Just had to post this. I had been looking for a Currituck piece on Ebay for a while now, and I thought the price was just to high for me. I went to the "marketplace", and the OldKeeper had posted a message that had this piece listed for sale. I contacted her, and she directed me to a store that was going out of business. I called, and low and behold they still had a piece. I asked for the price, expecting it to be through the roof. I braced myself, and then was told that the piece would only be $71.25. I was stunned. I asked whether it was in mint condition and everything. She said that it hasn't even been out of the box. Apparently she has a few left. She said that the last piece she will sell will be the display.

At any rate, this piece will be on its way to my curio very shortly. Thanks OldKeeper, and Gale at the Broughton Christmas Shop in Orangeburg, SC (803) 536-4176

I too contacted Gale and picked up a Currituck. I was amazed considering that I was about ready to bid around $200 on ebay last weekend for one. Gale was amazingly friendly and the lighthouses I ordered arrived in two days.

BTW, Gale's email address is leogale@aol.com.

In general, I am not in favor of using the Forums to spread the word about below-retail Harbour Lights at retail dealers who are going out of business or discontinuing the line.

This is because each such sales detract from the business of more than 1,600 Harbour Lights dealers who are abiding by their signed agreement not to discount the line.

I do not think this is fair to these dealers. That a particular store chooses to violate their agreement (which is not modified because they are going out of business or discontinuing the line) should not be 'rewarded' by sending them more business.

Yes, we all like bargains. And in this case, there are probably few Curritucks available at retail stores. But these kind of 'sales' depreciate your collection by supressing the 'secondary market' and its natural operation.

In the past, I have deleted a few similar messages (less than 5, I think) mentioning such 'sales'.

The comments of others are welcome.

Comments from others can also be found in the Discounting & Dumping thread in the Fog Signal Building - which has fallen on hard times lately and appreciates your patronage. :-)


[This message has been edited by JTimothyA (edited 04-11-2001).]

<>

[This message has been edited by SThompson (edited 04-23-2001).]

If you feel you have the right to make these comments, Sean, then I have the right to make the following comment....

Don't remove your posts after you make them because it makes the person that comments on something that you have said look stupid when there isn't the reason for their response.

I won't make a comment on your post above, which I happen to have a couple of things to say about them, because of what I just stated above.

Paul L Brady,

I bought the Currituck Piece for $71.25, and then got $9 in shipping charges added on to the final price. If it retailed for $80, then I'm paying a measly quarter higher than retail for this piece.

Also, Gale asked me if I was interested in any other piece, and I told her Point Fermin. She informed me that she didn't have that piece, but if she did it would cost over $300 to purchase from her.

Now why is it that everyone condones paying a fortune over what an actual piece initially costs, but when it comes to finding a bargain every once in a blue moon, then people start crying fowl?

The secondary market is just that, secondary. It's price is set by what buyers are willing to pay, and by what price sellers are willing to sell. I found a seller willing to sell a retired market piece at a slight loss to her, and I am grateful for that, especially since I am not willing to shell out 200 to 300 dollars on Ebay for an over inflated piece.

If we don't want to buy things below their market value, then maybe we should remove the retired from retail link from the Harbour Lights webpage. All we're doing is depreciating the value of the retired lights if we find one at a retail price, and the secondary price is much higher than that.

I too have paid slighly above market value for a few of my pieces. In the long run, everything averages out. As far as I'm concerned, those of you who wish to harp on people who sell pieces slightly below retail are missing out on a few bargains. Go right ahead. Maybe then there will be a few more lighthouses out there that I can afford in the future.

Also, the initial post was not intended to promote any one shop. I was posted because I have wanted this piece for a long time, and everytime I found one, the price was way to high. I was just happy that I finally found the piece I want, at a price that I could afford.

[This message has been edited by Naders (edited 04-12-2001).]

Please don't misunderstand, Naders - I'm not criticizing you or your post. It's just a something that bothers me and I wanted to re-express my feelings about it. Because you ended up finding the piece at basically retail, I didn't delete the post, but used it instead to initiate a discussion about this issue.



The Retired@Retail program was started in order to help along the secondary market by finding and helping dealers sell pieces that had retired and were a bit harder to find. Paying $250 for a piece that could be found for $75 at retail somewhere is something no collector wants to do. But once those $75 pieces are truly sold out at dealers, then the price can justifiably rise. They have not just been retired (sold out to dealers), they have been sold out to collectors.

In exchange for dealers selling retired pieces at retail, Retired@Retail directs collectors their way. Some dealers mark up retired pieces as soon as the announcement is made; most continue to sell their inventory until it's gone at retail. Some retail dealers buy pieces from collectors at appreciated prices and resell them at secondary prices.

The R@R service may have run out of sources, however. There aren't many pre-1996 pieces that are retired that can be found at retail stores anymore. And contributions from collectors are drying up, according to Rick Mau who has run the service for over 2 years now.

Again, Naders, nothing personal. I was not aware that this dealer had secondary market prices on some pieces. Another collector has indicated the Currituck was priced at $96 less a 25% 'discount'. I didn't mean to rain on your parade or stifle your joy at finding the piece.

[This message has been edited by JChidester (edited 04-12-2001).]

