With their elegant but bold design, quality construction and reputable brand-name, Coach purses are among the most sought-after designer handbags on the market. And with eBay, Craigslist and street vendors, fashion-craving customers have more places to purchase that coveted brand-name bag. But with the growing list of sellers, imitation Coach purses marketed as authentic are becoming more common -- and more sophisticated. Before purchasing a Coach purse from anywhere besides an official Coach boutique or authorized vendor, examine the handbag thoroughly to make sure it's the real deal.

Evaluating for Authenticity

True Coach purses contain distinctive elements that can be verified with a quick inspection. Check the Coach logo on the outside of the handbag. The authentic Coach logo is two Cs facing each other in a mirror image. Make sure the letters are, indeed, Cs. Some replicated logos are actually Gs or Os. Also, make sure the middle of the logo lines up with the center of the bag. Always check the handbag's serial number, which should be located inside the bag on a leather tag. The way the serial number is displayed will depend on when the purse was manufactured. Older Coach bags consist of 8 numbers with a dash between the 3rd and 4th or 4th and 5th numbers. Coach bags manufactured through the early 2000s consist of three to four letter and numbers, then after a hyphen, the four numbers of the style number. The serial numbers of recently made Coach purses contain four letters or numbers, followed by five-letter style number. Verify this style number with Coach. Lettering should be in all caps and straight. Look at the handbag's zipper. Genuine Coach purses are made with YKK zippers. The zipper pull should contain a tiny YKK. Also, if the Coach purse is new, it will come with a dust bag, the thin but durable bag used to store the purse when not in use. Examine the included dust bag. Authentic Coach dust bags are chocolate brown with a red drawstring and display the phrase "COACH EST. 1941" in white capital letters on the bottom right.

Checking for Quality

Renowned for their excellent craftsmanship, Coach purses are made only from quality materials. Authentic purses should not look cheap or shoddily constructed. Inspect the purse's hardware, including zippers, clasps, turnlocks and buckles. Bona fide Coach purses use solid brass, nickel and other high-quality materials designed not to tarnish. Hardware made with coated metal is sure-fire sign of a counterfeit. If the Coach bag in question is leather, make sure it is made of high-quality leather. Coach uses mostly tanned glove leather, which is thick and heavy but soft. Also, Inspect the stitching of the purse for loose, hanging or missing stitches. A genuine Coach purse is not likely to have less-than-perfect stitching.

Other Signs of a Counterfeit

Although a thorough inspection of the physical appearance of the bag will, in most cases, indicate if the bag is a fake, consider other factors as well before purchasing. If the Coach purse in question is new, check purse handles for plastic casings or wrappers. Displaying Coach in plastic wrap goes against Coach's elegant merchandising principles and is a tell-tale sign of an unauthorized merchant. Also, price is a major indicator of the real deal. Typically, new Coach bags are priced between $100 and $200 for small purses and $250 to $1,000 for larger bags. Although it's possible to snag an authentic Coach purse for a bargain, it's not likely to find a Coach purse in good condition for much less than the suggested retail price. If a deal looks too good to be true, it probably is.

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Spot fake Coach bags

Guide to buying authentic used Coach

How to spot a fake Coach handbag

Resource:

Coach, Inc.