Is it okay to buy and resell Coach?

maricaji

Member
Jul 11, 2008
37
0
Hi everyone! I had a somewhat strange question and was hoping some of you out there could shed some light. I purchase a majority of my Coach handbags and wallets on eBay from some very trusted Sellers. I just find it convenient and I know they are authentic. The Coach outlet is just too far from me.

I was thinking to sell some of my old Coach on eBay. I was at the Coach outlet a few weeks back and a gal in front of me was buying quite a few bags. The Sales Associate asked her if she was intending to sell the handbags on eBay and if so, she could not allow her to buy all the handbags she had brought to the counter. The gal had said she had no intention of reselling. I thought it was odd that the Sales Associate had asked that question and I did not think that was an appropriate question.

My question is if it is illegal to resell bags that you have purchased from the Coach outlet, used or not.

Thanks :smile:
 
It's not illegal to resell bags you have purchased....from Coach or anywhere else. I'm sure these designers are not happy about the resellers, but what can they do? That's funny and rude that the SA asked that question to that buyer....funny because she probably is a reseller, and rude because, so what if she is?
 
It is not illegal, because once you purchase something, you may do with it what you please. However, Coach does have a policy in place to limit resellers. They track purchases and may "ban" you from purchasing in their stores in the future... and any retailer may refuse to sell to you for any reason. If Coach chooses to refuse service to those whom they believe are resellers, well, that's their battle. Resellers can get around this, of course, by paying with cash and not giving personal information at checkout.

You will find more info on this in the Coach subforum (search "letter").
ETA: Here's a Q&A that shows (pretty much) an analysis of the type of reseller Coach has banned in the past (click "read more" for the details of the buyer's problem:http://www.justanswer.com/questions...roduct-s-at-a-retail-location-pay-full-retail
 
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Coach doesn't like it, but people do it anyway. Until Coach is sold only by Coach, the resellers and banned people will still be able to buy the bags, etc. If the resellers wouldn't hog the good items, then this whole deal would not have gone so far that people have to be banned.
 
I have seen LV turn people away. My SA explained to me that the people who were turned away (it happened right when I was in the store....I couldn't believe they were being told they could not buy anything!)...she explained that they were resellers, and they recognized them, and told them no sale. So it does happen. But like kells1983 said, there are many ways around it Paying by cash, having others buy for you, etc...)
 
Interesting!

Although not Coach related, I bought a few scarves and ties from the Saks outlet because they had 30% off special. The cashier asked if I was going to resell them. At the time I thought her question was odd but then aftering reading this thread, I supposed it may be common practice if you purchase in bulks often. I only bought a few and I was questioned.
 
this whole thing with reselling..

my take on it is, companies will flat out tell you no you cannot resell their stuff (thats what making you an authorize reseller--e.g. following their rules and taking a cut of each sale) is for, but if you are only buying a thing or two to resell..not huge volumes..and don't come out and say you're reselling..but only buying it for a friend..they won't care..they truly don't. its such a small drop in the pond. only when you are making a business out of it (e.g. a good chunk of your income comes from it) do they start to crack down.

and by not huge volume i mean like a normal shopaholic of like maybe one bag a month averaging out to..

i mean hell, i could go and buy a bag and resell it..that would make me a reseller.. but if i only did it again a few months later..and stay on the same trend..not increasing my purchases i doubt they'd even notice much less care.
 
I know up at the Chanel outlet they will limit you to one of each style of jewelry, but if you want the earrings and they come in pink and in black, you can buy both because even though they are the same item, they are different color. But you cannot buy 2 pairs in pink.

Not sure if this rule only applies to the first few days they put new stuff out, or if it's always in place. But when the new stuff comes out, the resellers are there ready to pounce. Many have several people with them so they can each buy one of the same color if need be.
 
By asking those questions and ban customers, they consider all the customers as potential resellers. (not saying resellers are bad, but the companies hate them) They try to weed out customers they don't like at expense of other customers. Since there's no hard evidence, they only make judgment according to buying habits and quantity. So, people buy and return are likely to be considered as resellers, but some are just difficult to make up their mind. Some may never return, but those could be resellers. For the companies, it's revenue anyway. If say, customers complain about they don't get what they need, they can limit quantity for each customer, instead of judging customers without evidence. Many loyal customers could be hurt. I don't know what's wrong with these businesses, maybe they believe all the customers should bow to them, they are the god. Also, many people do appreciate resellers who sell at reasonable price and being honest, they earn their pay and nothing against law. These companies are totally wrong, if I ever encounter something like that, I would turn to other alternatives, no longer buy from them.
 
close all the outlets, don't give discounts, resellers will have no profit out of the products, but I doubt if they can do that since much of the revenue is from outlet and the profit is astonishing considering the cost for materials and labor. As a business, they should face all kinds of customers.
 
Everyone on here has made some excellent points. I make a huge distinction in my mind between someone who buys an item for their own use, decides that they no longer like/need it any more, and then sells it, vs someone who specifically buys an item to resell it on eBay and make a profit. In the first case, you're trying to clean out your house and recoup your costs. In the second case, you are running a business.
 
You are selling your pre-loved items, it is not the same as people buying NWT and sell it on eBay.

I know what you are talking about when you get in line at the outlet. Sometimes, you know that they are reselling stuff because they return so many items of the same style/color. Then, the purchase multiple of the same item/style of newer models.

Anyhow, neither is illegal and it certainly if pretty convenient because Coach will let you return items as long as you have the receipt and the tags on the bag(s.) So if you cannot resell them at a profit, you can get your original purchase amount back with no real "inventory" lost.

I just don't have that kinda of time or energy to deal with ebay and buyers. I only do CL because I like cold hard CASH in my hand. My time is worth a lot more money, working, instead of selling bags online.
 
I always thought it was BS of companies to attempt to limit what customers do with things they bought legitimately. It violates the first sale doctrine for starters, and is anti-competition.

If they want their bags to be sold above a certain amount, why don't they just price it as such? And even if someone wants to sell it at a loss, so what? It's THEIR bag, they can do whatever they want with it.