It's already created excitement and interest and it's not officially announced yet. The Reps learned last week and with order books in hand have started touring their geographic territory.

Hillsboro FL must be every Rep's dream (easy to sell) and a bit of a nightmare (on allocation on release.)

The edition size will be 6,500 pieces as rumored. Harbour Lights calls it a 'Special Edition', referring to the 'special' nature of a lighthouse such as Hillsboro.

It's big. 9.5" in height and width with several buildings trees and a dominating metal tower in black and white.

Before the chat Wednesday, I called to ask Kim "Why 6,500?" Her response: "Well we told collectors we wouldn't make MORE than 10,000, but we never said we wouldn't make LESS!" with a cheerful laugh.

"Expect that there will be more?" I asked. "Maybe, we'll see".

"We don't expect there will be a shortage of this piece for our committed collectors," she said, referring to the number of Rose Island Society versions that were ordered (6,000).

Better get in line at your favorite dealer for this one. $124. Pictures next week.

Hillsboro? Can't wait?

http://zuma.lib.utk.edu/lights/hillsboro.html

__
/im (is Paul driving there as we speak?)

Tim! Been There! Done that! Got the picture!



Paul

Nice shot - you musta drove real fast!

__
/im [if anyone Pelican, Paulican]

I feel a 6,500 edition of Hillsboro FL is a great idea. Perhaps this is a sign of things to come by HL. It makes things a little more interesting for the "committed collectors"(or should it be "collectors that should be committed?"). Smaller edition sizes will mean less time on the store shelves. Less time on store shelves translates to better condition display models if that's all they have left. I'm beginning to see a lot of the same HLs not moving at some dealers. Something must be done to turn up the "flame of interest" to move these pieces.

That's the word from the East Coast !

I find it interesting (not necessarily wrong) that Kim believes that an edition size of 6,500 for Hillsboro will meet the demand of "committed" collectors. The Society membership base is much larger, although the active and unduplicated count is undoubtedly less. Should edition sizes be customized to the estimated popularity of a particular lighthouse? Probably not, but the occasional exception makes for interesting speculation.

The smaller edition size certainly peaked the interest of all on the Wednesday night chat! I haven't sensed this much excitement since Reunion Sign Up Day. Good work Kim keeping us in suspense and on our toes. I'm grinning all the way to my dealer..
:-)-8-<=

Just a clarification - While I used quote marks, I was paraphrasing what Kim had said about the edition size being big enough NOT to shut out -- and here I used the word committed -- collectors. That probably wasn't the exact word, it may have been 'serious' or 'core' or something like that.

The sense was that those who wanted one would be able to get one.


John


[This message has been edited by JChidester (edited 12-05-98).]

In regards to the edition size of Hillsboro, FL, I guess I am a little confused (imagine that).

It has been said that the edition size will be 6,500. It has also been said that HL doesn't expect a shortage for their "committed", "core", "Serious", or whatever collectors, and John has stated in a post that "The sense was that those who wanted one would be able to get one.

It sounds to me that a firm edition number has not been set. If 6,501 people want one, is HL going to make more.

I personally like the idea of the 6,500 edition number, but some of this info contradicts itself here in the forum. John, can you clear this up a little?

-Todd(It's as clear as Mudd)

The edition size IS definitely 6,500, a figure which Harbour Lights believes is enough so that (in my own words) every collector today who wants one should be able to get one.

While Harbour Lights has NOT said so (as of now anyway), you can help assure that others will be able to purchase one by NOT buying two, three, etc. for speculative purposes.

Thanks for clearing that up John. Sometimes it takes a little work to get something to sink in. It comes from wearing that heavy fire helmet to many hours per day.

Thanks for the good advice and common sense as well. Our hobby (obsession?) is only as good as we make it.

-Todd

Hi everybody.

Any ideas on when we can order a Hillsboro?

Bill -

Call your regular dealer and ask them to hold one for you. Also ask them if they have promised any to other collectors or if they have customers for whom they autmatically set a piece aside. Even though its on allocation, each dealer should get at least two as part of the autoship program. If the dealer has their allotment of 2 already promised ask the dealer if they'll speak to their rep to get an additional piece.

If this doesn't work, find another dealer who will reserve one for you.

Folks - if you want a Hillsborozilla, reserve it now. Most dealers will do this for you. Some may want a small deposit, most do not.

Rgds,
__
/im

Hi Bill, Welcome.
Tim gave you some good advice.
As soon as I heard about Hillsboro, I called my dealer
who, like Tim said , gets 2 of all HLs on autoship. One he reserves
for me.
He told me he had already gotten several calls on this piece
and because of the allocation wasn't sure he would be able to get
more.
If you don't have a list of dealers, just go to "Retail Stores" listing from this page.
Good Luck.
Great picture, Paul. Thanks for sharing it.

Debbie

Thank you both...
Being a relative "new guy" to this hobby (boarderline obsession?), I appreciate it.

I should post a follow-up note to clarify my earlier one. Sometimes its good to repeat information for the benefit of new collectors.

Not all dealers are on the autoship program - that's the dealer's choice. So unless you know your dealer participates, you may not want to assume they'll have any. Ask 'em. I suspect once a dealer hears about the 'Special Edition' piece and its limited edition size, they'll try to get some stock.

Once the autoships are allocated, the distribution of the remaining pieces - the majority of them - is between the rep and their customers. Bigger dealers, like Lighthouse Depot, will get more. If I recall correctly, the regional reps have their own territories, and different regions of the country get different amounts from Harbour Lights. Those that typically sell more will get more.

When a piece is close to retirement HL sometimes gives first crack at the remainder to those dealers who are closer to the light. I suspect this won't be a problem with Hillsboro. My guess is it will go SOBR - Sold Out Before Release - just like Sanibel Island. (We'll see if we need a *new* acronym, SOBA - sold out before announcement; but I suspect not - not enough collectors are on the web yet to cause a pre-announcement stampede.)

As JC has pointed out on various occasions, some collectors will occasionally 'sign up' for a piece at multiple dealers but take delivery from just one. Sometimes dealers get stuck with more than they can sell because they order based on these sign-ups. This is where the deposit comes in to play.

I called my regular dealer the day after Terry let the cat out of the bag in the General Forum. Of course they didn't know anything about it, but they know me and happily created an new entry on their reservation list.

If you want to know more about the distribution system, post your questions. St. John is a good source for this info.

Here's a shortcut to the HL dealer locater mentioned by Debbie: HL Dealers

Rgds,
__
/im

[This message has been edited by JTimothyA (edited 12-22-98).]