Value guide?

I've been out of the loop for quite a while. Fortunately I happened to read a few posts on Jim Rutherford so I know not to ask about him. Has anyone come up with a current Harbour Lights value guide? How do people nowadays decide how much a piece is worth for selling/trading or for insurance purposes?

Susan

Susan,

You put a bunch of numbers on a dart board and throw darts at them and whatever number it hits is the winner.

Seriously, though there is no hard and fast rule of thumb these days but the way many people do it is to try and ascertain the range of prices an item has sold for on either eBay or here at the Collectors Forums along with word of mouth back and forth between individual collectors here as to what they sold an item for or paid for an item.

There is a thread here on the forums that attempts to update this information on the most popular items being sold on ebay at this time.

There is no longer a generally recognized standard to go by. the secondary market is in a continual state of flux- generally right now on the down side.

I know this is not much help but it's about all there is right now.

Dennis

Welcome back, Susan. You should really try to visit the CF more often. It's fun and informative.

I'm sorry to say that eBay is one of our only sources of what HL's are selling for. A major problem with eBay pricing is that it varies so much. The same HL release can draw a dramtically different price from week to week. One week it sells for next to nothing then the next week it sells for closer to what it's actually worth.

Everyone wants a bargain. I've seen top quality pieces offered right here at the CF for half of what I paid for them a few years back. People are getting tired of waiting for the HL market to bounce back. Old time collectors are bailing out because they can no longer afford to purchase and store every piece so they lose interest in collecting.

Will it ever end? I cannot truthfully answer that question. All I can say is, "I'm still in."

Many people have contacted me by email about what their HL's are worth. I usually give them two prices on each. The first price is what you should ask if you were to sell the piece. The second price is what you can actually expect to get for it.

To make a long story short, it's a great time to be buying but not so great a time to be selling.

:rolleyes: Bob :rolleyes:

Thanks for the info. I had a hunch that ebay closed auction was the primary answer to my question.
Susan

What happened to the thread awhile back that suggested the members of the forum track different pieces on Ebay and put it into a spreadsheet ilke the one we had a few years ago?

Dick,

One is in the Secondary Market. I just brought it to the top.

bobo

Gee Bobo--try taking a drink of water to get rid of those hiccups!!

Sandy,

I don't have a clue as to what happened. But all of a sudden my machine went crazy.

The hiccups are gone now.

bobo