Buying a Coach purse, handbag or tote can be a fun but stressful task. Is it real? Is it authentic? How can I tell? Whether you are buying a Coach purse or handbag for the very first time, purchasing as a gift, or if you are a Coach collector you will find that choosing the right purse is as important as choosing the right seller! 

There are many great sellers of Coach merchandise.  There are also those who offer imitations and replicas, passing them as genuine and authentic.   In the infinite domain of the world wide web you will find that making a purchase for just about anything can be simple.  That said, the savvy shopper must be sure to do their due diligence before their purchase to ensure the process stays simple.  We at Caught You Looking Marketing are offering some valuable insight to our valuable shoppers to make your experience online both safe and satisfying.

One of the great things about eBay is that they are always looking for better ways to attract buyers and make them feel safe.  One of the ways they accomplish this is by placing limitations on sellers who offer Coach products for sale.  This is a VERY important factor when considering your purchase of Coach merchandise.  If a seller is only offering a single purse then you most likely are dealing with another consumer just trying to unload an unwanted gift or slightly used item.  The benefits of finding a seller like this is that they may be willing to sell the merchandise at a loss or lower price because you are dealing with an individual.  The things to look out for are communication gaps due to lack of experience, delayed shipping, and possible inconsistency with item description.

A seller who only sells a few items per year does not have to meet the more stringent policies and procedures that a volume seller will.  This means that if you want to ensure the best possible experience, you want to evaluate the seller by how many Coach items they are offering for sale at the moment as well as how many they have sold in the past on a monthly basis.  This information is very easy to acquire by looking through sellers' feedback from the past 30 days and see how many Coach items have sold.  If they are selling roughly more than 15 per month then there is a high likelihood that they have been required by ebay to provide more information to authenticate their merchandise before ebay will allow them to continue to offer this merchandise for sale.  This information is probably the single most important thing to consider when making your Coach purchase.  A seller offering knock-offs will not be given much of an opportunity to flood the market with fake merchandise with this policy.  We were not aware of this policy ourselves until we placed our first $10,000 order of purses only to be stopped by ebay for listing too many without getting our account limitations lifted for Coach items.  While this policy may not be seller friendly or obviously stated in ebay policies, it is designed to give buyers confidence that they are only being offered genuine authentic product.  Even though most if not all sellers on ebay are not considered authorized retailers, ebay in partnership with PayPal help protect buyers with policies such as this one and seller protection.  Making sure that your purchase qualifies for Seller Protection gives you added protection against bad transactions under their "significantly not as described" policy.  For more information on PayPal's seller protection please refer to the PayPal User Agreement http://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=xpt/UserAgreement/ua/USUA-outside#spp-policy.

While this policy has gone a long way in shutting down counterfeit operations, it is by far not the only thing to consider when shopping for Coach purses or handbags.  It also is not an absolute guarantee by ebay that you are being offered what is being advertised.  Feedback is a key in ANY purchasing decision online.  If you would like to know more on how to judge feedback and how it can be used to make more informed decisions I encourage you to read our review titled "Making Sense of Feedback:Choose the right seller."  You may find this guide at the following link- http://reviews.ebay.com/Making-Sense-of-Feedback-Choose-the-right-seller_W0QQugidZ10000000004673168.  These tips can help you weigh sellers in areas such as communication, shipping time, description accuracy, shipping cost, customer service, and service after the sale.  Dealing with a legitimate business will greatly increase the likelihood that you will receive after-the-sale service should you need further assistance.  Businesses have to consider you as a potential repeat customer so they are far more inclined to work with you than those who are more of a casual or hobby seller.  All this and more can be discovered by simply taking 4 or 5 minutes to actually read a sellers most recent feedback relating to the merchandise you are buying.

One great way to develop trust in your trading partner is to simply ask questions.  Surprisingly, many buyers feel reserved when making their purchases and fail to ask the questions that are on their minds.  You should remember that you are the buyer and a sellers unwillingness to answer your questions should raise a red flag.  Communication between buyer and seller develops a relationship that will help form your opinion of that seller.

You may think that Coach is going to tell you how to authenticate the merchandise once you get it.  The fact is that if they were to do so, they would not only be giving away trade secrets, but they would be empowering the fraudulent manufacturers and sellers of non-authentic Coach merchandise by giving them the formula for how to make a more passable looking replica!  This is why it is important to feel comfortable with the seller you are trusting your purchase to.  After all, these purses are very valuable and when you find someone who is offering a $300 purse at $59.99 then that in your gut feeling should kick in and make you consider the old cliche "If it's too good to be true then it probably is!"  In some cases, the high quality craftmanship that Coach requires for all of their products is most evident when standing next to an imitation.  In other cases you may not be able to tell the difference until it is too late.  Not every coach item will have a leather authenticity patch so the best way to ensure you are getting what you are paying for is to trust your source!

Lastly, always stay away from listings which only depict a stock photo with no additional photos available of the actual product being offered.  This is a tell-tale sign to expect the unexpected.  If a sellers merchandise is genuine and authentic and brand new with tags AND they have it in stock then why would only a stock photo be used to represent what is going to be delivered to your door? Some sellers will show stock photos which can come from other listings, sites, or the manufacturers website.  An original photo is taken in-house and will be a photo of the actual item being offered in its natural environment.

BONUS CONTENT: In addition to the resources provided above you may also receive much assistance in your decision to buy a Coach product by visiting one of the many Coach forums online.  While these resources are in no way ment to guarantee authenticity of anything that you are buying, you will quickly find that many top forums will provide seasoned buyers and collectors of genuine Coach products.  Simply type into your search bar "Coach forums" and you will be directed to an unlimited amount of resources to aid you in your buying decision.

There is no better feeling then confidence when walking down the street knowing that you look fabulous in your attire and accessories.  Carrying a Coach purse, handbag, or tote gives you the distinguished and lavish look that brings the style you desire.  If you have never owned a genuine Coach purse then you will not be able to understand or appreciate the enthusiasm that owners hold for their fashion accessory of choice.  The original look and feel of this designer product line will be a staple of the fashion industry for many years to come!

Be certain that you are the proud owner of a 100% genuine Coach item by always being alert to a sellers volume in this product line, the sellers recent feedbacks, sellers willingness to respond to your questions, seller return policies, buyer protection eligibility and of course accurate and original photos of the item you are being sold!  Take responsibility for the choices you make when deciding who to trust with your purchases.

If you have found this guide to be helpful we humbly request your vote below be YES!  Thank you in advance.