My iPad 4 looks like a bible right now, so, I'm just looking for other alternatives. I hand-picked several iPad cases from coach that I would consider buying. I would look at other brands too, but have yet to hit the malls to check what's available and what's worth my money. I got a generic $25.00 (posted $15 earlier, oops) rotating book-case type cover for my iPad as a temporary case, but afraid the "leather" on it will chip away in a couple of months.
1.) Tattersall iPad Case-$148.00, pricey but I like the plaid design. For HIM, but I say for HER can be considered. or how's about for ME?
2.)Daisy Pop C Applique iPad case-$128.00, more for the ladies. I think it's fresh and would look nice on a white iPad. Black not so much.
3.)Signature Stripe ocelot iPad case-$128.00. Again for the ladies. Your iPad will surely catch some attention, though I'm afraid the case would have the spotlight this time.
4.) Coach heritage stripe tablet case-$128.00. It says for MEN. I would consider this unisex, at least in my opinion.
5.)Varick nylon tablet case-$128.00. Four colors to choose from. I still think it's not just for the men. I would consider the black or blue case for my own. Except, the iPad might look like a bible again.
So, I've missed posting 3 sales this January, and managed to catch the still ongoing 2 day sale which started January 27, 2013 and ends approximately 10 hours from now, January 29, 2013. Nothing caught my fancy except the iPhone 5 case which is at $20.30, that or I don't have money left to buy more bags.
Some are confused why they are told that iPad 4 is not capable of making calls and texts when it clearly says Wifi PLUS Cellular. The cellular feature (which the iPad will have a sim card slot), is for the 3g signal, so when you don't have Wifi in the area, you can use your phone carriers 3g signal (or 4g/LTE if available).
Well, lucky for Apple users, there's an awesome feature which allows them to send and receive text message & make & receive calls for FREE. iMessage lets you send text messages to iPhone, iPad, iPad mini, iPod
touch, and even Mac computers. The best part: If you’re texting over
Wi‑Fi, it’s free and unlimited. For calls, you can enjoy FACETIME "You can tell them how you’re doing. Or you can show them. FaceTime on
iPad 4 & iPhone 5 lets you have it both ways — and in more places, over Wi‑Fi or
cellular networks.". The only thing that would make this unusable is when the person you're calling does not have an apple device. Let's face it, we have friends, family, & acquaintances who are not drawn to apple devices, most if not all are using android-based devices. If that's the case, you can always download VIBER from the appstore or google playstore.
Initially when you first launch viber on your iPad, it will have a note saying that Viber is not compatible with iPad yet, and they are working on it. Go ahead with setting-up your account from your iPad 4, because despite what the note says, it actually works! 1st picture is my actual iPad 4 and iPhone 5 in a call on viber, 2nd picture is my iPad 4 and Samsung s3 in a call on viber. Calls and text messages sent from viber are free and unlimited same as iMessage & Facetime, the nice advantage of Viber is you can call apple & non-apple devices. The apps mentioned will only work if you have Wifi or 3g/4g turned on.
A few years ago, I swore that I will never get any type of tablet. January 23, 2013, while walking aimlessly at the mall, I chanced upon the Samsung galaxy note 10.1. Since I traded my chance at Samsung note 2 for the iPhone 5, I felt like getting the samsung note would alleviate my feeling of "emptiness". Don't get me wrong, I do not regret getting the iPhone 5, though I've been used to bigger screens. The iPhone 5 is a monster of a phone, stuck in a small frame. Easy on the pocket, extremely sleek and elegant in my opinion. But I need a bigger screen for viewing my blog, my websites and my documents.
