I went to the Fossil outlet store today in the hopes of finding a particular color of handbag that I didn't see at the regular Fossil store in the mall. I know that outlet stores often carry made-for-outlet items of lesser quality than those in the retail store, so I was on guard for spurious deals. I bought a red satchel at the outlet, knowing that it was a made-for-outlet piece.

When I got home, I had a package waiting for me from the regular Fossil retail store in the Mall of America: I had ordered a black satchel from them (see find attached).

The sales associate at the outlet told me that the red bag I had bought was the outlet version of the black bag I had ordered directly from Fossil. So I thought it would be fun to compare the two bags. What I found was very instructive, so I thought I would share it in the hopes that it will help others.

To illustrate what I'm talking about, I have attached a couple of photos showing the two bags. (The photos are kind of grainy, since I have a lower-end phone, but I think they are good enough for my purposes.)

The first thing I noticed was that once the stuffing was out of the bags, the black bag (retail store) held its shape very well when empty, whereas the red bag (outlet store) did not hold its shape. (The photos are of the bags unzipped.)

The interior lining of the retail bag felt "slicker" and like it had a denser thread count than the lining in the outlet bag.

The leather on the retail bag was clearly higher quality. It had a very slightly textured look yet was somewhat shiny. The outlet bag's leather was much more pebbly and worn looking (the bag didn't look worn per se; it's just a different aesthetic, and one that works fine for the Fossil brand, IMO).

I noticed that the crossbody strap of the retail bag had a buckle with a prong to fit through one of a few holes, like a buckle on a shoe. The outlet bag had a buckle only, no prong and holes. In my short experience with crossbody bags, I have found that if you have only the buckle, the strap eventually loosens up and has to be retightened.

A few lesser design elements I noticed that were different:

1. The retail bag has handles that fit through holes in the side of the bag, and the outlet bag has the handles sewn on. I see that the retail construction allows the outer flaps to be larger, since space isn't taken up by the sewing on of the handles.

2. The zipper on the retail bag goes closer to the bottom of the satchel than does the one on the outlet bag. The retail bag also has little leather tabs sewn onto the purse where the zipper ends, allowing you to hold on to the tab when you initiate zipping or unzipping the purse.

3. The clasps that allow you to attach the crossbody strap to the purse are different between the bags. The clasp on the retail bag strap has a little prong that you push back to open the clasp, kind of like a lobster clasp on a necklace. The clasp on the outlet bag does not have the prong and is much more difficult to open. I tried to attach the strap for the photo and decided it wouldn't be worth the effort.

After comparing the two bags, I have decided to return the red one (outlet) to the store. I think that with a satchel, the ability of the bag to hold its shape well is very important. If this had been a tote or something with a smaller base, the inability to hold shape would probably have been less important.

I do not think that the outlet bag is a bad bag at all; I just think that the quality is not as high as the retail bag. I have a small wallet from the Fossil outlet store that I very much enjoy and seems to be holding up well. So it really depends on what you're looking for and how much you want to spend. Speaking of which...

What I paid:

Retail Fossil bag (black Rachel satchel): $178, with a discount of 25% (storewide sale): $133.50

Outlet Fossil bag (red Jori satchel): $198, "on sale" for $104*, plus 20% off: $83.20

*I put "on sale" in quotes because I know that outlets artificially inflate the retail price and really use the sale price as the asking price. Just looking at the two retail prices--$178 for the retail bag, and $198 for the outlet one--I find it ridiculous that the outlet bag is supposedly valued at more than the retail bag.

I hope those of you who have stuck with me this far have found this helpful. After I finished comparing the two bags, I thought, "I have to write a post on YLF and share what I learned!"