Top ten on ebay (plus two)-Dedication Issue.
No!!!- I am not coming back to the forum. But to show my thanks to Rich and many other collectors for being good friends for over the years, I have put together a special End of the year 2009 Top Ten On Ebay dedication Issue. I will make a special exception and be available on this forum till January 4th at which time I again will not be posting again.
For Newbies, an introductory to the” top ten On Ebay” Just after becoming the Moderator for the Secondary Market in July of 2004 I started a weekly to bi-weekly commentary on the top ten Harbour Light sales on Ebay. As years passed I have spread this feature to once or twice a year.
Each Lighthouse (most) is listed below with its name, its ebay price, the seller’s descriptions, and my comments. I took a collection of the highest retired Lighthouse over the past two weeks. I grouped the first six winning bids together for convenience.
The top twelve selling bids last week on ebay ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Burnt Island, Maine #725 Christmas 2009 $320
2. Burnt Island, Maine #725 Christmas 2009 $269.99
3. Burnt Island, Maine #725 Christmas 2009 $249.99
4. Burnt Island, Maine #725 Christmas 2009 $249.99
5. Burnt Island, Maine #725 Christmas 2009 $249.99
6. Burnt Island, Maine #725 Christmas 2009 $249.99
You are bidding on the SOLD OUT Harbour Lights 2009 Christmas edition titled "Burnt Island". This is the third and final in the Flying Santa Series. It is HL#725 and is a low production number.
Congratulations Tony on a record breaking Limited edition for its secondary market value. This is the highest any new (non-reunion piece) L.E. took the first top selling Harbour Lights in the record of ebay (most recent Runner up- probably the “AB118W”). Besides taking the lead as the most expensive new figurine on ebay, it took it six times, and that is only talking about the last two weeks. This piece has been on ebay for almost two months with recorded breaking sales with the highest being $360.
Originally back in July, Dealers started to unload the Burnt Island for as low as $54.00. They thought they could make a fast buck before the rest of the dealers received theirs. Little did they know that this was going to be a fine example of proofing wrong the theory of the early bird getting the worm.
Three months later on October 8, Tony revealed on the forum that Burnt Island was officially retired. Many speculations were gathered together on the forum of how this could possibly happen with today’s economy. Then on October 12, Tony then declared on this forum that the production amount for the Burnt Island was less than 750. It wasn’t long after, that many collectors realized that they missed the boat and ebay started to reflect this by Burnt Islands raising closing bids.
At this time I would say the value of the Burnt Island is $250 and it is the most sought after Christmas light being the first to surpass the infamous Big Bay. I haven’t heard, but I would assume that some collectors would be calling around looking for this one at retail, just like the good old days.
7. Fifth order Fresnel Lens $172.50
Harbour Lights Fifth Order Fresnel Lens Retired Limited Edition. HL 631 New in the Box. This was the first Fresnel lens produced by Harbour lights in 2000 and was limited to only 4000 pieces. This is a replica of a beehive lens made of a clear resin in a brass plated metal frame. The model can be rotated by manually turning the wheels that are in a track on the wooden base. Light is about 7 inches tall.
The fifth order has always enjoyed a good secondary market. With a production of 4,000 it retired in one month by June of 2000. Even as late as October 2005 it has gone as high as $300 on ebay. This and the Bailey’s Harbor are the two that I pointed out in the HL collectors guide as having a good secondary market. Either I am a wizard at picking good collectables or the fact of them being advertised in the collectors book has kept up their good secondary market value.
This is the most sought after of the Fresnel lens. There were two variations of this released. The standard clear with a tint of green and the hazy version. Assuming that a mold run for the Lens was around 15 to 20, that would be my guess on how many Hazy versions were made.
8. Waugoshance HL689 4th Reunion $118.50
You are bidding on one (1) Harbour Lights Lighthouse Collectible titled "Waugohance MI (HL689). There is NO RESERVE on this auction. This miniature size limited edition lighthouse was issued to attendees of the 2005 Reunion only and was retired in 2005. The flag has been hand numbered #166 out of a total of 400 issued. The lighthouse is in excellent condition and includes the original box and paperwork.
Going price for the Waugoshance.
