so is the letter related to purchase volume or return volume? I am confused now. I do not buy a whole lot but have taken home two of the same bags, different color and then gotten back to the store to return the one that didnt work out for me. Usually I dont make it to the store until a couple of months later so the bags I am sure go to the outlet to some lucky tpf'r.I don't know what the magic number is, but I definitely did spend tens of thousands of dollars on Coach throughout the years. The letter basically says - due to the volume of your purchases you're a reseller and you're not an authorized seller of Coach products so our stores have been notified not to sell to you anymore. That was pretty much the jist of it. I tried calling the number on the letter many times to offer them any proof they wanted that I wasn't a reseller and that I still owned all the items I bought but they never returned my calls. I was very offended to be labeled and punished for something I wasn't. But, surprisingly yes, I do still purchase Coach, mainly from Macy's and eBay. I didn't buy anything Coach at all for awhile though due to my lack of respect for their corporate policies. And here's another head scratcher, about a year or so later Coach started sending me PCE's again and even Online Outlet invitations. Makes no sense at all
has anyone heard about a ban letter from coach ???
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I guess there's 2 different ones. One for returning history and then you get banned from returning without receipts or possibly even from returning. I'm not really sure. And then another for purchase history where you bought too much and get banned from buying anymore. Mine was for purchasing too much.
I second what Codegirl has said....I was the same- (don't want to speak for her) but for myself here is my history with Coach.
- Started buying at the outlets back in college and afterwards (early-mid 90s)...at that time the closest outlet to me was almost 200 miles away so I only visited 2-3 times a year, and only bought a few things each visit.
- Stopped buying Coach in the early 2000s, not sure why, guess I was focusing on other things I liked to collect (ie. longaberger, partylite, SLAH etc...)
- A couple years later, a local Coach outlet (10 mins. from my house) opened up and I had a friend at the time who loved Coach but didn't drive so I would drive her to the outlets on occassion and I fell back in love with Coach, but I still didn't buy too much...Visited only maybe each month or bi-monthly.
- Right around the time I joined TPF (What a coincidence!), I noticed I started going more and more, and this was right around the time of the Legacy influx at the outlets, sometimes I was going 1-2 times a week, looking for an elusive Lily or Gigi..... (forgot to mention that I also gained an inheritance) so I began spending quite a bit more at the outlet on each visit. I also started getting PCEs so I would shop at the full price boutiques during the PCEs, and I'd probably spent about 1K during each PCE (and the PCE events were probably occurring 5-6 times a year).
- As I mentioned in the banned thread, I've kind of always tried to be on the hunt for the 'best price', so with Coach, I would frequently buy at the full price store, keep the bag(s) /accessoriess, unwrapped/unused/w/ tags on in my closet and if I later found that item at the outlet, I would buy it, then on my next outlet visit, return my full-price store item back to that outlet (ALWAYS w/ a receipt). I guesstimate that I did that w/ 30% of my full-price purchases, and I also tended to return about 20% of the items I bought directly from the outlet (not the buy/buy/returns), because after I purchased it, I later decided I didn't HAVE to have it (was an impulse buy). So this was going on from mid-2008 to mid 2011 when I got the ban letter.
- At the outlet, on occassion, I would sometimes purchase the same item if I really loved it in multiple colors (wallets, wristlets and mini-skinnies- the Grammercy patent leather accessories collection comes to mind) but never more than 3 of anything, and never all in one visit, so yes, I understand how they might think by looking at my OVERALL purchase history, I could be a reseller due to this, but I didn't buy tons of stuff on each visit, like you see some of the resellers doing hauling around those big brown bags, and I only ever bought deletes, never MFF stuff. I would say I bought maybe 3-5 items once a week.
(here's my BIG BUT) BUT- I think three things are unfair about what happened to me
1) No advance warning that my buy/buy/return pattern (or high return rate in general) was abusing their return policy (else I would have stopped it) and that I could potentially be banned for it.
2) Being accused of being a reseller without being able to defend myself (my long letter to Coach Loss Prevention went unanswered)
3) the way the letter was presented to me (at the outlet) AS I WAS UP AT the register trying to buy something....At my outlet several SAs know my name and apparently the manager on duty that day did too (although I didn't know that) and I was walking around the store (w/ my intended purchases in my hand) for a good 15 mins. So why didn't the manager approach me with the letter then?
and two things that I find very ironic about what happened to me
1) By banning me, they have now made me turn to buying more things on e-bay/bonz FROM RESELLERS, so they bit off their nose to spite their face IMO and
2) Last fall they started sending me PCEs again and I've been buying at Coach.com since then.....(although I've not visited an outlet or a FP store since the letter), so that one has me scratching my head, but hey, not gonna argue with them about it!
