I think Tim is correct in that, for Harbour Lights, this is all about supply and demand. It's their challenge to manage the intricate relationships between the two. As others have said, in this thread and in others, maybe an edition size of 10,000 for Limited Editions is too many. In fact Harbour Lights might be admitting, or at least suspecting, that already. Could it be that the Special Limited Edition Hillsboro Inlet, at an edition size of 6,500, is a "fishing edition". An edition that is attmepting to find the "sweet spot" for how many are really required to meet the balance between supply and demand. It's probably more than 5,500 and almost certainly less than 10,000. Except for may a new Portland Head or Cape Hatteras.

I think that HLs went to 10,000 much too quickly. They did it right after some of the most popular lights they could have done (at any edition size) and in the midst of the burst of retirement activity that depleted the dealer inventories. It may be that the very same dealers who clamored for inventory to fill the shelves are now voicing concerns that Ida Lewis and Horton Point are taking up space for way too long.

Another bit of conjecture on the same point. I think the market (that's us) is maturing. One of the manifestations of that maturing is that collectors have become more selective in their purchases. More restrictive as to which HL will find shelf space on their own crowded shelves. I know I made a mistake, maybe a clasic mistake, of first time collector. I thought I wanted them ALL. I could see the opportunity and I jumped on it with enthusiasm and a big limit on the VISA card. But now all of the Washington, Oregon, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Minnesota, and Wisconson lights are in their boxes in the attic. It was too many, too fast and there's no place to put them. They had to go to make room for the East and Gulf coast lights that Linda and I visited and photographed. Those lights, the East and Gulf coast that we have pictures of, are the ones that I make room for now.

From the Widow's Watch in Salem,
Rick