You just touched on an other reason why there isn't any more talk about HL WOW's.
9/10th of our active Forum members has lost interest in Harbour lights and does not participate in the Forum any more.
There is one fundamental reason why there are fewer forum participants and fewer HL Collectors, and there are several peripheral reasons.
The peripheral reasons are ones like:
- "its Summer - I spend more time outside"
- "I have less money to buy lighthouse models because of higher gas prices on my vacation",
- "We've run out of space to display them",
- "yadda yadda yadda" etc.
The fundamental reason there are fewer people here is because the HL secondary market went to hell in a handbasket, prices have dropped many fold, and there is no sign of a market revival. A growing secondary market and appreciating prices were the primary reason for the rise of interest in Harbour Lights and in the Collectors Forums as a source of information and sharing common fun. Underlying all the chit chat was the prospect that this hunk of plaster would go up in value. And that was exciting not always because people thought they'd get rich or make a profit, but simply because these little models were considered valuable and people like Collecting stuff that is more than commonplace.
I'll bet an enterprising person ... maybe someone in BTN (hint hint) ... who had the data ... could graphically correlate the drop in prices with the drop in forum participation (raw number of messages) across time.
Its not that the models are no longer cute or attractive - they have become more detailed and intricate. That hasn't taken people from the forums.
Its not that HL is deep into the list of popular lights and making models of lights people have not heard of. Many stamps or coins are exciting not because they represent something many people know ... but because they are different, one offs, or scarce. Public awareness or its absence hasn't caused the forum population to decline.
Its the magic of seeing a thing take on greater value tommorrow than it had today. The model doesn't change physically, but its "worth" does - and that is magic. Well kiddo, that magic has left the building.
Of course there will be the standard litany of replies along the lines of "well I never plan to sell my collection, so I don't care about its monetary value" or "if you want an investment, buy stocks or bonds, not lighthouse models". etc. etc. Of course the people saying that are the ones still here.
The primary thing that captured people's imagination was the attractiveness of the HL line coupled with the prospect that they were True Collectibles and would go up in value over time. When the second part of the equation was flushed (for a variety of reasons I and others have documented ad nauseum) the majority of Collectors lost interest.
What's left is a Harbour Lights Social Club. And that's fine - its great to share a common interest as the basis for forming new friendships. A group of folks regularly enjoys meeting one another at HL confabs for the sole purpose of having some place to go and be with friendly people. But as the HLSC, don't expect a regular influx of new members sufficient to overcome the realization that "hey I'm talking to the same people about the same things today as I did yesterday and some of the people who had creative energy and used to say really interesting things like 'thats a wow' have got bored and moved on to something more stimulating".
If you're looking for someone to come along and say - "hey the perfect storm is worthy of *that* lighthouse" then look in the mirror. If you're in search of Mr. GoodWoW - give it up, toss the WoW stuff and create your own. The people who generate interest and excitement are the ones who put the energy and effort into doing just that.
I know I'm being a bit of a scold, but even an FSB post with a teeny weeny bit of kontroversy could snap 20-30 replies on a good day. The ravers would generate 2-3 thread closings. Course that was several years ago.
So wutch you gotta say 'bout that? ;->
Saint Runamuck