I don't know all the ins and outs, but if you purchase an item under a posted policy (like returns without a timetable), I would think that even if Coach bans you, you would still be allowed to return under the policy at the time of purchase.
Being Banned From Coach Stores - Did You Read?
- Thread starter noshoepolish
- Start date
TPF may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, and others
I don't know all the ins and outs, but if you purchase an item under a posted policy (like returns without a timetable), I would think that even if Coach bans you, you would still be allowed to return under the policy at the time of purchase.
If their policy is ambiguous, they need to change the policy.
Perhaps those buyers are indeed abusing the policy, but since there are no limitations to their policy, those buyers are within the "law."
Coach should revise their return policy with time limits and perhaps restrictions on price adjustments. And they need to stop encouraging buyers to "try it or return."
Good question! It's one thing to not appreciate it but to call it abuse when it is clearly allowed by their return policy, makes no sense to me. If they think people are abusing their return policy then they need to change it.
I don't think it's a matter of "if" they think people are abusing their policy as they clearly do given that they ban excessive returners.
We have seen plenty of threads, on this very forum, in the past, where people are blatantly abusing many of Coach's (not just returns) very generous customer service policies. I would like to see them put a stop to all of it. I am tired of subsidizing some of these people.
Making a habit of point b is a no-no because it is taking advantage of a very generous return policy. Why snatch things up only to hold onto them for years, which devalues the product for Coach, and then return them? If someone doesn't use something within a year of purcashing they obviously have no intention of using it. Holding onto it any longer than that is just not right, in my opinion. Obviously, if there are certain individuals who do this often enough, Coach needs to look at this and assess whether it is more beneficial to them as a company to keep said individual as a customer or cut them loose with a ban letter.
But why should a few bad apples ruin it for everyone? I'm going to make a comparison and I might be crucified for it, but here it goes. Let's take social security and welfare for an example. Are there people who know how to work/take advantage of the system and get welfare, food stamps, etc when they don't need it? Of course there are. Are there people who genuinely have fallen on hard time and need welfare, food stamps, etc? Of course there are. But just because there are people who take advantage of the system does not mean we need to elimate the whole system, does it? I know this is an overly dramatic comparison because one is handbags no one needs and one is regarding a pivotal part of our social system, but hopefully you get my point. People should know between right and wrong, period.
Just coming back to add a few more .02 cents to this topic. I am one of the recently banned Coachies (since mid-May).
I was going to multi-quote to reply to some of the questions/comments, but figured it would be too much so hopefully I remembered it all.
To respond to the "well maybe they really were re-sellers" and that's why they haven't defended themselves to Coach Corporate, I can only speak for myself, but I am not/have not been/never will be a reseller. In my response to my ban letter to Coach corporate afterward, I indicated to them that I make a 6-figure income and have an inheritance, so WITH (acronym) would I be bothered trying to make a few bucks selling on E-bay, and Bonanzle, I mean really???? (which by the way I never bothered receiving any response back...)
I am starting to think that as some have commented, Coach took the opportunity to 'catch' those who are excessive returners and re-buyers (which I freely admit to doing perhaps w/ 30-40% of my purchases), and perhaps lump us in with the resellers, but as some have said, there is NOTHING in Coach's return policy to prohibit customers from doing this as long as the item is in original cond. and new w/ tags, and with original receipt as I always did.
The longest I waited to return a bag was probably 1 yr, which I realize it a long time to come to a decision, but again, Coach's return policy doesn't specify a return period, so I took advantage of the liberal return policy.
I wholeheartedly agree w/ those posters who have said that Coach needs to tighten up their return policy if they are unhappy with what's happening at their stores, but why ban people for a policy that you didn't explicitly create/make public. I can understand if my ban letter clearly indicated that my buying pattern showed a history of returns-re-buys, but it didn't, it only said my purchasing volume indicated that I am a reseller.
To answer the question, why don't those who were banned "go to the media" with this or hire a lawyer to fight it, I frankly wouldn't want to deal w/ any publicity coming my way about this....Outside TPF, most people I've told about this (friends and a few co-workers) think I (and anyone else w/ more than a handful of handbags) are a little nutty, so expand that scrutiny x thousands, and I'd be mighty embarrassed putting myself out there like that to be ridiculed for my extensive 'bag habit'. I did get a few PMs from some folks who have also been banned (but haven't revealed themselves here) and one even mentioned having taken legal action but was basically told by a lawyer that she didn't have a leg to stand on, so I took that at face value, and figured it wasn't worth it to 'fight city hall' as they say....
So in the end, I learned an important lesson about compulsive shopping~and trying to get the best deal, and have pretty much moved on to a different brand, though I do still have many of my Coach bags and over time, the bitterness of being banned will go away and I'll just remember this as another phase in my life.....
Oh yea- two more .02 cents....1) I find it totally ironic that since my banning, my e-bay buying of Coach has increased substantially (isn't that what Coach is trying to fight by banning 'us' resellers???, and 2) Coach's ordering/customer account Mgmt. system appears to not integrated at all as I've been able to order twice from Coach.com (using my own name/CC) since May....just saying.
I was going to multi-quote to reply to some of the questions/comments, but figured it would be too much so hopefully I remembered it all.
