Need Some Pampering? ... Coach.com Fits the Bill!
Written: Jan 09 '07
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Shopping therapy. I don’t recommend it on a regular basis, but sometimes it feels good to buy (or request) something luxurious that you would not normally purchase. I figure that’s why my sister-in-law had a Coach.com item on her gift wish list. Granted ... my eyebrows disappeared into my hairline when I saw the price, but sometimes you just have to spend the money because you know it will bring joy.
About Coach.com
The Coach brand name is associated with leather products. More than 50 years ago, Coach started out as a small family-run business. Initial inspiration came from a leather baseball glove, which sparked the craftsmen to create their first leather handbag. That success allowed them to experiment with design and leather finishes to improve their product line.
Only the top ten percent of leathers is chosen. According to Coach, the untreated leather is “softened and enriched with natural treatments drawn from plant extracts, fats and clear aniline dyes.”
Navigating the Site
www.coach.com
The website is visually appealing and easy to navigate. That could be because there is only a top and bottom navigation menu. The center of the website has white space, which is easy on the eyes, and is filled with an assortment of images displaying various product for sale.
At the Top
The top of the website features a search box and a toll-free telephone number. When I typed “handbag” into the search box, the results returned 114 handbags plus an option to purchase a gift card. Typing in “shoes” returned 25 choices (plus the gift card).
Beneath this are a few links: Home, Store Locator, My Account, and Lifestyle. The Lifestyle page offers computer screensavers and wallpaper (featuring the Coach logo), horoscopes, a photo album of catalog shoots, and some sketches.
The next horizontal line of links is more substantial: Handbags, Women’s Accessories, Shoes, Legacy (a retrospective of Coach designs), Travel & Business, Men’s, Classic Favorites, Gift Guide, New at Coach, Shopping Bag.
In the Middle
The Center of the Home Page features various products, whether focusing on a particular line of merchandise or new products such as shoes or upcoming seasonal items. There are links to learn more about these products.
When individual products are viewed, the top and bottom navigation bars stay the same ... however, the center of the page features the product. For instance, a photo of the product appears at the left. A neat option is that not only can you enlarge the photo, but you can drag the “zoomed” image of the photo from side to side to view in-depth detail such as stitching lines on a handbag. Product detail is easy to view at the right. Beneath that is the price and style number. If color choices are available, swatches of color are shown (click on a color to change the product photo to that color). You can also print the page, email the page, save the item to your wish list ... or add it to your shopping bag.
Another neat feature is that you can try the handbags on! Click on the “Try This Bag On” button. A separate window opens showing a human silhouette. Choose the height of the silhouette, too: 4'11" to 5'4" or 5'5" to 5'8" or 5'9" to 6'1". The dimensions of the handbag are also displayed in a separate image.
At the Bottom
The links at the bottom of the page are: Customer Service, Email Sign-up, Catalog Request, Security/Privacy, Shipping, Site Map, Company Information.
Filling the Shopping Bag
It is easy to browse through the website. It’s tempting to become completely sidetracked by exploring all the choices available. Some items on the website include leather goods such as: handbags, totes, wallets, cosmetic bags, shoes, belts, gloves .... and items such as watches, some jewelry, key rings, silk scarves, even iPod cases. A small specialized selection of items include gifts for babies and pets. While the website leans heavily toward items for women, it also sells items for men such as wallets, belts, shoes as well as sunglasses to name a few selections.
My sister-in-law saved me time by providing the item number for the handbag she wanted. I typed the Style Number into the search box, hit enter, and the correct page opened. The item is called a “Signatures Stripe-Wristlet”. It’s an attractive bag with a leather strap that goes over the wrist. The price listed is $58. “Not bad,” I thought. Then I nearly choked when I read that the size was only 6" long x 4" high ... that’s the length of a small 6" ruler! I liked that it had a zipper closure was made of jacquard fabric with fabric lining and had leather trim. It also featured a 12" strap that has a metal clip to clip to the bag to form a wristlet strap, or the strap can clip to the inside of a larger bag. The color bag she wanted also offered a monogram option. (Not all colors can be monogrammed.) My sister-in-law said it would be nice to have her initials monogrammed on the bag.
