Have been reading some of the posts and they're very interesting. HOWEVER... I first became interested in lighthouses after watching the PBS series and discovered Harbour Lights as a result. I received one as a Christmas gift and later bought one for myself. What gets me about collecting is this; there is so much emphasis on what the future value of something will be because it's a limited edition, members only piece, etc. Who cares? My motto is to buy what YOU like, not what might be worth the most down the road. Chances are our kids won't give a damn about our stuff anyway. So while I'll probably buy more lighthouses I don't plan to drive myself crazy trying to get the hard to find ones. Then it becomes too much work. Does anyone feel the same?

I started collecting in July 97. I saw many HLs in the shops I visited that were retired so I concentrated on buying them first. Next I stuck my toe into the secondary market to get pieces that still were affordable. Now I try to buy pieces that are special such as the Christmas and reunion pieces. I keep an eye on future value so that I can buy them before they are priced beyond my reach. I also watch current price trends in order to recognize a good deal if I stumble across one.

As far as looking for the hard to find ones - That's half the fun. Think of it as a treasure hunt. There's a real thrill to finally find that one HL that's been eluding you for so long.

You got it right for most of us, mombo -- even the hard core collectors. And what Alan says goes right along with your own thinking.

The fact that eventually the value of your collection will probably increase is just a nice feeling; most of us wouldn't sell anyway.

As a new collector, you should set a goal for which ones to collect -- a region or ones you've visited, for example. Then take Alan's advice and start purchasing those that are harder to find, but still available at retail. Be sure to see the "Retired@Retail" service. Make a list of what you want and stick with that list. Let family and friends know which ones you want for birthdays, etc.

Then take a look at some of Tim's calculations (in "By The Numbers") and figure out which of the "retired and no longer available at retail" ones may be going up in value soon and buy them while they are still comparatively inexpensive.

If you visit the dealers (mostly in out of the way places), you might find an 'extra' retired piece to purchase that you can trade with another collector to obtain a piece you don't have. (See the dealer list.)

Don't be swept into buying an 'extra' of a new edition, expecting it to double, triple or quadruple in value in a short time. Not every piece is going to rise to those levels. If you pick a few you think will do that, keep in mind that hundreds of other collectors are second guessing the market too meaning that the rise in value will be even slower.

Enjoy your collection - and the collecting of it. As Art points out, the "hunt" is a great deal of the enjoyment. Don't let the collection rule your life (and don't let it deplete your credit limit!)

And welcome to the wonderful world of Harbour Lights!

John

Welcome to the "Family" mombo. Mary Jane and I started collecting Harbour Lights around 1994. Only the one we had climbed while on vacation in Florida, St Augustine. We soon bought another, and another, and so on. We had no intention of buying as many as we have in our collection today.
We became involved with some lighthouse preservation societies and read everything we could find on the families who took care of these outposts.
We have met some wonderful people through our love of lighthouses and have planned many a vacation around lighthouse locations.
I'm glad that you have found enjoyment, in one aspect or another, through these treasured beacons that are so much a part of our history. I wish you well in the new year and look forward to sharing your thoughts and ideas on this site.

Ron

Thats how it all started for me too, I had seen Harbour lights in a couple of stores while on vacation but didn't buy one. After I got home I called HL and asked for some more information and they sent me a product list with the release date and retirement date of those all ready retired, the current product brochure and dealer list. I remember telling my wife "I can't afford all these pieces" so I decided to stick my favorites and the few I had visited on the great lakes. Well a couple weeks had gone by after looking at the list and seeing Point Arena I figured I better get that one while I could still get one at retail (that was August 16 1996), the next piece came 4 days later, Assateague. By the end of 96' I had 21 pieces and looking back on it now I think I made some pretty good choices picking up Holland, Montauk, Admiralty head, Boston Harbor,Alcatraz and Point Fermin all at retail. Only 4 months into my new hobbie and I was well off course in keeping to "just a few of them" as many of have done. But the idea of deciding which ones you realy want and figuring out which ones will be hard to find or cost more in 6 months or a year from now in very sound advice. Many new collectors begin with the thought that they won't get them all and a year or two down the road they are only a few short of a compleat collection.
As far as the value of a collection I think that most of us would like to have the value rise in case we ever needed to sell it because of an unforseen circumstance or at least hold its value so that years from now the same pieces you paid $80 for are selling for $40 and we are all regreting paying so much (all thought I think thats is a remote possibilty )
I think you will also find there is a certain "Thrill of the chase" in locating a desired piece after visiting stores and finding the piece still at retail.

Most of all enjoy your collection, and should you catch the Harbour lights bug in a big way, there many other Wacko's here to offer advice and support.