JChidester,

"Again, Naders, nothing personal. I was not aware that this dealer had secondary market prices on some pieces. Another collector has indicated the Currituck was priced at $96 less a 25% 'discount'. I didn't mean to rain on your parade or stifle your joy at finding the piece."

Don't worry, you didn't rain on any parade. Even if you would have, the rain would have ended, and the sun would have come out as soon as I received my Currituck.

We all have our opinions on certain subjects, and at least this forum gives us all the opportunity to express them, and occassionally get into healthy debates about them.

[This message has been edited by Naders (edited 04-12-2001).]

<>

[This message has been edited by SThompson (edited 04-23-2001).]

I wasn't speaking just for myself, Sean, and most have wondered why you bother to even post if you are just going to remove them.

I have already stated my feelings about this in e-mail to you before now and I stated my feelings about a portion of your post in this thread; in an e-mail to you last night, as you well know. There have been several others, who have asked me if I knew why you removed your posts, some as recently as last night. I would imagine there are a lot of forum members that wonder what has happened to the items that you post.

I feel, as I always have, that you have a great deal to add to the forums and I for one just wish that your comments would stay and not be deleted. This has absolutely nothing to do with whether I agree or disagree with something that you have posted and your rights to post.

Paul L Brady

<>

[This message has been edited by SThompson (edited 04-23-2001).]

Thank you, Sean, for answering the question as to why you remove your posts. That is what I was asking you to do here in the forums and not in a private e-mail.... no more, no less. Perhaps I stated it poorly, as I have often said I am a picture man and not a word man.

There sure isn't any reason to be hurt by this, Sean as I tried to explain (perhaps badly) that you have a tremendous knowledge about lighthouses and from a perspective that many have not had the opportunity to enjoy. I would like people a year down the road to have the same opportunity to learn from that knowledge. If you chose not to leave your post's that is your right but it is also my right to be disappointed by you doing it.

Now let's get on with life and enjoy this moment as the 24-crew members come home to their friends and families.

Paul L Brady

Let it go guys. Everyone's entitled to their opinion but let's not get carried away with personal attacks on each other. Reading this kind of stuff makes some folks uncomfortable with the forums.

Nader's Curriuck was discounted but not deeply and his purpose in posting, I believe, was to share with us the fact the he was able to obtain one for much less than the going rates on the secondary market. The fact that it was a bit less than retail wasn't the point.

While retailers are not supposed to discount, I can't help but put myself in their shoes, when many found themselves overloaded with lights once the numbers increased to 9500 and 10000. Maybe it's better that they discount them a bit than give up the line completely.

Right on Mombo,

"Naders...purpose in posting, I believe, was to share with us the fact the he was able to obtain one for much less than the going rates on the secondary market."

My main purpose of posting was just because I was happy to finally find one, at a price I could afford. Period. When I first saw this lighthouse, I knew I wanted it. It was one that really drew my attention. Then I went to ebay, and even read some things on this site. Everything I saw told me the price was going higher and higher for this piece. I was resigned to the fact that I may never get this piece, and then I finally found it. I was ecstatic, and I wanted to share that will everyone here. I had no intentions of starting the kind of thread that this has turned into.

I usually look, listen and say very little.It just works out best for me that way. But this time I must say... Naders I am impressed with your understanding and your enthusiam. I just hope the gentleman who made the second post has not been chased away.He too, seemed enthusiastic; but it was his very first posting. We need new and enthusiastic collectors on the forums. I believe there have been several posts to that effect.
I'll go back now looking, listening and collecting my lighthouses.

Warren

Warren,

Thanks for the kind comment. I have learned that there are more important things in life than getting upset over an internet web forum posting.

I also understand that everyone has a slightly different opinion on things, and that people will not always agree. The key is to respect the other persons difference of opinion, debate your side with them if you feel like it, and then walk away still speaking when the debate is over.

In this case, some people don't agree with purchasing Harbour Lights that are discounted, while others see absolutely no problem with it. Which side is right? In the grand scheme of things, does it really matter? I don't think so.

The key to this site is that we all love Harbour Lights. I know I usually don't go a day without standing in front of my curio and staring at my pieces. After this great debate has ended, we will all go back to collecting these great pieces, with some people finding the occassional discounted piece in the processes.

I have seen people who have gotten so upset and angry simply because somebody didn't agree with something they were thinking. Believe me, it's just not worth the frustration and stress. Life's short. Enjoy it. I choose to enjoy mine with a loving and understanding wife, a great family, a faithful dog, and my Harbour Lights. At the end of the day, I can go to sleep feeling fulfilled and happy. That's what matters most.

Be happy to. If you're talking about the Discounting thread, its link is in the msg above your first post in this thread. If you mean a different one, let me know and I'll find the link to it.

Links R Us,
__
/im

<>

[This message has been edited by SThompson (edited 04-23-2001).]

Well said, Sean!



Sorry, I just couldn't resist!!!!!

or as Flip Wilson used to say...


SaintWackoPaul '

Ah, Friday the 13th doncha know. Brings out the Wacko in the Wackos. Here on Pwanet Fwesnel our advanced ansible technology allows the capturing of all forum messages in real time. Yep - we got it all. So in case of message deletion, Click HERE

You type it talks,
__
/im

[This message has been edited by JTimothyA (edited 04-13-2001).]

The Duel at Dawn! Well I guess it was closer to 10:00 am!


SaintWackoPaul '
Keep the Flame