The Top Ten on Ebay for the week 11/05/04 and week of 10/29/04.
Sorry running behind

The top Ten highest priced Harbour Lights are:

1.Pharos Collectiom (reserve not met)$320

Portland Bill, Dorset England PC101 edition #2076
Needles Point, Isle of Wight England, PC104 edition 2291
Bell Rock, Scotland, PC107 edition #2390
Trwyn Du, Island of Anglesey North Wales, PC103 edition 2163
Ballinacourty Point, Dungarvan Ireland, PC105 edition #2352

Only 400 available and the top bid only made $320. The reserve was not met and usually I don’t review unsuccessful bids. But I will make an exception for the Pharos. The Pharos is an extremely well crafted Harbour light. But that wasn’t the original belief about them
The following Announcement was released by Kim in October 2000
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-...we wish to DISCOURAGE our dealers and collectors from hunting for the Pharos available in the UK. These pieces are not up to our product standards, and we are concerned that if a dealer or collector goes to great effort and expense to acquire them, they will only be disappointed as the end result....
...We find mold deterioration, warping of towers, poor paint application and colors, as well as messy fingerprints on the pieces. We made the decision that these pieces, as produced, could not be shipped to our dealers...
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Of course the collectors didn’t listen and it was not long until a few were starting to find the market. I believe the bronze lady was the first to sell a set and it went for $750. That set the price until August 2001. Then information leaked out to the forum that a dealer was found in UK that was selling them for a total of ($279) including shipping. This was announced on the forum by pharologst and it wasn’t very long until those on the forum that wanted a Pharos set got one including yours truly. From 2002 until now the value has bounced between $279 and $400. I personally feel that its true value is $750 to $1000 and I wouldn’t sell one unless I got that price range.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=11132&item=6126168136&rd=1

2.Big Bay Point $203.50

As I have said before Big Bay is the most stable priced Limited Edition. Since I have been collecting (dec1996) the going price was $200 to $250 and still is. This is one of the few good investment pieces that has held its value for seven years and I expect it to hold it an other seven.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=11132&item=6126971923&rd=1

3. KEY WEST FLORIDA #134 $162.50

Mint in original box. THIS PIECE IS NUMBERED 786/5500 and sells on ebay for the above price unless it is a Canadian, If it was an canadian this price is extremly cheap. Last year the highest priced Canadian Key West went for was $403

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=11132&item=6124762454&rd=1

4. KEY WEST FLORIDA #134 MINT IN original BOX $159.50
THIS PIECE IS NUMBERED 5044/5500and went for the going price.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=11132&item=6126973619&rd=1

5. Ocracoke 135 $152.67
THIS PIECE IS NUMBERED 172/5500 and has no original box. It is made in Canada. The low price is reflecting the lack of original box and the dissatisfaction of several forum members that has dealt with this seller on earlier bids. From the visual condition of the pictures available I would say that it is in excellent condition except for minor nicks at base. Occracokes have been going from $300 to $600, which would make this one a bargain.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=11132&item=6126105757&rd=1

6. Southeast BLock $152.50
3548/5500. It comes in its original box and has never been displayed.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=11132&item=6126423481&rd=1

7. SAINT AUGUSTINE, FL #138 $150.50

# NUMBER 369/5500. A low number Malaysian with original box. This has bargain written all over it. As I have stated before I would value a clean looking St Augustine with box at $300 to $350. The low price is because of the The st Auggie event Piece. It has been killing the secondary market for the #138 L.E. ever since it came out.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=11132&item=6126968485&rd=1

8. Gold plated Golden Gate Bridge--- 663G numbered 117 $147.50
This bid is an insult to the Harbour light collectors. An extremely limited Gold Plated Harbour Light with a production of only 250. The seller let it go for almost half of what he paid for it. I feel that the value is $350 to $400 and should never be sold until that price is met. Of course selling low because of Health problems, divorce, and settling estates are allowable.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=11132&item=6125742056&rd=1
9. WEST QUODDY HEAD,ME $144.70
3170/5500

This went for green book price. West quoddy has been bringing in a good price lately on ebay. Many times a clean looking High number Malaysian will bring in a better price than a “Made in Canada” There is a group of collectors out there, that want the brand new looking condition that is harder to find on the Canadian made lighthouses. In fact many of the early Canadians have antiquing on them to make them look older. I myself prefer to have both.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=11132&item=6126967871&rd=1


