Questions from a potential collector

I recently came across Harbour Lights at a shop while on vacation. I love lighthouses and have thought about collecting them for a while (I have many prints around the house). After checking the HL website I realized how many there are in the collection. I am from Melbourne, FL and was curious as to how hard it would be to try and collect just lighthouses of Florida. I have a print signed by a local artist of all of the FL lighthouses.

How difficult is it to get retired pieces?
Is it possible to get past special editions?
How can I find out about future releases of other FL lighthouses? (I saw only 13 released so far out of over 25+ lighthouses in Florida that I know of)

Thanks in advance for any asistance - KR

KR,

It is not "too" difficult to get the past Limited Editions (LEs). Since you have already found this website, you should keep an eye on the "Marketplace Fourm." Many collectors and some dealers are always advertising there. Check out retired at retail (R@R) also, this is a service provided by fellow collectors, when one of us sees a retired piece (at or very close to retail), we contact R@R and give them the store name, phone numer and piece found. This helps other collectors find those "missing" pieces.
R@R can be found here... http://www.harbourlights.com/retired/index.htm

Also if you like auctions many Harbour Lights can be found for sale on Ebay.

However some of the earliest pieces from Florida are a bit hard to come by. You will not find the likes of Ponce Inlet, Key West, or St. Augistine at retail. These three are among the most sought after and expensive of the oldest Harbour Lights.

As for your other question about when do we find out about new lights, HL anounces new Pieces about 3 times a year. The first is around January 1, the second is usally in April, and the last is in June. So Far HL has produced Amelia Island, St Augistine (*), Ponce Inlet (*), Cape Canaveral (*), Jupiter, Hillsboro Inlet, Cape Florida, American Shoal, Key West (*), Fort Jefferson, Sanibel Island, Boca Grande, St Marks, and Pensecola. The pieces with (*) indicate that they have also produced a non-limited editon of these lights.

[This message has been edited by Weasel58 (edited 05-30-2000).]