I'm All Coached Out!
- Thread starter louisprada25
- Start date
I stopped worrying about the outlets when I started buying bags that were exactly what I wanted to fill in my collection. When I get exactly what I want, I buy fewer bags and save money that way.
If I wait for the perfect bag to go to outlet, it may never make it, or may sell out quickly, or be a damaged return or store display bag. My outlet tells me they never get the good stuff anyway.
I also spend a lot less time shopping for bags when I skip the outlet visits, deals threads and department store sales. Time is money (to me). I only enjoy the first 5-10 minutes of shopping for a deal. After that, it's not worth it to me.
I often take a lot of an SA's time when I am shopping for just the right bag. I figure some of the extra money goes toward compensating them, and paying for the store expense. I appreciate that environment and service, so I don't mind spending extra money for it.
My target price for a bag I love is 25% off. Occasionally I'll pay FP, occasionally I'll find things on clearance, although those are usually shoes or coats. I think it all evens out to about 25% off.
I may be almost "all Coached out", but that is because my collection is almost complete. Hopefully the bags will last years and I won't need a new one for awhile. But I'll keep looking for fun.
And I could use more shoes and jackets. 
If I wait for the perfect bag to go to outlet, it may never make it, or may sell out quickly, or be a damaged return or store display bag. My outlet tells me they never get the good stuff anyway.
I also spend a lot less time shopping for bags when I skip the outlet visits, deals threads and department store sales. Time is money (to me). I only enjoy the first 5-10 minutes of shopping for a deal. After that, it's not worth it to me.
I often take a lot of an SA's time when I am shopping for just the right bag. I figure some of the extra money goes toward compensating them, and paying for the store expense. I appreciate that environment and service, so I don't mind spending extra money for it.
My target price for a bag I love is 25% off. Occasionally I'll pay FP, occasionally I'll find things on clearance, although those are usually shoes or coats. I think it all evens out to about 25% off.
I may be almost "all Coached out", but that is because my collection is almost complete. Hopefully the bags will last years and I won't need a new one for awhile. But I'll keep looking for fun.
And I could use more shoes and jackets. 
I really agree with what you had to say. When I began buying Coach it was at the outlet. In a very short time I realized that the outlet bags are a totally different lower quality leather, different more basic designs etc. and I chose to check out the FP stores. I liked what I saw. Sure occasionally someone would return an exclusive bag and if you happen to be at the outlet then, you may be lucky enough to grab it for half off. Then over time more and more bags were ending up at the outlet. I still chose the FP because I liked having a bag when they came out, liked having a bag that hadn't been handled by a zillion people, and was able to enjoy the benefits of the PCEs. Now Coach is at a crossroad for sure. They know what everyone is saying; too many bags are being made and ultimately end up at the outlets, people like PCEs, the quality and quality control must improve, there are people who are willing to pay full price for the right goods and they need new designs that are in line with MK, KS, and TB trend wise. It will be interesting to see how Coach responds. One of the biggest problems I see is that the outlets are clearly their bread and butter so it remains to be seen how they are going to run them and yet be considered a serious designer brand. We might talk about that a bit. I myself think they need to stop making lower quality bags with low quality leather and maybe just send FP bags there at the end of the season but I'm not sure it will give them enough to sell. What do you all think a good sales model would be? I can honestly say. I do like what I've seen of the new line quality wise. It is more in line with my high quality bags in that I don't see flaws all over. I know they need to keep that up. I try and envision ow I'd fix it and I'm not totally sure. Do think to fix it right would take another few year loss period but it might be necessary.I agree with everyone's comments, this is a great thread
I have a few more thoughts on this topic so I am going to jot them down. I don't resent it when someone gets a bag at the outlet that I paid pce price for. I am happy they found a bag they love at a price they can afford. I used to resent COACH telling me that a bag will never go to the outlet and then sending it to the outlet a month later. I don't like to be lied to. It does not build a good customer relationship.
But, I got over it. Coach is truly clueless. They literally throw money away. Many of us on this forum buy bags at outlet prices that we gladly would have paid pce price for if the bag was not available at the outlet and wasn't going to be available at the outlet any time soon. That is money being thrown away, and it will come back to haunt Coach for years. They will not be able to just arbitrarily set a new price point and watch the dollars roll in. They can buy the PR and press, they can hire a new designer, but how are they going to get back all of that trust and good will that they lost along the way?
In any case, my purse budget is the same. Whether I buy one bag or five bags with it is irrelevant. I like the value I get for my money with Coach (still) so I am still buying. (for now)
Me, too.
The way Coach does business may not make sense to me, but it is what it is. Coach doesn't make any secret of it, and savvy customers know when and how to shop. However, Coach has trained their own customers to not pay full price for anything, and most of us don't. Seriously, go to their FB page when they post pics of new bags - half the comments are people saying they can't wait until that bag gets to the outlet.
To me, a bag is worth what it is worth to me - not to someone else. When the Legacy collection came out, I made a special trip to the FP store and bought the duffle in cobalt because there was no way I wasn't getting that bag the day it came out. Sure, other people may have gotten it at the outlet later for less, but that's not my issue.
Coach may be crazy, but I still love it! :weird:
What they said is that outlets will decrease signature and increase leather. Quality will increase and so will the prices. They said they want to decrease dependence on outlets and get the fp/outlet balance back, assuming they want it like it was in 05/06 (60/70% Fp and 40/30% outlet).
Agreed & agreed! Way back when, Coach outlets were truly outlets. The outlets were the stores that got FP overstock & last season's styles. Now the outlets have (mostly) crappy made MFF bags. In my neck of the woods, the only ppl at the Coach outlets are the busloads of tourists, especially from China, who are buying stuff to take back. That tells me that, for the most part, Coach outlets are for the tourist trade who buy in bulk to take back home. How Coach will reconcile that image with their desire to project a more LV type image will be interesting.
Yep, that is entirely true, and I agree it's some of the best advice that gets tossed around on tpf. I always ask myself that question as I browse outlets or fos .... "Do I like the bag because I genuinely like it? Or am I just blinded by the bargain?" So far that advice has served me well. Every bag I've purchased with that attitude is used and used often. It also makes me a snipper of tags as soon as I get home, which in turn keeps me off any return radar with coach.
(Actually, there's only one time I've ever disregarded that advice, and ironically it was on an item that barely made it to outlets. I think it only really appeared on fos, and in very low numbers. And also ironically, it wasn't the price that made me do it, or the fact that I found this mythical grail at an outlet ... it was simply the color.)It's also akin to similar advice my DH always gives ... if you know the item you *really* want, get *that* one. Don't find an "almost as good" item and try to justify that one because the price is cheaper. Go for what you really, genuinely want --- price isn't always everything, in the end.
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This is an interesting thread. In July, I purchased my first Coach bag at a FP store in Tampa, FL. (I live in a rural state--the only Coach bags I can find are at Macy's. And I have never cared for the particular styles they have in stock.) When I got home, I looked my bag up on-line just to read customer reviews. I can't even find it, and I suspect that even though I was told it was a brand-new style, that I was lied to. In fact, I found a thread here where someone posted her picture with the same purse in January. DOH! And the salesperson was so nice! So now, I'm wondering if my purse went on sale the day after I bought it. But I'll never know because that store is 1,000 miles away from me.
Having said that, I love my new bag and carry it everywhere. (I'm the kind of person who carries only one bag, all the time, with everything, no matter the color).
Having said that, I love my new bag and carry it everywhere. (I'm the kind of person who carries only one bag, all the time, with everything, no matter the color).