The Samsung galaxy note 10.1 LTE with S pen (Would've picked you if you had a better display than the iPad 4)
Three or four stores down, checking prices and better deals for the samsung note 10.1, I finally picked a store which sells it at P30,500 ($743.90) payable 12 months zero interest via any major credit cards. As much as I wanted to take it home without the opinion of my bro-in-law, as he would always say what I don't want to hear about something I want to buy, I had to. And he told me EXACTLY what I didn't want to hear. Get the iPad 4 or iPad mini. Crap. To make matters worse, after talking to him and listening to what he had to say, I asked the store agent if they had stocks available for the samsung note 10.1, and was told, they haven't had stocks since December 2012. Thinking it really wasn't meant to be, I went home empty handed, but went to check apple store and held the iPad 4 and iPad mini for the first time before heading home. Both felt fitting, but my heart went to the iPad 4 in black. I didn't go home with it that day. I had to research more about it by browsing through different websites and compare opinions. Needless to say, I dreamt of the iPad 4 in black that night. The following day, I left home with only one agenda in mind, to get the iPad 4 and successfully bring it home.
I bought the iPad 4 - 16Gb Wifi + Cellular in black color.
COLOR-I prefer the black unit as the pictures, videos and the display itself looks better in terms of contrast in my opinion. It's easier on the eyes too. While the white unit looks pretty & sleek, I find the black one looks more professional-looking.
MEMORY 16Gb-believe me is enough storage for all my documents. I only save the ones that I need to take a quick peek while on the road or at a meeting. Other documents are safely stored in my laptop at home.
WEIGHT-weighing at 1.46 pounds (662 g), doesn't sound too heavy, but with my small frame, it can be heavy on the hand, and the shoulders after a while. I like the big screen over the iPad mini, so I'll have to live with the extra weight.
CALLS & TEXTS-Though the iPad 4 cannot make regular calls & texts, (unlike the samsung note 10.1 which has a full phone capacity) through cellular providers(e.g Globe,smart,sun), it can still make free calls & texts via iMessage, Facetime, & Viber via Wifi & 3g/4g. I am assuming that iPad users either acquired their device with a 3g plan or have Wifi at home, that regular calls and texts won't matter as much.
DISPLAY/SCREEN-the graphics and details are amazingly seamless. Not perfect, but I'd choose the iPad 4's display over the samsung galaxy note 10.1 anytime of the day. The size of the screen at 9.7 inch, is perfect for me, though it may be too big for other people, I find that the screen is big enough to read through documents, view & appreciate pictures. Wherein the iPad mini, I feel is still a tad too small. It's only a few inches bigger than my samsung s3's screen. What I don't get is the Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating, because my iPad 4 has fingerprints all over the surface. The only way to resolve it is to have an anti-fingerprint matte screen protector installed, but I'll have to live with a non-impressive mock-of-a display. I think I can live with fingerprints!
Retina display
9.7‑inch (diagonal) LED-backlit Multi‑Touch display with IPS technology
2048-by-1536 resolution at 264 pixels per inch (ppi)
Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating
IN THE BOX-I was surprised to see what I DIDN'T see. A headset. All I got is the lightning to USB cable and the Power adapter plus the iPad 4 unit. Really? Apple?
Up to 10 hours of surfing the web on Wi‑Fi, watching video, or listening to music
Up to 9 hours of surfing the web using cellular data network
Charging via power adapter or USB to computer system
TV AND VIDEO
AirPlay mirroring and video out to Apple TV (2nd and 3rd generation)
Video mirroring and video out support: Up to 1080p through
Lightning Digital AV Adapter and Lightning to VGA Adapter (adapters sold
separately)
Video formats supported: H.264 video up to 1080p, 30 frames
per second, High Profile level 4.1 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps,
48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; MPEG‑4 video
up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile
with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps per channel, 48kHz, stereo audio in
.m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; Motion JPEG (M-JPEG) up to 35 Mbps,
1280 by 720 pixels, 30 frames per second, audio in ulaw, PCM stereo
audio in .avi file format
Being a slave to my canine buddies, I find this key ring too adorable! Just wish they had it in a Golden Retriever design. Nonetheless, I think it's gonna grab some attention from terrier owners.
