Coach Frequently Asked Questions {FAQ} & REFERENCE INFO

Very disappointed with Coach purse which I purchased on sale at $200 (regular almost $400). Purse is tan leather with gold dusting. Specifically indicated to the sales person that I was looking for a purse that would stand up well, and he recommended this purse. However dye transfer from jeans occurred within the first few hours of use (less than one day after purchase I went back to the store). Dye from blue jeans did not transfer to anything else that I was wearing. I felt misled by the salesperson and also wish they would have warned me of the possibility of dye transfer from blue jeans. Of course they do not even have a suggestion as to how to clean the leather and after my persistence they did send off to Coach head office in Florida, however did not give me any hope that Coach would do anything. I've never had an issue such as this with a purse before and will not buy Coach ever again. I wonder why so many women buy Coach purses when they are so expensive, yet the company offers such limited service to customers. The manager and sales staff did not care. I won't be a repeat customer. There are so many companies out there with better purses and they cost less. Also the customer service is so much better for other purses ... for instance, I would rather buy a Brighton purse any day rather than ever purchase a Coach purse again.


I'm sorry you feel you were mislead. I've always heard Coach works with customers as much as they can, so maybe they can do something for you. However, I've always thought of color transfer as something we need to be aware of when we purchase lighter colored bags and we're responsible for doing what we can to prevent it. Good luck with your bag, I hope this is resolved for you.
 
I have this 1996 #4907 Sonoma small bucket zip. I believe this is the lime color. I'm trying to determine what this color actually looked like when it was new. Mine looks rather faded and those color samples don't seem very accurate. Do you have any pictures of this bag, preferably in this color? thanks
Hi. I just purchased this bag in camel from ebay, and it says it was made in Italy. Was yours also made in Italy? I am just trying to find out more info about this bag (ie year it was made).
 
Hi. I just purchased this bag in camel from ebay, and it says it was made in Italy. Was yours also made in Italy? I am just trying to find out more info about this bag (ie year it was made).
Mine was made in Costa Rica. You can tell what year your bag was made by looking at the beginning of the creed number, if there are letters in it. The first letter tells you the month, so A means January, B means February, etc., and the second digit is the year code, so a 5 would mean 1995. The last digit before the dash on yours should be an E which stands for Italy. If your creed has no number at all or is all numbers, then you know it was made before 1994, probably in the early 90's, since that is when they made bags in Italy. This picture is of the camel color from the 1997 Coach website.
 

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I have this 1996 #4907 Sonoma small bucket zip. I believe this is the lime color. I'm trying to determine what this color actually looked like when it was new. Mine looks rather faded and those color samples don't seem very accurate. Do you have any pictures of this bag, preferably in this color? thanks

Sorry, I just noticed this post.

What's the serial number of your bag? Lime was a Spring 1997 color, yours looks like it could also be Sea from 1996.
 
The serial number is K6M-4907. Do you think it could be Sea rather than Lime?

It could be, although since the month code is for October it might have been made for the folllowing year's Spring line or even as a Resort color. There aren't any light greens listed as fall or winter 1996 colors.

Below are catalog shots of each color but of course the colors might not be completely accurate, and it also dependes on whether yours has faded over the years - if it has there should still be a few small areas that have close to the original color, maybe the trim around the inside zipper pocket.

Here are the Wheat (the darker tan shade), Maize and Sea colors from Spring 1996, and the Aqua, Lime and White from Spring 1997. Hope this helps a bit and doesn't just confuse things even more.
 

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It could be, although since the month code is for October it might have been made for the folllowing year's Spring line or even as a Resort color. There aren't any light greens listed as fall or winter 1996 colors.

Below are catalog shots of each color but of course the colors might not be completely accurate, and it also dependes on whether yours has faded over the years - if it has there should still be a few small areas that have close to the original color, maybe the trim around the inside zipper pocket.

