How to Spot a Fake Coach Bag

This guide to help everyone find great deals on Coach Bags at garage sales, eBay, and the like. Here are bunch of tips that will be really helpful to make sure that you can spot a fake from a real bag.

  1. One of the first places to start is to take a look at the inside, and look at the lining. If the bag is a signature bag and it has the "C" print on the outside, there will never ever be a "C" logo on the inside of an authentic bag. But if your bag is a plain bag with no "C" print then it may have one on the inside, but never both on the outside and inside. This is true for all sizes of bags, even their wallets. It may just have stripes of colors on the inside.
  2. Another easy way to tell if a Coach bag is, to look at the symmetry of the print on the bag. Any authentic Coach bag will have a perfectly symmetrical print on both sides of the bag, right down the middle. What I see on some fake bags is that many times the print is off center, or if you look at the stitching make sure the print is perfectly symmetrical over the stitching. Another mistake is that sometimes they will have a single row of "C"s and then they will be flipped, but on all signature Coach bags, even the op-art design there will always be two rows of "C"s and then two rows of "C"s, even down the side. The reason it is symmetrical is that an authentic Coach bag is made from one piece of leather wrapped around, while knockoffs put together bags from whatever pieces they can find to save money.
  3. You should also check for if you are not sure about the authenticity of a bag is the stitching. Knockoffs are made very hastily and cheaply, they do not pay much attention to the stitching and it is usually pretty "crappy". On a fake Coach the stitching may be uneven, not perfectly strait, thicker in some areas, or maybe even crooked. On a real Coach the stitching will be perfectly even, always flawless, even on the buckles. This is a good giveaway for most bags because knockoffs don't pay much attention to stitching detail.
  4. You should also check the zipper. Coach zippers are the highest quality zippers, they should last you a lifetime. That is why we pay so much for these bags, because it is something that can keep for the rest of our lives. So just try the zipper, it should be getting caught or stuck, and should zip very smoothly.
  5. The next segment is hardware, and that is any metal on a bag. On an authentic Coach bag, the metal is either nickel or brass and should have a weight to it. So if you are checking out the bag in person, feel the metal, does it feel like real metal, or just metal-coated plastic. It should not be really shinny plastic looking. Also on ebay I always see the metal wrapped in plastic, many other brands do this on their bags to keep it scratch free until you bring it home, but a real Coach bag will never have the metal hooks and hardware wrapped in plastic.
  6. Another thing is to look at the tags. They now make metal tags so it can come in leather or metal now. They also come in new shiny tags so that cannot be used anymore as a method to tell if its fake. But you should see the stitching on the tags and make sure its flawless. On a lot of fake tags the Coach logo might be crooked or the stitching will be weird.
  7. Fixtures:  The "COACH" logo should be stamped on most of the metal hardware - except the older "classic favorite" styles.  **UPDATE** The newer COACH bags do not have the COACH stamp on any of the nickel/brass hardware, such as, the Legacy bags.  But keep in mind that COACH still makes their regular 'trendy' line of bags, although the newer ones do not appear to have COACH stamped on the hardware (perhaps they are doing away with this).  This is a situation where, because the style of a particular bag may change from year to year, you'll need to find a photo of the authentic product - and make sure it's the same style number - to compare with photos from the auction.
  8. Zippers:  Although the zipper pull on a real COACH bag will be made of leather or a series of rings, the actual zipper mechanism which pulls the two sides of the zipper together should be embossed with the letters "YKK".  This is the highest-quality manufacturer of zippers and COACH uses this brand.  Sometimes it's hard to see, especially on a photo.  Even in person, you may need a magnifying glass to see the YKK, especially with very small zippers.   Note:  I have never seen a regular zipper pull on a Coach bag - in my experience, they are either made of leather, a single ring, or series or rings.  This is one of the wonderful ways Coach makes their products unique, down to the very smallest detail!
  9. Lining:  If the outside of the bag has the CC pattern, the lining will NOT have any pattern.  If the outside of the bag does NOT have the CC pattern, the lining will most likely have the CC pattern (although sometimes neither the outside nor the inside will have the CC pattern).  You will NEVER see a bag with the CC pattern on the outside AND the inside - this is a sure sign of a fake bag.  Also, the "classic favorites" style bags do not have a lining at all.  (Note:  Legacy bags all have a the same multi-colored striped *real* silk lining, no matter what the exterior color or pattern is.)
  10. "Made in China":  I've been asked this question often - if it says "Made in China" does that mean it's fake?  The answer is no - Coach does make some bags in China.  I have also heard that Coach has made bags in Turkey.  However, I have also heard that Coach does NOT make bags in Korea or Thiland - so if you see a "Made in Korea" or "Made in Thailand" tag then you'll know it's fake.