Guide For Coach Product Grades and Markings

[purses79]

I dream of getting a coach bag

 

[BeenBurned]

Without having gone through 13 pages of posts, I don't know whether there's a picture showing a "donated" bag's creed. (I can't recall having seen this particular marking.)

 

[honey52]

I’ve just shared some info about ways to recognize different types of Coach products in another post and several people have commented that it was very helpful; so I am going to expand on the information and post it here along with some pictures. I hope that it will help others in the future. Feel free to add your tips, comments, and corrections to help TPFers recognize and distinguish Coach products.

FP (boutique) and MFF Products:

Coach makes 2 main categories of products. The bags on their web site are sold on the Coach web site and at the boutiques and department stores like Macys and Nordstrom (along with a small number of online exclusives.) These are full price (FP) retail bags but you can sometimes find them on sale at the department stores or at the Coach boutiques during periodic Preferred Customer Events (PCE) sales, usually at 25% off or $100 off.

When a new line of FP bags comes out, the overstock FP bags are often discounted and sold at the outlets and also through Coach's online factory sale. These bags are called FP deletes here on TPF, but the staff at the outlets usually call them "transfer bags" because they were transferred from the boutique.

Finding a great FP delete boutique bag at the outlet for a deep discount is something that will make any Coachie happy! The suggested retail price shown on the tag is the actual price these bags sold for in the boutiques and department stores.

The second group of products that Coach makes is called Made For Factory (MFF) and they are sold directly from the outlet stores and during Coach’s Factory Online sales events. These are nice, well-made and attractive bags but they usually not quite as finely-made or detailed as the boutique bags. You can identify an MFF bag because the second set of numbers (the style number) on the creed patch inside the bag always begins with an F. Also, a similar grade of products can sometimes be found at discount stores like Marshalls and they will have an X on the creed patch.

Many of the bags you commonly see being carried in public areas are MFF bags from the outlets. The MSRP printed on the tags of these bags has been marked up and then immediately sold at a discount, so it seems like you are getting an even better deal at the outlet.

However, you may find a great deal on an MFF bag that has been discounted or moved into clearance (marked down and then another 50% off.) Some FP delete bags also go to clearance at the outlets and that's a wonderful thing!

The outlets used to have "coupon sales" but recently they've changed the price structure to include the coupon in the discounted price and they've the eliminated coupons.

The outlets are also a great place to find accessories, and smaller items, both MFF and FP deletes. These items usually don’t have a creed patch inside but you can tell the difference by looking at the cloth “Made in …” tag. The MFF items have a white dot on the tag and the FP deletes do not have a dot.

You can also find discounted FP delete key fobs at the outlets. They used to sell FP delete jewelry and watches but last year they started selling these exclusively online, in the boutiques, or during their online factory sales.

You will need an invitation to buy during the online factory sale but all you have to do is register for it (link below) and you will get an invitation for the next sales event. They sell both MFF and FP delete items during these sales, but mostly MFF. https://www.coachfactory.com/store/default/signuprequest/

In the next message I will post abbreviations and creed marking along with some pictures. Feel free to expand on the list!

you are amazing!!!! thank you for this!

 

[Kylie24]

Wow, I guess I'm just painfully noob at handbags and Coach at that. I own six Coach bags and I checked about four of them...only two appear to be FP based on the markings you talked about. I'm kind of sad...I feel ripped off or cheated. So I'm not actually getting the best Coach quality? I know it's not exactly an LV bag we're talking about, but could you please elaborate on how an FP differs from an MFF in terms of quality? Is it a big difference?

 

[katev]

you are amazing!!!! thank you for this!

Thank you, glad you found the information useful!

 

[katev]

Wow, I guess I'm just painfully noob at handbags and Coach at that. I own six Coach bags and I checked about four of them...only two appear to be FP based on the markings you talked about. I'm kind of sad...I feel ripped off or cheated. So I'm not actually getting the best Coach quality? I know it's not exactly an LV bag we're talking about, but could you please elaborate on how an FP differs from an MFF in terms of quality? Is it a big difference?

