I found something interesting in back of my storage area when I was pulling out all my Christmas decorations. I found a MIB Anchor Bay Motor Yacht Kim AB 105S (Special) with the extremely low Flag #48. Everything is there. All the original packing etc. It has never been displayed by the looks of it. I do remember purchasing it because of the extremely low Flag # 48. I already had a Motor Yacht Kim on display so I left this one in its original box and tucked it away.

According to Harbour Lights, the AB105S was introduced in 4/1997 and sold out 10/98. It had a MSRP of $154 and they list the edition size as "TBD" which I assume stands for "To be determined".

I have no idea what this piece is worth but I would be interested in selling it once I can determine a selling price. I know the AB's aren't drawing much attention on eBay but this original Anchor Bay model has such a low Flag#, and is MIB in its original packing.

I'm aware that there is also an AB 105 that there is only 13 of in existence.

Anybody got any suggestions or comments about this piece and what it may be worth? It will eventually be posted at the New Marketplace here at the CF unless I receive an email offer prior to that time.

Bob

Bob
I personally liked the motor yacht Kim.
I didn’t buy one only because my excuse was that I was only collecting lighthouses and lightships. But looking back at all the Anchor Bays I feel that in the future there will be a fairly strong secondary market for the first Anchor Bays. Why?

The anchor bay is a defined collection. It is small in how many different ships that are there and I feel that collectors will eventually want to complete their AB collection.
All the Early Anchor bays have been slowly absorbed into the public. Many just bought for their glass enclosures. The Anchor bays were not horded and nobody bought seconds except maybe you Bob.
Even now you don’t see them on the market as they use to be.

Some day the HL collectors will wake up and relies that The Kim, Lori and Nancy are not that easy to find anymore especially a double digit.

Did I talk you into keeping it Bob?

I sure hope your right, Daniel, as I still have a extra set of three of the most rare AB's!! The Kim, Lori and Nancy regular edition AB's that very few ever made it to the stores before they stopped producing them..

Somewhere on my desktop computer I have the total numbers of the released lights and I will add to this thread when I locate them.. I really need to transfer a copy of my saved documents to my laptop sometime (just thinking out loud!).

Bob - You may want to keep the Anchor Bay for selling later on if Daniel's thoughts are correct. The store in Ocala that is discontinuing HLs and ABs still have the Limited Editions("S" series) at 50% off and they are still sitting. They are not a low serial number like yours but they're still sitting there.

I know that there were still a few Anchor Bay pieces at:

Candle Nook - 4600 W Kellogg Dr, Wichita, 67209 - (316) 945-8510

Glenda and Laurence Webster, the owners, didn't have much luck moving them, so they are sort of banished to the bottom of their display case, and there are probably others in their storage unit. The old "Columbia" was still there, I know.

If you call, tell them that Danny Hitchcock referred you. Remember...it's Christmas...and they'll be busy at times. Best time to call: between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.

