The next time you are people watching, try playing a new game. See if you can figure out who is carrying the real deal and who is saving their pennies on their purses. It seems almost half of the women walking down the street have a coach bag, but where did they get it? Did they drop $400 in a Coach retail store to get that trendy bag or did they spend $80 at one of the Coach factory outlet stores? Better yet, have you seen all of the Coach bags they have on ebay?

I recently got a great deal on a NWT (ebay lingo meaning “new with tags”) leather Coach purse and matching wallet. I noticed on the tags it said Coach factory and I was a little perplexed. It seemed that the listing failed to mention that they were from the outlet store. I still loved the purse and wallet, but wondered if I really got the steal of deal that I thought I had. Then on my last vacation, I entered a Coach outlet for the first time. The salesperson assured me that they bags they carried were genuine. It seems that Coach has two lines, their retail line and their outlet line. The salesperson described the outlet as being “the same high quality, but with less bells and whistles than the retail store.” So if you want the trendiest bag, then retail may be for you. However, if you are just looking for than iconic C pattern then you can save 50% or more at the outlet. If you are shopping on ebay be sure to look at the seller’s feedback and ask if it from retail or outlet. So what are your thoughts on outlet shopping? Anyone ever been to a Coach outlet?

Anyone ever been to a Coach outlet?