I've been buying
Coach about a year, so I've experienced the same with mff vs fp. Mff was so nice compared to the cheap purses I was used to, so I was fine with it. Then, when the online sale started having fp deletes, I got the chance to try some & started to see the difference. But as you said some mff is just as/almost as good.
I picked up an Alexandra last march when I got to an outlet, but it was way too big for me. As for the small Ashley satchel, i think it looks great with the details, etc. but you have to watch the leather on them. I got one online in black (so I didn't get to see it first) and couldn't keep it because the leather felt so cheap. Otherwise I loved it. While traveling last week, I saw some where the leather felt bad(hard, stiff, not soft at all), but found the platinum where the leather felt great, so I bought it even though I wasn't looking for an Ashley, or a white bag. And I love it. I like my leather soft. So for me, Ashley is inconsistent in quality, but if you find a good one its beautiful. Plus they use ideal zippers on the newer Ashleys which is fine but they are louder than the ykk zippers and that bothers me (I'm picky) it just makes it sound cheaper if that makes sense? but won't stop me from keeping my new platinum one. I'm definitely pickier in my mff choices now, but still open to them, have a few I love.