Many are complaining about how almost everything is made in China. From gadgets, TV's, kitchen appliances, vehicles, and even "luxury" items. In this case, a well-known & loved brand COACH, has fallen into the category of CHINA made products, when their insignia says COACH Est.1941 NEW YORK.Theirhistoryreveals that coach was founded in 1941 as a family-run workshop. In a Manhattan loft,
six artisans handcrafted a collection of leather goods using skills
handed down from generation to generation. While, I do not like the fact that most of the things around us are made in China, I understand why big companies such as coach, are teaming up with foreign manufacturers. If they haven't made the move, coach bags would be more expensive than what they are selling right now. Labor in China is cheap, quality can be better, but that's a different story. People complain, (including me), how expensive everything is nowadays, but that's just how things are, and if you can't get past that, then you're stuck in the past. If you don't like the fact that coach is now made in China, then don't patronize their products. Nobody is forcing you. So go buy a hermes bag, I would, if I could only afford it. I buy coach products not because it's supposedly made in NEW YORK, or whatever country or state they're flagging. I buy their products because I love their designs, and because I can afford it. Besides, Philippine made products are getting quite expensive, bags and shoes included, I would rather buy a coach bag which is almost at the same price of our locally made bags.
The Work-to-Weekend Style Event-48 hour online sale starts at 6:00AM est time. Create an account with coachfactory.com (if you haven't yet) for a chance to get future online sale invite or check your e-mail for the invite if you're already in their mailing list. Have fun shopping!
I collected pictures of bags I would buy on coach's next sale, would hope the price goes down more. These are collections from previous coachs' sale. Top six on my list below:
1.)F20063 Ashley Hand drawn scarf print convertible hobo- I'm partial to brown, khaki and black colors but I really love the color combination on this bag. At $90.30 from $358.00, I wouldn't mind having this in my collection. Will be watching out for the next sale if it's still available. Last January 9 sale, it got sold out, but not really uncommon to see some items back on the rack.
2.)F48468 Madison Patent Small Bag- Black is still my color choice, and this small madison bag would be my priority should I decide to get another black bag. Price is not bad for $104.30.
3.)F48554 Madison Patent Flap Clutch-I would probably choose the black clutch, then again the red one looks elegant. $94.50, pretty cheap for an expensive looking clutch.
4.)F19215 Signature stripe stitched patent framed carryall-5 colors to choose from, but the white one looks absolutely divine!$118.30 from $398.00 is nota bad price.
5.)F20056 Ashley gathered dotted op art carryall- Love the color, love the Op art print, don't love the price. If it went down to say, $122.00, I would definitely buy it. It's current price is $136.50 from $398.00.
6.) F20345 Ashley embossed croc carryall- GREEN! Love green, this screams attention, so if that's what you're going for, then this is the bag for you, or me? $146.30 is still pricey, I would definitely buy it at $130ish.
Ever since my cousin bought me bags from coach during their back to back year end sale, December 28, 2012 and January 3, 2013, she has been getting more exclusive online sale invites from coach. Seems like she would get them weekly rather than every few months or so. They're on sale again today, January 9, 2013, and I must say there are noteworthy items on sale. Better check them out before they're all sold out, that is if you received the invite as well. Sale ends friday, January 11, 2013 at noon est.
Check out the new prints apart from their Plaid line...Don't know about you, but I think this design is for children, not really my type.
FAQ'S-What you really need to know when buying coach products online and in the stores.
*Assuming you bought the bag in coachfactory.com or official coach outlet stores.
1.) Are the merchandise in coachfactory.com genuine coach products? Yes.*
2.) Is my coach bag fake because it has a serial number starting with "F" or "FS"?- No it's not, it simply means that bag is a factory product. *
3.) Is my coach bag fake because I bought it at their factory outlet?-No it's not, it simply means it's a factory product. coachfactory.com and the factory outlets, is owned and operated by coach.com*
4.) Is my coach bag fake because I bought it at a super low price?-No it's not, it simply means you were lucky coach factory was on sale when you bought it.*
The more important question we should be asking is, "Is there a difference between the quality of full-priced coach and the factory outlet products which are priced half off?"
