What Is Your Worst Harbour Lights Disaster ?

I am sure that some of us have met with misfortune and disaster with some of our cherished Harbour Lights collectibles. So far my only one has been the time that I dropped my Buffalo LE when dusting my shelves. Yes they do break and into many pieces. Fortunately when I mentioned this to the dealer where I do my business, they still had one in stock and sold it to me at 25% off. So it wasn't too costly of an ordeal, but most important was that fact that I was able to replace the piece.

"the lightkeeper'

Well I broke the ventilator ball off my Morris Island (now). Fortunately it was a clean break and a titch of model glue fixed it up. Later that same day I managed to wack it again but it stayed put.

Last year I found a Heceta Head below retail and put it on layaway along with a Grosse Point (with lightning rod) and Cape Florida. All had already retired, but were not exactly impossible to find at that time. Still, it broke my heart when I went to pick them up and found that two of the lovely trees on Heceta Head had broken off while on layaway. Fortunately, the other pieces were intact.

Out of Heceta Head pieces, the retailer gave me a Gray's Harbor instead, and shortly afterward, I found a Heceta Head at retail elsewhere. Not a major disaster, but my worst to date. Guess I've been lucky.

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-Art

Major HL disaster?

NONE!

Bob

Getting ripped off by some secondary marketeer thief only in it for the money when I could've paid retail with a little more searching...

This happened with several different pieces early on in my collecting career before I educated myself and made friends w/ several authorized dealers.

Found a Boston Harbor at a nice price but forgot to ask what shape it was in...it arrived looking like it had been dipped in sulfuric acid...

Not Starting collecting when I first became aware of HL pieces, back in 96, a lot more retired pieces were available then.

I agree with Orv-not buying all the HL I could in 96.I passed up many East coast lights because I had not visited them at that time-how foolish!I still don't have Pdx Head or Nauset that I didn't buy then.

My worst experience is the fact I work in a gift and collectible shop that carries Harbour Lights lighthouses. It is a curse to get a 25% employee discount but can't affort to get them all. But one consolation is that I get to veiw a case full of HL at work and at home. How many people get to do that?
I can have 24 hours of HL if dream of them while I sleep. lol
Pam

Hi Pam,
Just have to brag -- I get to see the entire collection everyday right in my own living room -- started collecting in 1991 when they first came out -- boy am I glad now that I did -- had good relationship with dealer who I had bought my David Winters from and she started carrying Harbour Lights; filled me in on early HLs as they were about to retire; when first started collecting I only collected ones I had visited and then it sort of mushroomed haha
Ladybug

First saw Harbour Lights in '93. Could have gotten any I wanted - although I don't remember seeing CH then, but sure did see Coquille.

Kathy

One of my worst disasters was when my husband brought home a new cat. The first night it was there, it broke my assateague le in half, which was knocked off a shelf onto my colchester reef, which got chipped.
My husband called around the entire next day trying to locate a new assateague, which he finally did.
My second disaster also includes a cat, this one I brought home(16 week old kitten),
very bad idea. The second day we had it, I came home from work to find one of my shelves knocked of the wall. My sand island had it's top off, sturgeon bay only had a small chip, but my cana island was in 3 pieces (that is what I had named my new kitten). I was able to locate a new cana island below retail, and found the top of the sand island, and sent it off to be fixed. I'm still trying to talk my huband into getting a third curio so this won't happen again, but he insists that if I get another that I will want to buy more HLs...I don't know where he gets these ideas from.

My worst HL disaster, so far, is getting to a sale at a dealer right after Kaiz left.
Jim
Johnson

Well after reading these, I feel VERY lucky. I have anywhere from 1 to 9 cats depending on the day. So far none have done any damage to my HL's (good thing too cuz if they did I would have cat skins on the livingroom walls instead of lighthouses). My worst problem was no problem at all...when I received Fenwick the tree was uprooted. St John just said glue it, & it was like new.

Hey Noelle,

Thanks for the cat warning -- my son may be moving back with his 3 cats (to add to my 2). Guess I'll definitely have to consider "cat-proofing" the lighthouses; so far I've had no disasters (and let's hope I haven't just jinxed myself!)

Donna (your bus buddy on the Cape Cod trip)

When I was putting my Kilauea Point back on the shelf after dusting and I didn't dip it low enough. Right now, it has no ventilator ball.

Stephen

Not mention that I nearly died, but I also started to see if I had $65!

My worst disaster came back in 97' After we left the HL reunion in San Diego we traveled back up to the LA area before heading home, I stopped in a shop in Fullerton and found a Michigan city piece with a lightning rod at retail ( this piece was perfect - no nicks, chips no fading perfect paint not even so much as a finger print - even the lightning rod was straight ) I bought it and as I was paying for it the shop keeper said if I wanted to have it shipped to my house for free there would be no sales tax or shipping, so since I was flying home later that day I thought it would be one less package to carry. I had to wait until the UPS strike ended (which had started the day the reunion ended) to get my package, after two weeks of no package after the strike ended I called them only to find out that during the strike they had a fire destroying everything waiting to be shiped.
( I am still a little broken up over that loss )

Hey Mark...

Now that some time has passed, I guess the story can be told.

I too headed up the coast after the 97 Reunion. Each time I stopped at a Harbour Lights retailer, they all said that this big guy had swept through a few days before looking for the best pickins'.

At one store, they even pointed to a package scheduled for UPS pick up ("when the strike is over"). I saw YOUR NAME on the package. I told the lady you and I were fellow collectors who lived in the same town, had just been to a 'family reunion' and that I'd be happy to take it home with me and deliver it to you. She hesitated a minute and, after a few more assurances, she said "Well, OK" and handed me the box.

I was walkin' out the door when she called me back and handed me $6.60 - saying that was what UPS would have wanted to deliver it and I might as well have that too.

It looks REAL nice - and you're right! It is perfect.

She must be a fast thinker to come up with that fire story when you called.

0 :>) St. John of the Internet

Thanks John,
I am glad to hear that it ended up in a good home...... could it at least send me a card once in a while ?..... just to let me know how it's doing

Mark

Noell,

I love animals but if a cat distroyed my Assateague, God help the cat.

Moby

You understand, sea life has no real love for the feline persuation, don't you?

>>I don't know where he gets these ideas from. <<

Maybe your HL dealer is supplying him with the cats. :-)

__
/im

When comes to cats, I've always loved ALF the TV Alien!
LOL, TIC, No offense to cat lovers,

I bought two HL's from a collector. Although they came w/box and certs, they weren't packed that way. They were floating around in peanuts, and both pieces arrived chipped. They'll be going to a restortion specialist since the pieces I did find were tiny. Live and learn.