What are the outlets like?

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highrider9o9

Member
Feb 24, 2014
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#1
it's finally happened, my full price store is shutting down and becoming an outlet. Because the next full price store is a good 45 minutes away without traffic it will definitely be more difficult to get there then the one 5 minutes away. I've never really been an outlet shopper, nothing against it, it's just not my style. When I'm buying a bag or shoes I almost alway know exactly what I am getting before hand, and I've always associated outlets of any brand as more of a "treasure hunt". So I guess my question is what are the outlets like, I have this perception that they are all signature bags overflowing the shelves, but I can tell from posts on here that is not the complete truth. What kind of selections are there usually, how often do they get "deletes" and any other things you would care to share!

Thank you!
 
#2
I haven't visited many but I get the feeling they're not all the same. It's probably very market-driven. In Oklahoma City the outlet is two rooms. The first is all siggy and MFF. I usually just breeze right through. After walking in to the second room you have to turn around and look in the corners behind you - that's where the deletes are - if they have any. The rest of the room is the nicer recent Madison MFF stuff, men's, and clearance which is usually a mix of deletes and MFF. The delete section is definitely a treasure hunt. You never know if they'll have 20 styles or 2. Recently it's been leaning much closer to 2. I don't visit enough to know if there's a schedule or rhyme or reason to the delete selection. I know that usually the deletes in clearance aren't a great deal. They'll knock .01 or .10 off the MSRP and put a bag in the clearance section and then give it a percentage off that makes it higher than it would be were it in the regular delete section. That's super annoying.

Long story short, IMO, the outlet is a treasure hunt only to be undertaken when I'm bored. It's on my way home from work and in an outdoor mall so sometimes it's fun to just take a break and walk around. I have found some really great deals on some of my favorite bags there - always by accident. It would be really hard to go in there to get something specific unless you have a great SA that will call you and hold things. The staff turnover is so high in this store that I haven't been able to make a good connection - and I don't know if they're even allowed to do that.
 
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#3
I have great SAs at my outlet. They know me by name and I get treated better there than I do at my FP boutique. They leave you alone if you want to be left alone but they are easy to find if you need them. They will check at another store if there is something I am looking for in particular, and will do charge sends for $10. They have a book where they'll put you on a call list in case they receive an item you're looking for, or if you want to be notified of price drops.

When you shop at an outlet, the price on the tag is never the price you'll pay. The most important job of SAs is to tell you the actual price of an item. They walk around with calculators and will calculate any item's price for you.

At my outlet, as in most outlets, the deletes and clearance are in the second room. The first room showcases MFF stuff mostly. MFF is no longer mostly signature. The keychains are at the counter and may include deletes. Jewelry, both FP and MFF, are also in the front room, as are sunglasses. Shoes are in the second room. My outlet is one of those that has a men's section and that is in the second room too. Clothing seems to be in both rooms.

Often when you walk in the door, they will thrust a coupon in your face. You won't need it. They will give you the discount whether or not you hang on to it. But if you get one of those outlet coupons in the mail, you need to bring that in. Sometimes there is a coupon on the bottom of your receipt.

One thing I like about shopping outlets is that everything thing feels more relaxed. If I return something, I don't feel like the SAs hate me. If I don't buy anything, they don't mind.

They put multiple items on the floor. There is no floor model. You can look through all the items to find the one you like the best. The shelves are more crowded than at a FP store. They might have some stuff in back so it doesn't hurt to ask.
 
#4
When you first enter mine the store goes as follows... mens to the left... womens to the right and then the center is usually filled with women's. All of these are the 'newest' MFF styles... as Eve said very little sig is there, is it there? yes, as some do like the styles but they are not the focus.

Then you move more in and there is a center area with the middle consisting of a seating area. To the left again more men's and to the right more women's .. there is also a wall that has shoes mixed in with the more "fancy bags" as of the last while the studded types were located there. Mine also has a display shelf that contains more shoes and sometimes baby bags.

Then we move to the final area... to the right is more MFF styles and then a table which sometimes has deletes and MFF mixed together... plus the glass display table that has the jewelry and all the fobs/keychains on racks that spin.

To the left is the clearance which is where i go.. bags run 50-70% there and yes, you can find good deals on full retail bags... you have to look, and this is typically what this area consists of, a bit of MFF on final clear out maybe there but again most are from the boutique.