Good luck and Happy hunting,
Mark

First of all I hope that this posting does not bore or offend anyone. It is just one collectors story and perspective on collecting. A number of years ago my wife and I collected "Dept 56"; you know the little lighted villages. We got caught up in the "buy-buy-buy" mentality that many other collectors also got caught up in.It was buy it just because the company made it and you had to have it so you could have a "COMPLETE COLLECTION".It took all the fun out of what we were doing. We joined a collectors club and there discovered that there were quite a few people with this "buy-buy-buy" mentality.They had all the pieces but could not enjoy them because they did not have the room nor the time to display them. As a result most of their collections remained stored away in their boxes.(But they had a "COMPLETE COLLECTION").One day it finally dawned on us .Why are WE doing this? So we sold-sold-sold and kept the pieces that WE REALLY LIKED. As a result we have a very nice collection which we enjoy.The point here is that collecting has to be fun and practical.We do not buy very much Dept 56 anymore mostly because our interests have changed .My wife collects "CHARMING TAILS" because she likes the little mice and I collect Harbour Lights because I like lighthouses.Harbour Lights is only a small part of my lighthouse collection. Being from New York,I have concentrated my collection on New York lighthouses and a few others that I realy like. I don't worry about future value and I don't worry about breaking a piece or having to have every piece.If you have the money, the time and the space and want to collect every piece ,I think that's great and it would be a very nice collection to have, but don't drive yourself crazy trying to accomplish that objective.I have "been there-done that" and it took away all the enjoyment.(besides getting very expensive) Collecting to me is a hobby, something I do to have fun, relaxation, and enjoyment. We only spend money that is "extra money" in our budget.So if we have the money and like the piece we buy it. If not we don't and we don't worry about it. But most importantly--we enjoy what we have and we are having fun collecting.-----"the lightkeeper"--Mike

Welcome to the HL family, mombo. Have you been able to join the society yet? You will be given a really great introduction to this company and what they are all about.

My collecting began with two pieces that were reminders of great vacations. My somewhat small interest in lighthouses was sparked and since that time, I have seen and been able to photograph many of the lights that HL has sculpted. I have limited myself to a certain part of the US. I followed the advice that John Chidester gave (re: Lightkeepers site) you early on.

My grandchildren may reap the benefits of my collection when I am gone, but I am certainly enjoying it now. Finding HL pieces that are retired, traveling to as many lights as I can, photographing them, meeting other HL collectors, and researching this subject makes this collecting a great hobby.

Here's to Keeping the Flame.
Derith

mombo, Welcome to the wonderful world of Harbour Lights and the on-line family of collectors!

I started out by purchasing a Jupiter, FL for my fiance as a gift back in '96. Little did I know that this "gift" would turn into an life altering event for the both of us. We now collect HL's together, plan our vacations around lighthouses, and help in the preservation of lighthouses.

I think I speak for most of us when I say collecting Harbour Lights is a hobby, not a full-time occupation. We do it for enjoyment, not for profit. You will see a lot of posts dealing with value, edition size, LE's vs. OE's, the secondary market, ect... We have some pretty good debates about those topics and others, but we don't take ourselves too seriously either. Half of the fun is enjoying this obsession with other collectors. If you couldn't joust with fellow collectors about speculation, rumours and the like, what fun would that be.

Everyone has their own strategy for collecting. Some are more aggressive than others. What is important to remember is that you do what you feel is right and makes you happy that you're collector Harbour Lights. If there are 2 or 200 in your collection, if you don't have fun, what's the point?

-Todd (on the sunny side of the street)

Welcome to the Harbour Lights family! Personally I have been collecting Harbour Lights for a little over three years. I primarily purchase the lighthouses that I enjoy.

The aniticpated future value of a new lighthouse rarely factors into my decision to buy one. Althought it is fun to see the value of my collection grow. I should have bought Coquille River when I had the chance!

This website provides an excellent opportunity to interact with other collectors & forums to get new information or ask questions! Hunting for the retired pieces is addicting & becomes a treasure hunt.

As you begin to purchase more lighthouses, I would recommend that you find a dealer who will accept returns. Join the collectors' society to become eligible for members' only lighthouses. Use caution when buying on the second market (i.e., ebay.com). Shop around on the internet.

Good luck & happy huting!

Have you ever had this many pen pals mombo? :-)
If I was more talented (and had more time), I'd clip a little bit of this and that from every previous reply and weave it into my own. As you can tell, many of our stories on acquiring our Harbour Lights addiction are amazingly similar. We saw the HL version after visiting the real one on vacation (Currituck, Outer Banks vacation '96 here) and at some point in time decided we REALLY liked these replicas and why stop with only those visited? But this is YOUR HL story, so you get to write it YOUR way.

I'M totally hooked, and had one HECK of a time on my personal Treasure Hunt for retired pieces. No disrespect meant for Retired@Retail which is a GREAT service, if you want 'em, get in your car with the dealer list. You'll meet some wonderful people along the way.

I cannot stress this enough, join the Collectors Society right away. I waited over a year (I was a collector, after all, not a joiner), and I lost out on a year of this great fraternity.

Welcome to the HL family. You'll always feel at home with us.

Welcome to the wacko club mombo. My story is much like everyone else: I bought just one, then added the ones I'd visited, then added ones in the South, then added the East Coast, then added the Great Lakes.

Now I'm an addict in good company.


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Keepin' the flame