Well, for better or worse I read this post not too long ago and now own 2 Anchor Bays that had not looked to buy. Up to now, I own zero of this group. Yesteray (Monday) I decided to look up the nearest dealer to look at some of the new issues I may buy. To this point, I have bought from Florida Lighthouses Association auction, this site and ebay. After reading about the Kim, I found one for sale on ebay and the opening bid was something like $25.00 so I put a low bid and during the last hour I was outbid, but with time left I bid again thinking it was selling for too little, however, I was out bid again and now it was too rich (not sure what they have been selling for). I was out at $77.00. Shortly after I get an email that the seller had either the high bidder cancel or had a second one and I could have it for the $77.00 if I agree in the next 24 hours, well it might have been legit, but
it didn't seem right, that right away it was available again, so I did not bite. But I looked the next day and it was available starting at the same low bid and this time I bid low again, but did not increase the bid and lost. So back to yesterday, I went to the store and found out they were closing this store (they have another in North Carolina) and everything was 40% off. So I looked around and at first could not find any Harbour Lights, or Anchor Bays and frankly the place looked like it had been picked over already. However, I did find a small group of items. Low and behold there is the Kim (special edition), including a glass case and the price is $99.00 and since it is the special edition I know it sold for $154.00 retail and 40% off made it $60.00. As I thought it over I notice some original Harbour Lights and saw and liked the Buffalo Lighthouse. A quick call home and know it sold for $65.00 originally and the sticker was $60.00 with 40% off that would be $36.00 but again I thought about my purchases (and hoping Susan would understand). Well, one item I did not see until I looked for a box for the Kim, and it was the Nancy (Special Edition) but without the glass case or box. So I found a helpful lady who looked for the boxes and the glass case, she came back with only the box for the Buffalo Light. Next I pointed out the lack of boxes on both boats and of course the missing glass case. She said the box would normally be a 10% discount, but I needed to talk to the owner. After waiting for him to finish with a customer, he said we are down to bare bones and what you see is what you get (no offer to get additional discounts, even though the other items seem to have their boxes. So I went back to think, and it dawned on me, that the Nancy did not have a price on it at all and I presumed it had sold for near the Kim price and since it was close to closing time, I quickly found the owner again who gave me a "didn't I already get rid of you look", but he did listen and sent one of the sales lady to help me. Well she knew the Buffalo was from the original year and dispite the fact the other had marked down stickers, she would not lower the price and did not offer any discount for the missing box on the Kim, however, we came back to the Nancy with no sticker and she thought for a moment and said she would take $30.00, so I thought that was fair. At the counter while she told the clerk about the price, they then discounted the 40% which I did not expect, so final price for the Nancy was $18.00 without box or glass case or paperwork for that matter. ANY WAY for $113.00 I think I did OK.

So Daniel or others what would a Nancy minus the box & case go for? Also what does the Kim minus the box but with the glass case go for?

Almost forgot the number on the Kim was 983 and the Nancy 987 and the Buffalo at 4403.

Everytime I see these posts about AB, I could kick myself. I took some bad advice and passed up the Kim, Lori, and Nancy. At the time, I really had no interest but the dealer was going out of business, and they were cheap and looked so pretty in their cases. Oh, well. Maybe I can get a lightship or two - although space is at a premium, there are a couple I would love to have - well, more than a couple.

I had no intention of collecting the AB's until I won the Lightship Huron at the Providence Reunion. After that, I collected them all.

I purchased most of them from dealers at reduced prices, but also bought a couple on eBay. My biggest fear about buying the AB's through eBay is the danger of breakage in shipment. The glass cases and boats can be somewhat fragile and easily damaged when repacked and shipped.

I have two Artists Proofs of AB's. These special pieces are quite rare.

Bob

I went back to the store today after work and guess what I found? The box and paperwork for the Nancy. It seems it was stored in the wrong place. So I went to the register and ask the lady how much for an empty box? The lady who had helped me Monday, told me she found it and they would be no charge. Now if I need to move it, it will be a lot safer. I wonder if I come back later this week, will they find the glass cover.

Perseverance, Eric. Keep going back. You are doing great so far!

Most Kim’s and Nancy’s can still be found at dealers at 40% to 50% off. At this time I would consider their value at $75. The missing box shouldn't knock off too much, maybe $10off. Case maybe another $10 off. Yes if you look around and on ebay I have seen them last year with glass case and box as low as $35. Highs around $75. But if you are like me, when I bid on a low bid. All of a sudden its not that cheap deal anymore.

I think the AB's have hit their low and hopefully in a few more years will start rebounding.

Yes you got them for a song. Especially when you consider they went for $154 retail.

Buffalo was a good price also. I put its value at retail. On ebay they usually run from $35 to retail.

Thanks Daniel.

