BIN?

Also, I'm curious as to whether you all have had the uncomfortable situation where someone is questioning a seller's skill or veracity or complaining about a buyer, when it turns out that it is one of the members here.

Just thinking out loud. Thanks again for your time. ;)

Both situations happen, and of course create problems and embarrassment. There's not much we can do about the first one, and the second one has happened to good sellers and tPF members who weren't aware of just how easy it is to get fooled by a fake Coach.

But everyone makes mistakes, the problem is when someone doesn't learn from them, or refuses to admit that they may have made a mistake and refuses to correct it, or vents their anger and embarrassment on the people who pointed out the mistakes. A few of us here could write a Masters Thesis on THAT particular subject. :graucho:
 
Originally Posted by Hyacinth Not quite right - the one you posted about IS fake, the faint rectangular margin around the entire serial number is another problem.

But -
Coach resurrected several of its retired styles including the Stewardess 9525, the Classic Shoulder Bag 9170, the Casey Bag 9923, the Compact Slim Satchel 9425, the Large Saddle Pouch 9585 and a few others I can't find at the moment as "Catalogue Exclusives" in Fall and Winter 1997, so although those styles mostly never made in into the 1990s in their original incarnation, Coach DID bring a few of the older styles back from the dead at least one time before the current "Classics". But a Stewardess Bag marked 1995 is definitely El Fake-o, sorry.

Thank you Hyacinth for confirming (without the scolding :smile1:) and for the information on the comebacks! That is helpful! I'll work on a refund with the seller ... :)

You're welcome :D
 
Is there a place to discuss sellers who use other peoples photos to sell their bags?
I reported a seller taking mine.. then seller took someone else's photos .. I cant report that but
dang!!! This is a seller sellingforkids with 1944 feedback 100%
100 %???? whats going on?
 
Is there a place to discuss sellers who use other peoples photos to sell their bags?
I reported a seller taking mine.. then seller took someone else's photos .. I cant report that but
dang!!! This is a seller sellingforkids with 1944 feedback 100%
100 %???? whats going on?
Most sellers whose works are stolen are appreciative when contacted about another seller stealing their pictures. Then that seller is able to report the thief.

It amazes me that many so-called "top rated sellers" are too lazy to do their own work. I certainly wouldn't recommend purchasing from a picture thief because there's no way to know what you'll receive.
 
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