The HL689 has gone as high as $400 right after the reunion in 2005 and still went as high as $370 in March of 2007. There will always be a market for reunion pieces; it just isn’t as high as it was in the past.
9. 3rd order Fresnel Lens HL651 $113.50
Harbour Lights 3rd order Fresnel Lens Limited Edition Retired #651. Serial Numbered #3469, this brand new (only opened to have Bill Younger sign back in 2002 and to photograph for listing. Box is just a little weathered from storage. This is the lens from Big Bay Point, Michigan. Includes the bulb that has never been used, and will run on batteries located in bottom of base. The lens is in mint condition. Includes Bill Younger signed 2002 special event decal.
1.35% of the retail price.
When it comes to the secondary market values for Fresnel lens, the hl 631 comes in the highest with the HL 650 and 651 coming in second. All Fresnel lens keep a better secondary market than most Harbour lights. This can be attributed to the fact that the Fresnels lens are a small group that makes it feasible to collect them all.
10. Harbour Lights New Point Loma $100
HL 604 New in the Box, First Collector Reunion Light. This is an opportunity to purchase a new in the box, never displayed New Point Loma from my own collection. It is number 884 of 950 produced for the first collectors reunion held in San Diego in 1997. The sculpture was signed by Bill Younger at the event.
This seems to be the going price anymore. The NPL collecting history goes something like this. After the 1997 reunion, when the participants returned home, they started selling their extra New Point Loma’s. This helped them pay for the cost of the reunion. Collectors fell in line trying to buy the NPL at the best price before they would go up anymore in value. Besides it being Habour Lights first skeleton lighthouse of this type, it also had a production of less than 1000. In the eyes of many collectors this lighthouse was as rare as the coquille. Besides less was made of the NPL than the coquille. The coquille was selling around $2600 from Mike Richards and I believe John said he and Warren were selling them for arround $3600. (John correct me if I am wrong). The other lighthouse used as a comparison was the Portland head that was going from $700 to $900 at the time.
The wrong thing about comparing the NPL to the Coquille was that the NPL was available with many collectors ready to unload their extras. The coquilles were absorbed into the public and extremely hard to find. Another thing that hurt the sales was that many collectors didn’t consider the NPL a real Harbour Light collectable since it was not offered through the dealers.
But as collectables go, the New Point Loma enjoyed a hefty secondary market value. I believe the first ones that were sold went for around $700 until the secondary market peaked out at $1400. I heard of some private sales where reunion members sold their NPL of as high as $2000 a piece. But in around 6months or so, after the smoke cleared, it didn’t take long for the New Point Loma to fall into its perspective value of $750. When I use the term perspective value, I mean the best possible price and the best place to find the best price was the AOL lighthouse collectables bulletin board.
The NPL probably held that value until ebay got in full swing in 1999.This is the date when most of the HL values started to fall. The New Point Loma kept dropping in value until 2005 where it held a ebay value of a low of $260 to a high of $350 until today where it sells for Retail to as high as $150
11. Yorktown Lightship Fresnel Lens $99.00
Introduced in 2006 with a edition size of 4,000 and a retail cost of $ 110.00
I would also put this as the going value. As secondary price of 90% of retail is not bad for an expensive Harbour Lights in a slumped economy. To me it is very apparent that all the Fresnel lens has a good market.
12. Bailey’s Harbor Front & Rear Range HL674 $82.50
You are bidding on one (1) Harbour Lights Lighthouse Collectible titled "Bailey’s Harbor Front and Rear Range" (HL674). There is NO RESERVE on this auction. This very limited event piece edition lighthouse set was issued in 2004 and was retired in 2004. The flag number is 67 and only a total of 500 were issued. The lighthouse set is in excellent condition and includes the original box and paperwork.
The set of Bailey Harbor retailed at $30 that makes this a 275% mark-up.
The Baileys always sell more than retail and it usually can be found from $60 to $130. This is a low number and is part of the special enhanced group that was offered at the Door county Regional.
The first 127 were signed and enhanced by Kim with some'hand painting'. Those attending the dinner at the Door County event was able to pre-purchase one of these per paid attendee. Also some of the enhanced version was available to a local dealer and at a display in Bailey's Harbor at the bus stop that transported lighthouse walkers to Cana Island.
Great info Daniel !!!
Bob