When I was in Frankenmuth, MI over the holidays I did see one store (can't remember name)selling all their HL's and AB's Kim, Lori and Nancy (no lightships) for 60% off retail. Last time I was there this same store had them for 40% off and a year later it looks like the same pieces are still on their shelves with additional discounts. When they get to 99% off, then I may bite. Must not be too many HL's collectors in that area. Sorry, no early or rare pieces in stock though.

A sign of the times, I regret to say.

Do any of you remember how you felt when you stumbled on a piece you had been looking for at a discounted price?

If I heard of a store closing I always made an effort to get there to see what was available. Often times I spent several hundred dollars because I couldn't resist the deals even though I really didn't need the extra pieces.

Unfortunately, discounting devalues pieces that were already purchased at retail or more. Darned if you do and darned if you don't.

Bob

I think this is the main reason I stopped collecting HL's LE's. It just got too frustrating to see pieces that I paid good money for selling on the secondary market for peanuts. I thought about selling my collection but on an economical standpoint that just wasn't feasable at this time, the loss would be just too great. At the same time finding a place to store all the boxed pieces is constantly a battle so someday I might just have to bite my lip and let them go.

On the flip side, once you get some at discount it may led to others at higher prices once you get hooked.

I disagree, Eric, most when they got a lighthouse at a discount then wanted all of them at a discount price.. And people who were wanting to sell their collection for what ever reason weren't willing to wait and lowered their prices leading to more discounting and the rest as they say is history..

Well Folks,

I don't think any of us honestly think that we are going to make a pile of money by selling our purchases. It's just not in the cards at this point in time.

Maybe someday -- but I doubt that we will ever see the Golden Age of Harbour LIghts again. Sad, but true.

bobo

HL is going the way of many other collectibles. We've disscussed this before; the younger generations are not into collecting for myriads of reasons. We love to look at and enjoy our various collections. For many of us, it's a way to reminisce about our travels and special moments in our lives. For instance, I've been trying to come up with a better setup for my lighthouses - some of you display them by HL number so I decided to try that. Well, many of my lights are displayed with other memorabilia picked up from the trip when I visited those particular lights - shells, rocks, books, framed pictures. They are all so important to me that I hate to break up those displays; so, I will probably keep them that way. Although I feel that, for the better part, I have kept up with technology, it has not become the focal point in my life - but it is for many other people. They seem consumed by the computer, the blackberry, the ipod all the time. They don't have the time or the interest that we have invested in our collections - I am sure that a lot of people think I am wasting my time - and my money.

Most things that we do in life that we enjoy, we don’t expect to make a profit on it.
We travel, go to fine restaurants, and buy our in-house entertainment centers. We never expect to make a profit over it. We do it, because we enjoy it and it gets us away from our routine in life.

Why then do so many people expect to make a profit on collecting Harbour Lights?
We had our fun and we have learned a lot from this hobby. Isn’t that enough.

Don’t get me wrong. I love having collectables that are worth more than I paid for them.
It gives me a feeling that I got more for my money. I bought my Harbor Lights when they cost a lot and just because they fell down in value doesn’t mean I don’t like them just the same.

It's just the way it is. If a profit was never intended then there wouldn't be any need to make or obtain LE's. Why do we pay more for a LE when on average, it's OE twin looks much better? If you were buying just because you liked the lighthouse, then wouldn't it make sense to buy the cheaper, better looking piece? Are collector's willing to pay thousands of $ on a rare LE piece just because they like it? I don't think so. If collectors bought solely for the love of it, then OE's are all that we ever would need. I have said the same thing, but I would have to call myself a liar if I said I never intended to make a profit if I ever sold my collection. I would be happy at this point in time just to break even.

Digger,

Unfortunately, I and many others would have to agree with you. What a shame.

bobo

For some of us, it isn't the eventual profit we might make. The "thrill of the chase" and possessing that elusive LE has a lot to do with it. When I find one, I am just thrilled to have it - without thought as to the eventual profit. My kids will be doing the selling anyway.