Besides the obvious reason, full priced coach products from coach.com have a much better quality in terms of leather , textile & workmanship, even the stitching and detailing are noticeably better, at least when you have both the items on hand for comparison. Please bear in mind that coach.com also puts their items on sale. If you also notice, full-priced items will not be available at the outlet stores, if they were, it will be a rare find. Not too often though, some who do buy coach at full price gets a defective bag, it happens, there's always the return address for repair.
It wouldn't be practical for coach to claim that coach factory merchandise are fakes, as coach owns both coach.com and coachfactory.com. They are simply trying to reach out to consumers who are on a certain budget and the only way to do that is to make products more affordable. Plus, where do you think all the unsold item goes? Coach would certainly not let them gather dust in a closet somewhere.
Check out coach factory online, at the bottom right, just before security and privacy, is the direct link to their full priced products. You will also get this message on their factory online site when there is no sale at the moment:
• Coach
does not offer its products for sale through individuals, street
vendors, internet auctions, independent boutiques, flea markets, or
house parties.
• The ONLY authorized store that Coach offers its merchandise for sale are:
º Coach Stores
º Coach Factory Stores
º Authorized Department Stores (see store locator of Coach.com)
Remember: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
• WARNING: Counterfeit websites often times use the word COACH in the URL and have content and a layout similar to www.coach.com
So in the meantime, unless Coach tells consumers that their factory products are fakes, I'll be holding on to the fact that their factory products are genuinely COACH. I have yet to hear a lawsuit against Coach for selling "fake" products from their outlet stores. I will be happy (or not) to know if there is one, so you let me know, okay?
I've seen a couple of luxury bags resellers online, where they make it possible for Filipinos to buy coach bags(and other luxury brands)locally.
I choose not to buy from them for a couple of reasons:
1.)Not entirely sure WHERE they get them.
2.)Fear of getting ripped off.
3.)I want my bag to smell like it's from the U.S (hehe)
4.)Because I have access to their online sale.
If you actually look at the cost and the hassle of importing these bags, you'll see that if you have them imported on your own, it would be cheaper than buying it from local resellers for the obvious reason that it's their BUSINESS. They need to earn to, just like anybody else.
Plus consider the fact that you need a U.S or Canada billing address to back up your Credit card or Paypal account. So if you don't have the means to buy it directly, your only choice is to buy it from local resellers, just be careful not to purchase counterfeit items.
Lucky for me, my cousin has graduated from the coach hype and allowed me to abuse her coach factory account. I log in her account, then put my great finds in the cart, then she logs in and pays for them with her Paypal account (which has a verified U.S billings address). She'll have it sent to her address in California then sends them to my chosen courier who can ship it to the Philippines. We tried to ship it from coach directly to my chosen courier, but coach cancelled my orders for that very reason, as they DO NOT ship to couriers, (they need a home address.) On top of that, I had to put my orders in the cart again, was lucky they weren't sold out yet. You can bet I'll never do that again!
Below is a computation of importing a $150.00 bag via AIR CARGO: (about 2-3weeks to arrive)
FYI:Coach online sale ships your goods for free (within the U.S) when your order reaches $150.00, anything lower than that will add another $6-$10 est standard shipping fee (5-7 days via UPS ground)
Sample computation:
$398.00 coach bag discount brings it down to $150.00
$150.00 x 8% sales tax(California state tax, cannot escape from it) = $12.00
$150.00 + $12.00= $162.00
$162.00+ $10.00=$172.00-Shipping from my cousins house to a chosen shipping company(Ex. Johnny air cargo)= $10.00 est.
Computation of Shipping fee from the U.S to the Philippines using Johnny Air Cargo:
$6.00 per POUND lbs., minimum of 2 pounds, no exceptions. If item is only weighed in at 1 pound with box and all, you will still be charged their minimum of 2 pounds.
$5.00 Handling fee
12% VAT (VAT is applied to shipping cost only, not the price of the item)
In my experience, one bag (a large coach satchel), plus the weight of the box, weighs around 3 pounds.