Just because it is a MFF bag doesn't mean it is not a high-quality product. In general, some FP delete bags are felt to be a little more detailed and a little better quality, but there are many very popular MFF bags that are really gorgeous.


A lot of designer brands have a secondary product line that is a little more economical. Marquis is a beautiful line of crystal stemware and not everyone wants to pay a premium price for Waterford, the premier brand offered by the same company.

 

[spicestory]

Abbreviations and Symbols on Items With a Creed Patch:
Coach has used many variations in their serial numbers and creeds over the years and you can find loads of information about them, and how to distinguish fakes from genuine bags, under the Authenticity Questions Thread at the below:
http://forum.purseblog.com/coach-shopping/answers-to-authenticity-questions-94198.html
But here are some markings that Coach adds to the serial number or stamps on the creed patch to indicate specific types of bags, I have also attached some pictures below. Feel free to add additional abbreviations and photos!
Bullet (target or bullseye symbol) = Full price boutique bag sold at the outlet for a discount (FP Delete)
F after the serial number's hyphen = Made for Factory bag, sold only at the outlets or online factory sale
X = An MFF grade bag sold at a discount store like Marshalls
M = A boutique grade bag made exclusively for Macys
N = A boutique grade bag made exclusively for Nordstroms
FS (or 2 bullet stamps) = final sale (extra discount was given but Coach won’t accept return or repair requests)
ES = employee sale, sold to a Coach employee at a discount (may also void returns/repairs?)
P = Pilot bag, a test product that may not have ever gone into production

Don’t worry too much about the numbers/letter that appear in front of the hyphen, they indicate the month and year of manufacture and the plant code/country. That’s helpful information when you are trying to identify or authenticate a specific bag; but in the beginning it is helpful just remember that F after the hyphen means MFF bag and a bullet on the creed patch means FP delete sold at a discount at the outlet.

Below are photos of some of these markings.

Picture #2: FP Delete (or transfer bag). https://forum.purseblog.com/attachments/fp_delete_w_bullet-jpg.1646243/
This bag was probably sold at a discount at an outlet/factory store. There is no F after the hyphen and there is a bullet (bullseye) symbol on the creed patch to prevent someone from returning it for full price.

Picture #4: 2 Bullet Stamps (or sometimes they use an "FS" stamp) indicates that the bag was sold “as is” as a final sale with an extra discount, but Coach will not let you return it or accept it for repairs. https://forum.purseblog.com/attachments/fp_bag_final_sale_2_bullets-jpg.1646245/

Does the location/placement of the bullet stamp on the creed patch affect whether it was a FP delete or a FS bag? By that, I mean a coach bag having only one bullet stamp on the creed patch, but the bullet stamp is located on the upper right corner of the creed patch instead of the upper left corner like in that of picture #2 [see the link] quoted above?

 

[Hyacinth]

Does the location/placement of the bullet stamp on the creed patch affect whether it was a FP delete or a FS bag? By that, I mean a coach bag having only one bullet stamp on the creed patch, but the bullet stamp is located on the upper right corner of the creed patch instead of the upper left corner like in that of picture #2 [see the link] quoted above?

AFAIK it doesn't make any difference, where the bullseye was stamped could be due to something as simple as whether the person doing the stamping was right- or left-handed . And once Coach started adding the F in front of the style number (Summer-Fall 2006) for bags specifically made for the Factory outlets they didn't need to use the bullseye stamps on those bags any more. Bags made after that date with bullseye stamps are USUALLY FP deletes, but like with everything else Coach does, there are always exceptions.

 

[spicestory]

AFAIK it doesn't make any difference, where the bullseye was stamped could be due to something as simple as whether the person doing the stamping was right- or left-handed . And once Coach started adding the F in front of the style number (Summer-Fall 2006) for bags specifically made for the Factory outlets they didn't need to use the bullseye stamps on those bags any more. Bags made after that date with bullseye stamps are USUALLY FP deletes, but like with everything else Coach does, there are always exceptions.