No coupons are handed out anymore at mine and you have to ask the SA about price, there are oodles of them around with electronics to aid with that quickly. I know quite a few of the SA in mine and have no trouble with service(on the overall)

I like the factory stores... because it is possible to get a nice bag for a good price, yes, you don't always but i have enough where it would be silly to say you cannot.

The second factory store i have ever been too is similar just larger... i don't find in my country they are that different with floor sets, this one actually had less deletes than the one i go to often.. but i am sure that is a traffic related reasons more than actual stock.
 
#5
I don't know if it will be different because your FP store is converting to an outlet, but when my outlet was new they had to "earn" the right to carry more deletes. The older, more established, stores tend to get more deletes, depending on how well they sell there. Then again, Coach changes their rules all the time, so who knows?
 
#6
I think Coach outlets can be huge hit/miss for me. Normally the "MSRP" on the tag is completely made up because with all those discounts you take, it comes out to be 50-70% off, something like that. Quality is definitely not the same as full line store, but the price can't be beat. Honestly I only have 1 full line Coach bag and the other 3 are outlet Coach. I no longer buy Coach though as many of their recent designs aren't calling out to me (except for legacy).
 
#7
I don't have a FP store anywhere near me. I do have an outlet about 1/2 an hour away. I find the SA's very friendly and helpful, and willing to give the shopper space. If I don't have time or don't feel like treasure hunting, I call ahead and see if they have what I'm looking for (from as general as "what FP do you have?" to asking for specific item numbers). Calling ahead may work better for you if you don't like treasure hunting, and they will put things on hold for you over the phone. They can also add you to a list if you're looking for something specific.

There's a Dooney outlet across the shopping center from the Coach, and their SA's aren't nearly as nice (but I still go there anyway lol).

My outlet is only one room. Non-clearance deletes are always in a separate section, but clearance is all thrown together.

They are getting a lot less deletes lately (I believe as a result of their new marketing strategy). MFF pieces aren't all siggy, and like FP, they vary in quality (to a lesser degree, of course). The cross grain leather in MFF pieces is the same as lower end FP pieces.

Below is a pic of three MFF bags that I love and use a lot. The bottom teal Mini Bennet is made of the same leather as my teal FP hang tag case, for example.

ETA: if you aren't already signed up for FOS, they can sign you up at the outlet.
 

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#8
My outlet, Aurora Illinois, used to be a treasure trove of deletes. That is nowhere near the case anymore. And the vast majority of MFF don't look or feel like Coach to me. I know they are officially Coach, but they seem worlds apart to me.
 
#9
whateve said:
I don't know if it will be different because your FP store is converting to an outlet, but when my outlet was new they had to "earn" the right to carry more deletes. The older, more established, stores tend to get more deletes, depending on how well they sell there. Then again, Coach changes their rules all the time, so who knows?
Click to expand...
Thank you for you response! The fp store isn't actually turning into an outlet, sorry should have been more clear about that, they're actually opening an outlet less than a mile away from this mall, which I don't understand that at all.. but the fp store is going to close and the outlet mall is opening up. From what I have gathered from my SA who is also the SM that this outlet is some sort of prototype? That it's going to be much more upscale, and furnished nicer than other outlets and most fp stores? Not exactly clear on this until I see it I guess, so I don't know if this will affect the deletes they get or what? I always assumed deletes went to very large outlets like woodbury commons or las vegas.
 
#10
Deletes do also go to the smaller sized outlets, but not as great of numbers. And if there are really hard to find deletes, those do tend to go to the more populated/flagship stores. The outlet by me gets some really good stuff, but then other times it is snoresville there. I would consider it a mid-level outlet store.
 
#11
The outlet I go to 2 times a year at most rarely has any good deletes, and I don't like the MFF items--so it is a very quick browse for me. I do have a FP store close by but do not like to venture in. I prefer to look around at department stores where I can look without being hassled, or I just look at bags online and try to pay close attention to pictures, size, features, etc.
 
#12
One thing to note is that there is much less siggy MFF these days. Many of the MFF bags lately are leather. They still do some siggy coated canvas bags but there haven't been many fabric bags for some time now.
 
#15
I live in Canada (Niagara) and the closest FP store would be Mississauga/Toronto for me. We have 2 Outlets...one is a 10 minute drive for me and the other is about 15. I really like the Outlet. I love that I can pick up a nice purse for $199 + tax.
 
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