My new Coach wallet made in...

delfin

delfin

Cathlete
... CHINA. A $200 wallet (birthday gift!) that is mass-produced in a factory in China by workers getting paid probably next to nothing... and Coach has the audacity to charge $200 just because it has the coach logo on it?? I'm so tempted to return this wallet. If it were made here, or in Italy, or a country that has a long, distinguished history of quality leather works, I'd say, Okay, there's a reason it's $200. But I can't help feeling like I'm being duped here. Should I return it??? What do you guys think?
 
First, I'd just like to say that I wish I had $200 to spend on a wallet. I'm jealous:).
If it's eating away at your conscience, yes, I would say return it. And be sure to complain to the people at Coach about it. Keep in mind though there there are so many items that we import in this country, and in most cases you really don't know the working conditions of the oversees work force. If you agonized over everything that you purchased (regardless of the price tag) you would go crazy, and you'd probably have to make all your own clothes and furniture to avoid purchasing something made by 10-year-olds in sweatshops.
Just out of curiosity, where is coach merchandise usually made?

cristina
 
FYI... this was on another forum (think an ebay one):

"A couple of months ago I ordered a belt off of the Coach website. When it arrived, I was shocked to see that it was stamped "Made in China". All my other Coach belts, which were purchased in Coach stores or from their website, were made either in the USA or Italy. I immediately emailed them asking them expressing my dismay and asked why they did not indicate the belt (which was $68.00 before tax and shipping) was manufactured in China. Here was the response I received:

Dear ____,

Thank you for contacting COACH. We appreciate you taking the time to contact us regarding your concerns about our overseas manufacturing.

COACH's philosophy behind worldwide manufacturing speaks to the very foundation of our success as a committed American brand. COACH has grown to become one of the world's most respected brands and is committed to providing our consumers with a fine quality product. We have chosen to partner with overseas manufacturing, including China. This diversified manufacturing skill base has enabled us to maintain the exceptional value for which COACH is known.

Our decision to manufacture our products overseas was not made without prior serious consideration. The decision to manufacture overseas has allowed us to continue to deliver impeccable products at the exceptional value our consumers have come to expect.

As a company, we have been forthright in our move to overseas manufacturing. We have included discussions about this transition in our press releases and Annual Reports. A discussion of our global business integrity standards is included on our website.

In addition, each of our products continues to be clearly marked with its country of origin. Our products will continue to reflect a unique American style and New York spirit -- primarily due to the fact that both our designers and sample makers are based in New York City.

Thank you for taking the time to write us to express your point of view. Please be assured that Coach Continues to be committed to manufacturing the finest quality products possible.

We hope you will continue to purchase COACH in the future.

Sincerely, COACH Online Consumer Service

So the moral of the story is that Coach feels their "unique American style and New York spirit" can be
manufactured cheaper in China yet they continue to charge the same prices as items that were previously manufactured in Italy or the USA. Anyone here see a price reduction?

Now, whenever I see a Coach store, I check their belt stocks and sometimes I find an older belt that was made in Italy or the USA. All new belts are made in China.

PS: I returned the belt and asked Coach to remove me from their mailing list. "

So seems like other people are bothered by this, too.
 
This kind of thing infuriates me. The absolute greed of big corporations. 1) Let's take jobs away from Americans. 2) Let's use unbelievably cheap, overseas labor and save millions of dollars and not care about the loss of jobs here or the conditions in these overseas shops, and 3) Let's keep raising our prices and not pass the savings on to our consumers but just keep increasing our profits to unprecedented highs!

I believe in free enterprise and I know these corporation are in business to make money, but when is enough, enough? There should be a little responsibility and accountablily mixed in with all the profit.
 
Yeah, it makes me crazy too. I'm taking the wallet back... and letting them know what I think of their "bottom line" approach on their website. If I had wanted to buy a wallet made in China, I would've bought a $20 one at a discount store.
 
I just got an email reply from Coach... the exact same letter that the other disgruntled customer got!! Typical, right?
 
"Exeptional value for which Coach is known?" Coach may be known for many things, but exceptional value is definitely not one of them in my book. Coach is about as high end as it gets for mass marketed products.
-Nancy
 
Coach was actually my first job. I still have one of the wallets I bought from them 25 years ago and it is still in good condition (although I have to admit I purchased it at a discount). I have always thought they were overpriced but I think they do make good quality products. I haven't bought any Coach since I stopped working for them (can't afford it) and I really don't think any bag, wallet, etc. is worth that much money but I believe they do stand by their products.

Marcy
 
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