Here are the Wheat (the darker tan shade), Maize and Sea colors from Spring 1996, and the Aqua, Lime and White from Spring 1997. Hope this helps a bit and doesn't just confuse things even more.
This helps. I think it is the lime. In the color swatches I was looking at before, the lime looked like a dirty gray green. My purse looks most like the lime in your pictures. Thanks!
 
Hi!
To clarify the lining on fake bags...if there is the Signature pattern on the outside, the lining should NOT have the Cs, correct? I have spotted 2 bags on eBay I am sure are fake, but have incorrectly reported in the past, so I am being cautious. Both bags have the Signature pattern on the outside, and the ugly light gold lining with the brown Cs. Should I ******************, or go with my gut...and what I can see? I have posted both item numbers. Sorry, I am working from my iPad, and having trouble posting links.

261081205634

230837557469
 
Hi!
To clarify the lining on fake bags...if there is the Signature pattern on the outside, the lining should NOT have the Cs, correct? I have spotted 2 bags on eBay I am sure are fake, but have incorrectly reported in the past, so I am being cautious. Both bags have the Signature pattern on the outside, and the ugly light gold lining with the brown Cs. Should I ******************, or go with my gut...and what I can see? I have posted both item numbers. Sorry, I am working from my iPad, and having trouble posting links.

261081205634

230837557469

The first one's already gone, the second is a bad fake. MOST of the genuine C pattern linings were made of a jacquard fabric and the Cs were a different texture and a different color shade from the background. Printed Cs are usually a big red flag but like every other "rule" you've ever heard about Coach except for 2, there are exceptions. The nylon Hamptons Weekend bags from the mid-2000s had printed C pattern vinyl and maybe fabric linings. Mini-C linings in bags especially in really shiny tacky fabrics are almost always fake, and weird colors like tan Cs on a black background are fake too.

As for the "Cs outside, no Cs inside" rule, that one has a bunch of exceptions too. In addition to the Polka Dot items from the mid-2000s, there are some genuine Wave designs and some Patchwork styles from around 2004-05 that have the woven jacquard C linings. There was a discussion about them a few days ago at Ebay's Pursies forum:
http://forums.ebay.com/db2/topic/Shoes-Purses-And/I-Believe-This/5200100903

Usually if the outside is ALL or MOSTLY C pattern, the inside shouldn't have a C or Logo lining, be aware that there ARE exceptions.
Always ask here at the Authenticate This Coach thread before reporting.
 
Hyacinth said:
The first one's already gone, the second is a bad fake. MOST of the genuine C pattern linings were made of a jacquard fabric and the Cs were a different texture and a different color shade from the background. Printed Cs are usually a big red flag but like every other "rule" you've ever heard about Coach except for 2, there are exceptions. The nylon Hamptons Weekend bags from the mid-2000s had printed C pattern vinyl and maybe fabric linings. Mini-C linings in bags especially in really shiny tacky fabrics are almost always fake, and weird colors like tan Cs on a black background are fake too.

As for the "Cs outside, no Cs inside" rule, that one has a bunch of exceptions too. In addition to the Polka Dot items from the mid-2000s, there are some genuine Wave designs and some Patchwork styles from around 2004-05 that have the woven jacquard C linings. There was a discussion about them a few days ago at Ebay's Pursies forum:
http://forums.ebay.com/db2/topic/Shoes-Purses-And/I-Believe-This/5200100903

Usually if the outside is ALL or MOSTLY C pattern, the inside shouldn't have a C or Logo lining, be aware that there ARE exceptions.
Always ask here at the Authenticate This Coach thread before reporting.

Thank you Hyacinth! Your knowledge always amazes me...I always learn something new about Coach...the "rules" are a little crazy, so it's a little hard to keep up sometime! I appreciate you sharing your time and knowledge! :smile:
I know not to report anything without verifying here first...I made that mistake once already!
Should I report the second bag, or has this been done already?
 
Apologies if this has been asked before, but is there a way to figure out differences between factory only bags and others? Or a sample of a creed that shows the difference? Thanks in advance!