So take all this as you will.....It's hard to pinpoint which of my 'behaviors' put me on their radar, but something did and I got the 'ban' letter as a result.
I don't know what the magic number is, but I definitely did spend tens of thousands of dollars on Coach throughout the years. The letter basically says - due to the volume of your purchases you're a reseller and you're not an authorized seller of Coach products so our stores have been notified not to sell to you anymore. That was pretty much the jist of it. I tried calling the number on the letter many times to offer them any proof they wanted that I wasn't a reseller and that I still owned all the items I bought but they never returned my calls. I was very offended to be labeled and punished for something I wasn't. But, surprisingly yes, I do still purchase Coach, mainly from Macy's and eBay. I didn't buy anything Coach at all for awhile though due to my lack of respect for their corporate policies. And here's another head scratcher, about a year or so later Coach started sending me PCE's again and even Online Outlet invitations. Makes no sense at all
You too??? Same here.....definitely a head-scratcher. I've been using them too to buy online at Coach.com (I've never gotten the online outlet invitations, even before I was banned) . Have you tried buying online at Coach.com since your banning?
okay wow guys these stories are eye openers and i was talking to one of my friends whose mother has been a SA for over 15 yrs and is now manager and she says that these letters are new policies(5-7 yrs) ironincally began soon after coach went global such as china and europe and they are priced twice as much as the prices we pay here (after the currency change) and therefore alot of people who originated from that country began to sell them across the border causing international coach retails to have a significant lost in sells regardless of the reason i feel alot of innocent consumers are getting caught in the witch hunt of resellers its quite upsetting as much as i love coach if i were to be banned bc of over spending then i would prob not jump through hurdles to attain their products and shift my choice of purses as much as i hate thinking about it
Yep, I've bought online with no problems at all. I've only done it a couple of times though and only if I want something super bad cuz it still just feels so wrong to give them my money lol! I even had to call CS to order one that wasn't on the website yet and they took my order just fine too.
Yep, definitely can still buy Coach at other stores.
Macy's gained a huge customer and loves me!!!
They also promised they'll never ban me lol!
"The letter" does scare me. I do not buy multiples or anything like that, and I'm not really a high volume purchaser in general.... however, I have returned a few items that I was not happy with. However, they were all returned within 30 days of purchase, unused, tags still on, with receipt. Personally I feel like I shouldnt have to live in fear of getting the letter. Obviously I would be extremely upset if I got the letter, but if Coach doesnt want my money then so be it. ITA with what others have mentioned in this thread, that if they do not like the returns thing, change their policy! Especially when as many of you have mentioned, SA's encourage you to take it home and bring it back if you do not like it. I agree that Coach does have people who take advantage, but they really need to re-evaluate a few things to avoid driving away legit customers, and driving people to purchase on ebay- the thing they are trying to avoid most!
ETA: I also ordered from the online factory sale, but have never seen the items in person yet. However, I think after this order, I am going to not order sight-unseen anymore.
ETA: I also ordered from the online factory sale, but have never seen the items in person yet. However, I think after this order, I am going to not order sight-unseen anymore.
ive seen the one for returning one of my good friends recieved over 10 purses when she graduated from law school plus bday it was within the same week and didnt like any of them she returned them all and SA helped her pick 4 purses and gave her MC for the rest she had gift recipts for all bt got a letter over 6 months later saying she could not return anymore w/o a recipt she went to the SA who helped her and asked why she was getting this when she returned with recipts she simply said it was not them who created the letters and she should call the number she tried multiple times and even left messages bt no anwser was recieved --> complete mystery i think the worst part is you never recieve an anwser so have no way to resolve the issue or even understand it fully
One of the best things a banned Coach person can do is pack up their collection and return all of the unused, NWT stuff. Make them eat it, especially if the buyer is one who did not return stuff. I think I read here about a few people that did it. Let Coach eat the sales even if the stuff is years old.
Back when Coach was hot, people would speculate on what would sell out quickly. They would buy the items and then lose their shirt when the items went to the outlets.
Back when Coach was hot, people would speculate on what would sell out quickly. They would buy the items and then lose their shirt when the items went to the outlets.
The SA in my outlet told me that 2 ladies had just bought lots of bags and told them they were going back to India to sell them. she said Coach will start tracking their sales and ban them from shopping. I mean the ladies told them they were reselling. So that was a gimme but it made me think that a SA can put this information into the system.
How would coach track people selling in India! LOL. Unless they employ the feds, there is no way. They have hard enough time tracking eBay sellers, and eBay HAS all the sellers' names, addresses, CC info, etc!
Katherine