10. PONCE DE LEON FLORIDA #132 $142.05

THIS PIECE IS NUMBERED 1322/5500 and comes
Mint in original box. This is an other bargain. Excellent condition and owners claims that it has never been displayed. At this time the Ponce value on ebay is from $142.0 to $200 When it comes to secondary market the Ponce is not doing that bad. Still in demand and brings in a %180 to %260 profit on ebay. I tribute this to the Ponce glow. The glow is nothing compared to the original and hence the bigger demand for the L.E. The St Augustine on the other hand has an elaborate event piece that has been killing St Auggies secondary market.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=11132&item=6124763501&rd=1

Good review, Dan! Thanks for taking the time to gather and post that information.

I think you may be refering to seller "easydropoff". He flooded the ebay scene with hundreds of desireable pieces and originally advertised them as being in excellent condition. I bought two pieces from him. One piece cost me more to ship than I bid for it. The second piece came through damaged and even if it wasn't damaged, the condition should have been described as extremely poor. I contacted him and asked for a refund. He told me to ship it back and he would refund my money. I shipped it back with the confirmed delivery option. I haven't been notified that he got it yet. If you look at the pictures in his auctions, the pieces look like they are dusty. The reason they look that way is because they are dusty. The two pieces I received looked like they were displayed for years without any protection from the elements. I'm hoping I receive my refund soon. I've yet to be burned on eBay and I don't want to start now.

Give this some thought...We know that everyone who purchased one of these paid the retail price of $250. These pieces were very limited and offered the rare opportunity to buy a "gold piece". Someone was hard up enough to sell it for half what he or she paid? I guess they didn't like what they bought and just wanted to get rid of it. I did not buy this item. I collect lighthouses, not spin-offs like bridges. I don't consider the Golden Gate Bridge a true representation of a Harbour Lights meant for a lighthouse collection. I would define it as a somewhat rare novelty brought to you by the people who also offer hot-air balloon replicas.

Isn't it amazing how many of the Southern Belles are appearing at eBay. Where were these pieces when I originally needed them! Another amazing fact is most of them are described as "never displayed". How can people buy these great pieces and never display them? Could it be that Pinnocchio's nose is growing, just a little? Could someone call Bill Clinton to get a true definiton of the phrase "never displayed"?

Boxes, boxes, who's got the boxes? It amazes me that a collector finds a desired piece at a desired price and doesn't desire to purchase it because it doesn't have the original box. Wake up, folks! These great pieces won't be available forever at this kind of pricing. Buy that piece for the lesser price and shop for one at a highly inflated price at a later date. More than likely you would be able to resell it later when you find your boxed piece, and you will have derived the pleasure of having it in your collection until that time.

Dan, please keep these eBay HL Top 10's coming every week or so. They make a great topic of conversation.

Bob

Daniel,

Your Top Ten Ebay Response was excellent. I especially liked your analysis and research on the Pharos Collection.

But let's not forget, there were three more which I call the British non-Pharos Collection:

Bishop Rock
Longstone
Old Lundy (Lundy Island)

I purchased all eight, and I'm glad that I did.

bobo

Daniel,
Welcome back!! I really enjoy and appreciate your reports.
Rick

Great review!

In one of my above posts I mentioned that I received a damage piece from "easydropoff" via an eBay auction. I contacted the seller, notified him the piece was damaged, and requested a refund. Yesterday his check arrived in full payment of what I originally paid including shipping. I would have to say that he is trying to do the right thing with his auction customers. Needless to say I was very pleased with how he dealt with the problem of my broken piece.

Bob

Well Done, Daniel!! That was a lot of work...

I totally agree with you about the St Augustine situation, most HL138 St Augustine's used to go for over $400 and it was holding it's own while other lighthouses secondary prices were going down..

I think that the price of an Orcacoke might start to decrease now with the Open Edition now available..

Was it Peaches & Herb that sang, "Ain't nothing like the real thing, Baby..."? Ocracoke is Ocracoke. It's somewhat of a plain HL but still manages to draw attention when one comes up for sale. I don't really feel the actual worth of Ocracoke in today's market will be reduced by the fact the GLOW is now a reality. I think the overall worth is down because the entire collectible secondary market is down.

Bob