Harbour Lights Burnt Island (ME) Christmas 2009$54.99 (retail $120.00)

Harbour Lights San Luis Obispo (CA) BRAND NEW '09 $87.99 (retail $110.00)

Harbour Lights Makapu'u Hawaii BRAND NEW '09 $59.99 (retail $75.00)

Harbour Lights Haut-Fond Prince Canada BRAND NEW '09 $77.99 (retail $95.00)


This certainly cannot be helping the retail market and anyone doing this should be ashamed of themselves!

I can understand why HLs does nothing about this. It is for selling product for HLs period. As long as they sell their product that is all they are interested in. They quite obviously aren't interested in the secondary market value as they used to be. They must stay alive and to do that they must sell their products. Who it does affect the most is their legitimate dealers that still follow the rules of their contracts and the collectors that are buying their pieces through these legitimate dealers instead of Ebay.

It wouldn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who these non-conforming dealers are. All someone from HLs has to do is buy a piece and then track the serial number to the dealer that the piece was originally shipped to. I could understand a dealer trying to sell his inventory after 6 months to a year, but, not from the git-go. Of course, if there is no enforcement of the contract or penalty to pay, why should a dealer wait.

I don't blame the dealers for trying to move their inventory, especially in this economy...and has anyone else noticed how similar Makapu'u is to Cheryl Spencer Collin's Heceta Head, OR? It's almost uncanny, like the HL sculptor used hers to model it...

Frankly, I don't give a $%$#@ what the economy is like, any dealer who does this makes it harder on not only other dealers, but collectors as well. The lower prices they are selling their lighthouses for affects the worth of collector's pieces, as well as taking business away from the dealers who are doing the right thing. Any dealer who resorts to these tactics should be $%itcanned! We legitimate dealers are busting our hump here to hold the integrity of this line, spending many dollars in advertising and countless hours providing service to our customers and now we have this to deal with! I blame Lighthouse Depot, and the owners of Harbour Lights, in starting this trend with the GLOWS and Anchor Bays. It makes me rethink the direction of my business, as I've spent countless hours and money promoting Harbour Lights since I became a dealer. It may be time to go in another direction and drop the Harbour Lights line!!!!!!

Sounds like I really struck a nerve here but I totally agree w/you Roland, I complained about the GLOWs and the LLOMs and the ornaments and the boats and the mugs and the cutlery and the dolls and even eBay a helluva long time ago...

Rock, Roland is talking about the sale price reducing not the production of the GLOWs etc.

I'm aware of that Paul...why do you think the sales prices have been reduced in the first place?!

Rock,
I have no problem with producing the other products. LLOM's are very popular and they really don't take away from the LE's. The GLOWS also make this size lighthouse available to those who aren't hard-core collectors, so that there is always an available lighthouse for the one they want. Also don't have a problem with the other merchandise. I sell many more items on my site than just lighthouse replicas. I get many inquiries from customers for other type lighthouse merchandise all the time, and other lines of lighthouse merchandise remain among our best sellers on the site. As a retailer, I'm OK with the other stuff.
What breaks the back of us retailers is that Harbour Lights has in the past been so adament about keeping the integrity of the line, especially all of its LE products, both lighthouses and Anchor Bay. Suddenly we have the GLOW closeout, which wouldn't have been so bad except that the Depot was selling GLOWS to the public for less than HL was selling them to its dealers! And then, the Depot slashes prices on the Anchor Bays, and when I inquire as to why and try to get a better price for mine I'm told that it's just a LD thing, nothing to do with Harbour Lights. That's total bull! It's killing the market for both retailers and collectors! It appears more and more to me that HL has phased out its wholesale reps, and now they are trying to phase out their dealers and do everything through the LD!

As I stated in an earlier post a month ago when LD started discounting the the Anchor Bay pieces and the GLOWS on their website they where basicly condoning that practice because LD is Harbour Lights. With this action by them I have no problem with other retailers discounting because they are following Harbour Lights lead.