@Hyacinth - Thank you for the much-needed clarification - it is very helpful!

 

[popartist]

Just want to mention that Coach has put back the serial numbers on the creed (or story patch as they're calling it now) instead of the well-hidden cloth tag, on the FP boutique bags as of the 2017 pre-Spring line. Both my Western Rivets Edie 31 (pre-Spring 2017), as seen here, and my just-released, just-purchased Swagger Shoulder Bag (Spring 2017) both have the serial number on the creed. The Edie date code is J16 and Swagger shoulder is a later 16.

 

[Hyacinth]

Just want to mention that Coach has put back the serial numbers on the creed (or story patch as they're calling it now) instead of the well-hidden cloth tag, on the FP boutique bags as of the 2017 pre-Spring line. Both my Western Rivets Edie 31 (pre-Spring 2017), as seen here, and my just-released, just-purchased Swagger Shoulder Bag (Spring 2017) both have the serial number on the creed. The Edie date code is J16 and Swagger shoulder is a later 16.

I wonder if that's going to be changed across the entire inventory or just for a few lines? Eliminating the stamped serial numbers was an incredibly stupid move IMO so I'd love to see them come back. My Mercer Hologram is just from a month earlier but still has the white tag instead of a stamp, and has the "old" creed statement.

 

[BeenBurned]

Just want to mention that Coach has put back the serial numbers on the creed (or story patch as they're calling it now) instead of the well-hidden cloth tag, on the FP boutique bags as of the 2017 pre-Spring line. Both my Western Rivets Edie 31 (pre-Spring 2017), as seen here, and my just-released, just-purchased Swagger Shoulder Bag (Spring 2017) both have the serial number on the creed. The Edie date code is J16 and Swagger shoulder is a later 16.

I wonder if that's going to be changed across the entire inventory or just for a few lines? Eliminating the stamped serial numbers was an incredibly stupid move IMO so I'd love to see them come back. My Mercer Hologram is just from a month earlier but still has the white tag instead of a stamp, and has the "old" creed statement.

I wonder what they're going to do with the 1941 collection bags.

The following pictures show the creed (with "serial number" RG-20315) and the tag from style 38124. Tell me this makes sense! NOT!

In this series, I don't know whether there's also a tag in the pocket with that production/serial information.

 

[Hyacinth]

I wonder what they're going to do with the 1941 collection bags.

The following pictures show the creed (with "serial number" RG-20315) and the tag from style 38124. Tell me this makes sense! NOT!

In this series, I don't know whether there's also a tag in the pocket with that production/serial information.

View attachment 3630944
View attachment 3630945

That makes absolutely NO sense at all. So Coach eliminates a good idea and replaces it with an incredibly STUPID idea - WhoTF is calling these shots? Maybe he can ger a job with the new administration, looks like his brialliant ideas would fit right in.

 

[katev]

That makes absolutely NO sense at all. So Coach eliminates a good idea and replaces it with an incredibly STUPID idea - WhoTF is calling these shots? Maybe he can ger a job with the new administration, looks like his brialliant ideas would fit right in.

I think that Coach is just making things easier for the counterfeiters! If they make things so confusing that the customers can't figure them out then it will be harder to tell the genuine bags from the fakes!

 

[Hyacinth]

I think that Coach is just making things easier for the counterfeiters! If they make things so confusing that the customers can't figure them out then it will be harder to tell the genuine bags from the fakes!

You hit the proverbial nail on the head, Girl!

But Coach doesn't give a shyte. Their attitude has always been "buy directly from Coach or an authorized retailer and you won't have to worry". Any potential buyers who can't afford buying new or who are looking for older, unavailable styles can just go pound sand, at that stage fakes aren't Coach's problem any more. Of course none of their resident geniuses can see the problem that a market flooded with cheap tacky BUTT-UGLY fakes has done to lower the real and perceived value of their brand.