$6.00 x 3 pounds worth of goods w/ weight of box= $18.00
+ $5.00 Handling fee=$23.00
+ 12% VAT=$25.76 total shipping cost for a 3 pounds worth of goods
$172.00+ $25.76 (that is if it ONLY weighs 3 pounds) = $197.76
$197.76 x P44.00= P8,701.44 Total
I've searched a very popular local website sulit.com, and found that a $150.00 bag is sold here for about P10,000-P13,000. While I'm pretty sure the cost of importing can go lower using sea cargo (1-2mos to arrive), or having a family member or a friend in the U.S hand carry it home to P.I, these re-sellers have a reason to sell it for a higher price, even if they bought it at a huge discount. So whenever I see a local reseller selling them quite high, I don't blame them. But I wouldn't buy from them either, just because I know how much they're really worth, and because I have access to the coach sale.
So is it worth the hassle of importing coach bags or other luxury items? If you have access to the online sale, and you get to save a couple of hundreds or thousands from how much they are selling it here, then by all means, import them! It would also give you peace of mind that the item you are buying is authentic. But one thing to consider is, how long are you willing to wait for your goodies?
Should you choose to buy them locally, how well do you know the brand to spot the authentic and the fake ones.
This may disappoint coach fanatics out there who are tired of getting in the long line at coach factory outlet stores during their much awaited sale. Wouldn't it be nice to just shop online? No more waiting in line, only to find out the item you want is already sold out. Truth is, not everyone gets an exclusive online sale email invitation. Just to clarify, I'm blogging from the Philippines, not in the U.S, but I'm lucky enough to have a cousin there who is a coach fan, or used to be at least. My cousin Cris, who currently lives in California, was able to buy at the outlet stores before. Not quite sure if they were on sale that day, but she signed up at the store to get email notifications from coach factory. Ever since then, she would get invites for upcoming online sales. It would seem that she would get them more often after she buys during the online sale. Most, (if not all), of the purchases she makes are actually for me. She buys it for me using her C.C, or paypal and is shipped to her U.S address. She then sends them back home through a forwarding company, either by sea cargo or air cargo.
Requirements for signing up and becoming a member of coachfactory.com:
1.)U.S or Canada billing and shipping address
2.)An active email (make sure to add coach@e.coachfactory.com in your email contact list so that the emails won't get lost in the spam folder) Easy. Done. Now, getting the exclusive online sale email invitation is the hard part.
However, before you do this, continue reading below for other options.
Steps I've personally followed to sign up and get my very own invitation:
3.) Letting my cousin send me an invitation from her account. I received an email with a link to become a member, YES, but I did not receive an invite for any upcoming or ongoing online sale. Still fail!- This is possibly the most popular way of becoming a member and getting a chance to receive emails from coach. I would probably try this one first. Theoretically, it could be an advantage if you have a member who always gets an invitation send you an invitation from her account, it's worth a try!
My verdict, either coach really hates me, or that's really not how it works.
If you were able to get an exclusive invite for an upcoming sales, without ever buying or signing up at their factory outlet store, please let me know in the comments box.
Update August 1, 2013---I was told that if a shipping address is already being used by a member in their mailing list, a new member trying to sign up using the SAME address will not get invited. It makes sense as the online sale offers limited quantities per member.
Here's something that would probably piss some people off.
Here in the Philippines, smart communications & globe telecoms launched the Samsung note II N7100 around 4th quarter of 2012 as a replacement of samsung S3 for their android phone line-up.
