I have been away for quite some time now. Probably at least 4 to 5 years and was surprised at how low the prices are on the HL pieces. I can remember when the original St. Augustine was close to $200 on Ebay. I picked up one on Ebay the other day (MIB) for $26... Good for me but sad to see the market just dry up like it did. Also, didn't know Harbour Lights had shut down and now looks like Lighthouse Depot is shutting down. I have many fond memories of the forums being packed with people and the hunt for the rare finds going on with much excitement. One of my first finds was a old Boston Harbor light that I bought for $60 at a Hallmark in a small town and sold it on ebay for $260. Also have found memories of a Harbour Lights event in Atlanta where I won a Hillsboro light and a couple of prints.

Good to see rscroope, WackoPaul, flacoastie, and a few others still "letting their light shine" on this forum.

I really do miss the old days of collecting but I guess everything good thing comes to an end.

Nice to have you drop by, Rusty.

As painful as it is for many, there won't be any new HLs coming down the pike. HL / LHD has been dumping all their product at sub bargain basement prices, and many have been able to add some nice items to their collection.

Even though there won't be new items coming, the friendships made and good times enjoyed with other collectors will always remain.

Glad to see you back Rusty. It appears the Facebook craze has depleted the Forums of all the chatter. There are a few of us holdouts to Facebook that refuse to give in. Hopefully we will have you visit often.

Welcome back Rusty.
The Harbour Lights market stinks, but have you seen the Sky bound ballons? They are sky rocketing.

sky bound

Rich, the so-called "Facebook craze" has little to no effect on these forums, the small group on Facebook almost never discusses Harbour Lights, But does mostly share pictures and discuss lighthouse related events and issues. I think the last time Harbour Lights was mentioned was the last update to Bill Youngers remaining collection, which was also posted here too. people quit buying Harbour Lights and they quit coming here...

Daniel, What in the world has the Sky Bound ballons doing so well?

Also, thanks to all for the "welcome back". I did pick up a couple of those bargain basement prices at Lighthouse Depot, but that will probably do it for me as my curio is full.

I really don't get on Facebook much either. I love joining a forum for the sake of staying on one topic that is of interest to everyone there. I am also on some of the Android forums due to my interest with smart phones and tablets. When I am on facebook the subject can go all over the place.

Anyway, will try and stop by more often.

Rusty

Mark - What you say is most likly the real reason for the demise of the Forums. The thing I don't understand is the loss of interest in HLs by the diehard collectors (or were they into the collecting just for the sake of collecting somethin)? Even though there are no new HLS a dedicated collector should still have som piece he/she needs for their collection. In fact,since HLs is gone I have finally had a chance to fill and build on my collection even more then when HLs was in full production. This is because I'm not having to save my money to buy new pieces and I can concentrate of getting what I want in the older pieces. Oh well, to each his own. I'm sure there is another collectible that will come along for those collectors to grab on to.

Rusty
Sky bound has many things going for as a collectable.
I pointed this out years ago, but no one on this forum seemed interested.

Reason why Skybound is a desirable collectable.

1. The most obvious is the high quality of the product.

2. Interesting and colorful.

3. The figurines pertain to an interest. (balloon flying)

4. The collection is defined to a manageable size. 32 balloon figurines

5. They are obtainable but not really easy to find. They are retired and can’t be found at a store.

6. There are rare ones in the collection to peak interest.

7. They are related to cross collecting. Some that collect Harbour lights may collect just because they are a Harbour light product. 26 balloons are made by HL.

If your not into variations, for some of us there isn't much left to collect.

IMO, New releases inspired me to hunt for older pieces.

I still look, but haven't added anything since March.

I still enjoy rotating pieces in and out of my display cabinets.

Really sad to see HL/LHD days appear to be numbered. I keep hoping that once inventory is gone they announce the 2012 lineup! Every day I see new members joining these forums and HL/LHD seems to be going out on it own terms, so wish there was some way for this to continue.

Daniel,

Thanks for the information on the balloons. It is amazing how high some of them are going for on eBay.

Rusty

There was another Longaberger SkyBound Home Office Hot Air Balloon that ended last night, that went for $62.31 (same seller as the $405. auction)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p4340.l2557&rt=nc&nma=true&item=290761165524&si=i5smTnptOV0QCEYzQjpaU15ZnTA%253D&viewitem=&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

earlier in the week another SkyBound field of dreams piece with a starting price of $35.00 ended with no bids

I have one called "Costal Journey"
Anyone know which light it is?

Also have Faulkners and New York (Statue of Liberty)

The Youngers gave me " The Field of Dreams" because they knew I was still playing baseball. I bought my wife the one with the effiel tower after we went to Paris.