If monogramming is available for an item, there is a button to “Preview / Add Monogram”. Click the button to change screens. Choose the color of the item, and the photo on the page changes to that color. For the wristlet, the instructions said to type in between one to three letters. I chose my sister-in-law’s initials. Then I clicked the “Preview” button. The photo of the item on the page changes to show how the monogram will appear. Once the monogram is selected, you have the choice of adding the item with the monogram to the shopping bag.
Note: A monogrammed item cannot be returned. Also, Coach.com says to allow an additional ten days for the delivery of monogrammed items.
I was a bit nervous about adding a monogram to the bag. All I could picture was something going wrong! Monogramming also costs an additional $25.00. However, I knew my sister-in-law would love the personal touch of a monogram .... so now the bag that was the size of a 6" ruler cost $83.00. (In case you are interested, this works out to $13.83 an inch.)
The Shopping Bag is easy to view and edit. The merchandise total is displayed along with estimated shipping costs.
In case you didn’t know, Coach also offers a repair service for the items they sell. They charge a $20 shipping and handling fee for each item as well as a repair charge. Note that Coach does not offer a cleaning service.
Checking Out
You can choose to check out without signing into the site, or you can become a registered customer. A screen appears that asks for the usual contact, shipping and billing information. You can also choose to receive emails from Coach.com. The default setting is to receive the emails, and I forgot to uncheck the box, so now I’m receiving regular emails from them (which I intend to unsubscribe to). There is also an area to choose whether to ship all the merchandise to the billing address, another address, or to multiple addresses.
Complimentary gift packaging is also offered. I thought it would be fun to have a gift box by Coach, and I wasn’t disappointed. The package was very attractive with a bow in the signature color of Coach. You can also request a gift card, but I chose not to since I would be giving the gift in person. (The only downside to ordering the package gift boxed is that I couldn’t look at the product. I knew that if I undid that beautiful bow that I would never be able to correctly put it back on the package.)
Coach.com accepts these credit cards: American Express, Discover, Visa, MasterCard, Diner’s Club, JCB. You can also mail in the order with a check if you wish.
Shipping
Coach.com bases its shipping costs on the subtotal of the order (the subtotal includes the shipping charges but not sales tax). Shipping charges are straight forward:
Orders $30 or less – $4.00 shipping
Orders over $30 – $8.50 (if shipping to more than one address, it is $8.50 per address)
Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico under $100 – $20.00
Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico over $100 – $40.00
International orders can be placed; however, you have to telephone Coach to place the order or fax the order to them. They suggest checking their Store Locator to make sure there is a store in the location you wish to ship to.
Order Follow-up & Receipt
Not long after my order was processed, I received an email to confirm the order. The email included the order number and an itemized list of what was ordered. It also showed that I had chosen the complimentary gift box. Another section showed that it was being sent via Standard Shipping and would take 4-5 business days to arrive. There was also a button in the email to view the status of the order. (You have to provide the order number and billing zip code.)
Nine days later I received another email that informed me my order had shipped the day before. It shipped via Federal Express Saver, and the tracking number was provided in the email. There was a button in the email to click to track the shipment (which opened a FedEx tracking website page). It is humorous that the tracking information showed the package had actually shipped four days earlier and that it had been delivered the day the email said it had shipped.
The Reaction
She screamed. Yes, my sister-in-law opened the plain brown carton I had placed the package in, lifted out the bowed gift box, saw the signature Coach color ... and screamed with delight. And when she saw the bag was monogrammed ... well, her reaction was worth it. I know she will treasure that small bag for a long time.
Summary
I would definitely shop at Coach.com again. It was a positive experience that was professionally handled from start to finish. My sister-in-law is certainly happy with the results!
I hope you have found this review useful.
Enjoy your day,
Dawn
http://dlstewart.com
Please read my other reviews:
Harry and David Online and at the Mall
The Republic of Tea Online Store
Cooking.com Online Store
Linen ‘n Things Online Store
Kohl’s Online Store
BestBuy Online Store
Buy.com Online Store
Staples.com Online Store
BJ’s Warehouse Club
Keepsake Quilting Online Store
Joann.com Online Store
Dutch Gardens Online Store
Copyright 2007 Dawn L. Stewart
Recommended:
Yes
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? Handbag
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