December 22, 2012, I was about to get a new line from globe and really wanted the samsung note II. As a comparison, and to prove that I am not biased (a bit partial to android based phones), I also had the new Iphone 5 reserved. The following day they told me both units were available, so in a hurry I went there to pick up ny new baby. I pretty much knew what samsung note can offer me as the platform is quite similar to my current phone S3, so I decided to let them show me the Iphone 5 first. It was a black unit, I almost fell in love with "apple", until I saw the scratch on the sides, turned it over and more scratches. I called my bro in law, who by-the-way, is a walking encyclopedia of smart phones, or anything techy, and asked which one I should choose. He said go for the iphone since its LTE ready. Had to ask because samsung note II was winking at me about a foot away from my reach. I came home with neither of the phones. DEPRESSING. I certainly will not accept a scratched phone. And my bro in law had me convinced not to get the note 2 N7100 as there are "rumors" that the LTE version will soon be available in P.I.
Anyway, before I left I said I wanted the white iphone 5 instead. Next day, my baby was crying for me to fetch her. So I did, in a hurry, literally.
Hate to admit it, but my bro-in-law was right. It hasn't been a month since I got my new iphone 5, & while window shopping today at SM mall of asia, two mobile stores had the new samsung note 2 LTE version up for display. Selling for P37,000 while the old version is at P28,900.
When I got my Iphone 5, I said I'll sell it once Note 2 LTE comes out. I don't think I'll be doing that just yet. Kind of getting used to the smaller & lighter package of the iphone 5, having had bigger phones in the past, and to add, I still have my samsung S3 which I'm stuck with for 30 mos.
Nope, am not buying anything this time (oh wait, that's what I said the last time?), but here you go coach freaks, another exclusive email invite sale happening this January 7,2013...Check your email for the invite & get your credit cards ready! If you haven't registered to be a part of their mailing list, or have not received a referral email from a friend. Comment below for your email, may just be able to help you with that.
On an earlier post, I mentioned that coach factory will be having a sale, in this case, past-tense is in order. They had a one day sale on January 3, 2013, after just having their back to back year-end sale on December 26-28, 2012 and then December 30-January 1, 2013. I bought several bags on December 28 2012 four bags to be exact, only two are mine, and one each for my mom and my sister.
I had my eye on Ashley Signature Sateen Slim Envelope WalletF46161, so I can match it with the bag I already had in my cart, Ashley signature convertible hobo F19766SLCBK, but I was too late as it says SOLD OUT. Bummer right? Well, not so, as come December 30, 2012 they had another sale & when I went to check if the wallet or any BLACK wallet was on sale at the right price, well, the wallet I wanted in the first place was available at $69.00. I put it in my cart immediately, but never bought it. haha. I don't know why, but I just felt like the spark was gone between me and "ashley" (or maybe because I already have the exact same wallet but in Khaki and mahogany color from last year). So I let her go. She's better off with someone who'll appreciate her more.
Moving on to coach's one day sale on January 3, 2013, where they boasted of their new arrivals(as always) including their spring collection (which I find is too colorful for my taste), I immediately checked the wallet section and fell in love with "Madison". She is also more pricey than "Ashley", at $118.00, a price difference of $49.00. I think it was well worth it. I found the perfect basic black wallet, and wasn't about to let her slip away.
So after buying a transparent hard case for my Iphone 5 at amazon.com, I decided (since I'm obviously a coach fan) to check the official coach website (not the factory outlet), for iphone cases...I found these lovely cases at $38 only, not including sales tax but shipping is free at $150. Pretty cheap considering I bought a temporary hard case for my Iphone on the day I got it for a hefty P1,100($26.83), it's made by capdase, which I feel is too expensive for the quality. Anyway, these coach Iphone cases are definitely not for the boys,as it looks too feminine (at least in my opinion), which is perfect for me I guess. I'm getting two of them to match my coach bags, Khaki and Black & White.
SIGNATURE IPHONE 5 CASE
$38.00
style:64701B
5/ 51 review
Graphic
Coach Cs in vibrant contrasting hues make this case a distinct,
colorful way to carry the latest iPhone. It comes ready to wrap in a
pretty signature gift box.
Dual-core A6X with quad-core graphics
4.)F19215 Signature stripe stitched patent framed carryall-5 colors to choose from, but the white one looks absolutely divine! $118.30 from $398.00 is not a bad price.