To respond to the "well maybe they really were re-sellers" and that's why they haven't defended themselves to Coach Corporate, I can only speak for myself, but I am not/have not been/never will be a reseller. In my response to my ban letter to Coach corporate afterward, I indicated to them that I make a 6-figure income and have an inheritance, so WITH (acronym) would I be bothered trying to make a few bucks selling on E-bay, and Bonanzle, I mean really???? (which by the way I never bothered receiving any response back...)
I am starting to think that as some have commented, Coach took the opportunity to 'catch' those who are excessive returners and re-buyers (which I freely admit to doing perhaps w/ 30-40% of my purchases), and perhaps lump us in with the resellers, but as some have said, there is NOTHING in Coach's return policy to prohibit customers from doing this as long as the item is in original cond. and new w/ tags, and with original receipt as I always did.
The longest I waited to return a bag was probably 1 yr, which I realize it a long time to come to a decision, but again, Coach's return policy doesn't specify a return period, so I took advantage of the liberal return policy.
I wholeheartedly agree w/ those posters who have said that Coach needs to tighten up their return policy if they are unhappy with what's happening at their stores, but why ban people for a policy that you didn't explicitly create/make public. I can understand if my ban letter clearly indicated that my buying pattern showed a history of returns-re-buys, but it didn't, it only said my purchasing volume indicated that I am a reseller.
To answer the question, why don't those who were banned "go to the media" with this or hire a lawyer to fight it, I frankly wouldn't want to deal w/ any publicity coming my way about this....Outside TPF, most people I've told about this (friends and a few co-workers) think I (and anyone else w/ more than a handful of handbags) are a little nutty, so expand that scrutiny x thousands, and I'd be mighty embarrassed putting myself out there like that to be ridiculed for my extensive 'bag habit'. I did get a few PMs from some folks who have also been banned (but haven't revealed themselves here) and one even mentioned having taken legal action but was basically told by a lawyer that she didn't have a leg to stand on, so I took that at face value, and figured it wasn't worth it to 'fight city hall' as they say....
So in the end, I learned an important lesson about compulsive shopping~and trying to get the best deal, and have pretty much moved on to a different brand, though I do still have many of my Coach bags and over time, the bitterness of being banned will go away and I'll just remember this as another phase in my life.....
Oh yea- two more .02 cents....1) I find it totally ironic that since my banning, my e-bay buying of Coach has increased substantially (isn't that what Coach is trying to fight by banning 'us' resellers???, and 2) Coach's ordering/customer account Mgmt. system appears to not integrated at all as I've been able to order twice from Coach.com (using my own name/CC) since May....just saying.
I have spread the word about this to family/friends/co-workers and all have walked away scratching their heads wondering what is Coach's problem, why would a company not want your money???
I even had a traveling companion/acquaintance/Coach lover (though not to my extent) verbalize that Coach bans people right in front of customers. This happened while we were on vacation in LV back in June at the Premium outlets...Actually she was 'pointing out' obvious resellers who were in line and saying in her loudest voice, "I can't believe they banned you for loving their products TOO much, but don't do anything about these clowns who are obvious resellers". Needless to say I was quite embarrassed, and high-tailed it out of the store before people could notice who she was talking about.
Last time I was at the Coach factory store I was strongly encouraged to buy everything I looked at "because you can always bring them back if you don't use them".
This is a sales tactic they use. They do it with full knowledge that a lot of people WILL buy bags that they don't really want, and won't use, but also hopefully won't return.
So they can't really use that sales tactic if they are not going to allow people to "always bring them back".
This is a sales tactic they use. They do it with full knowledge that a lot of people WILL buy bags that they don't really want, and won't use, but also hopefully won't return.
So they can't really use that sales tactic if they are not going to allow people to "always bring them back".
I have never heard of that.... Would the SA at the outlet allow it? Why wouldn't someone just return it to FP, and go buy one like it from the outlet if it hit outlets?
If Coach bans you - so be it - MOVE ON - It is just a handbag - really though. I could care less if they ban me - There are so many other issues way more serious than to worry about WHY Coach bans people. They can and they will !!!!!
What I (and I think others who do this) meant is that a particular item was initially purchased from a FP boutique. We don't use the item and wait to see if it makes it to the outlet. If it does, I purchase the item from the outlet, and then later (like a week or two whenever I can make it back there), return the FP item back to the outlet. I was looking at it from the perspective of, if I returned it to FP, it would just be more work on them to have to transfer that item to the outlet, since they are no longer selling that item in their store.
On the flip side, it's easier for me to return to the outlet anyway since it's closer to my house than the FP boutique is.
When you say, why would the SA even allow that, I think you might be referring to a situation where a customer initially bought the item at FP, then later went to the the outlet to return and rebuy THE EXACT same item within the same transaction. I don't believe any outlet would allow a customer to do that.....unless its within the 14 day price adjustment window.
Thank you for clarifying! I did missunderstand... I have done that too in the past. I don't see anything wrong with it if it hasn't been used and is NWT. You can get three bags at the oulet for the price of one at the FP. If Coach has a problem with people doing that than they should find a different way to handle their deletes!
I would move right onto LV!! I'd have an estate sale...sell all my Coach bags & buy three LV's in cash
....hell, if I sold them all...I might even take a vacation too. I have way too many! But, I would be a very sad to be banned...I really like Coach.