Crosby Carryall: 2 styles, 2 countries, factory vs boutique?

[Selmita]

I own 2 Coach Crosby Carryalls: the first one was purchased in Paris, and is in smooth leather (burgundy), the second one was purchased online via a US retailer, and is croc-embossed leather (grey birch). I noticed a few things:

- the hanging metal tag is twice as thick & heavier in the croc-embossed one while the leather one is a bit thin
- the inside lining of the smooth one has coach written almost all over it, while the croc-embossed version has the name written only 5 times on it (centered on each "wall + the bottom). I know, sorry if I can't explain it better.
- Inside the zipped pocket, the bags have different references: F1581 - 33545 for the smooth leather, M1481-33529, which is the model/leather type reference I suppose

Both bags are completely authentic, and both have a inside tag with the "made in vietnam". However, after reading the "outlet made vs full price" thread, I was wondering if the letter F & M that are at the beginning of each reference meant something. The quality is great for both bags, I don't feel like one is less well-made than the other, but I did score the embossed one at more than half the price, while in Paris Coach is never on sale for more than 20/30% off. I also noticed that croc embossed bags (Crosby, Swagger) are always on sale online and the original price is the highest of the range (around $600+). Does that mean that croc-embossed bags don't sell well? That they are in reality made for outlets and that the price has been inflated to make it sound like you're getting a huge deal? I've fallen in love with Coach over the past 6 months and I'm looking forward to buy more, but I want to know if I'm being cheated someway. Any thoughts?

 

[Suzanne B.]

I own 2 Coach Crosby Carryalls: the first one was purchased in Paris, and is in smooth leather (burgundy), the second one was purchased online via a US retailer, and is croc-embossed leather (grey birch). I noticed a few things:

- the hanging metal tag is twice as thick & heavier in the croc-embossed one while the leather one is a bit thin
- the inside lining of the smooth one has coach written almost all over it, while the croc-embossed version has the name written only 5 times on it (centered on each "wall + the bottom). I know, sorry if I can't explain it better.
- Inside the zipped pocket, the bags have different references: F1581 - 33545 for the smooth leather, M1481-33529, which is the model/leather type reference I suppose

Both bags are completely authentic, and both have a inside tag with the "made in vietnam". However, after reading the "outlet made vs full price" thread, I was wondering if the letter F & M that are at the beginning of each reference meant something. The quality is great for both bags, I don't feel like one is less well-made than the other, but I did score the embossed one at more than half the price, while in Paris Coach is never on sale for more than 20/30% off. I also noticed that croc embossed bags (Crosby, Swagger) are always on sale online and the original price is the highest of the range (around $600+). Does that mean that croc-embossed bags don't sell well? That they are in reality made for outlets and that the price has been inflated to make it sound like you're getting a huge deal? I've fallen in love with Coach over the past 6 months and I'm looking forward to buy more, but I want to know if I'm being cheated someway. Any thoughts?

Hi! Neither bag is an outlet version. Outlet versions have an F before the second set of numbers. The first letter is the month code and the following two numbers are the year and the last two numbers are the factory code......unless Coach has changed the way they label their bags. So no, you haven't been snookered into buying an outlet bag instead of a retail one.

 

[kells1983]

Hi! Neither bag is an outlet version. Outlet versions have an F before the second set of numbers. The first letter is the month code and the following two numbers are the year and the last two numbers are the factory code......unless Coach has changed the way they label their bags. So no, you haven't been snookered into buying an outlet bag instead of a retail one.

Nope, Coach hasn't changed this - I received a MFF Crosby and it had the F before the style number (the second set of numbers). Also, the MFF bag didn't have a metal hangtag, just a leather one. This came from the FOS so I should have known better, but the photo they used actually had the metal hangtag and what I received was different.

 

[Selmita]

Thank you both so much. I guess I was suspicious because I thought the deal I got on the croc-embossed bag was too good, especially since Coach bags are almost never on sale where I'm from. I debated getting a black croc-embossed Swagger carryall this weekend but decided against it as I don't really like croc/lizard prints and I barely use my croc Crosby (I only got it because Grey birch is a great color and it was 60% off). So I ordered the 27 in Oxblood. Such a gorgeous winter color, I couldn't resist!