This simple survey is intended to reveal how often collectors actually VISIT a Harbour Lights dealer -- and how MANY dealers they visit.

As I travel I always stop to check out any dealer that I can find. Always on the lookout for a piece that I don't have! However I'm always dissapointed as I always have more then the store does!! :rolleyes: Also looking for discounts and low numbers.

Was in St. Augustine two days ago and found 20% discounts at the Christmas Store in town and also at the Lighthouse Gift Shop. Neither ofwhich had anything that I don't.

I can't remember the last time I was at a Harbour Lights Dealer. I'm on autoship and one of each new LE, AB, and Lens getted shipped to my home as they are released.

With over 300 HL's in stock at my place, the thrill of the hunt has diminished considerably. I do stop by eBay and pick off a few bargains once in awhile, hoping for resale at a better price at a later date. I too look for low or special flag #'s on the older pieces.

Bob

I visit my Harbour Lights dealer, The Lighthouse Gallery in Nags Head, NC as often as I can, which is 3-4 times a year average. Although there are closer ones, I deal with that one whenever possible. I've known all the owners over the years, and several have become personal friends.

Not on autoship, because I just don't want everything, but generally get a low 3 digit number from this dealer.

HL dealer? What is that?
The only ones I visit are online
And then they are too far away
There are some companoes here that occasionally sell HL, LL etc. But I would not go as far as calling them dealers.
They just happen to have a few. There would be no chance of actually collecting the whole range of say the LLs using a dealer here!
:rolleyes:

I took the survey yesterday but felt it really didn't reflect what I used to do and would like to continue doing - just what I'm forced to do now. My visits are infrequent because I have no one near me. My first and best dealer was just a little out of the way on the way home from work. I was always in there - probably a couple of times a month. I really enjoyed chatting with the people there and just looking. Frequently, I would put something on layaway. I miss doing that very much. When I want something, I have to place an order by phone because the dealers are too far away - and have to keep my fingers crossed that they will send me a low number - haven't been very successful there.

John if you answer question 1 as "you cant recall" you can't really answer question 2.

Sean

I used to work for a dealer 5 days a week, so I'm trying to make the visits more sparce now to allow the rest of you to catch up.

Now, the nearest dealer is 50 - 60 miles away. I find that I'm usually looking for something retired below retail on ebay. I'll stop in and check out a dealer when I'm near one. Every time I take a trip, I check to see if there's one where I'm going. You never know what you'll find (like the Rose Island reunion piece I bought off a store shelf for $60.00 and sold here in the marketplace 2 weeks later for $250.00 a couple of years ago).

One of the dealer's I used to frequent closed this month not because of lack of business, but because the mall they were in is closing to be rebuilt into one of the "town square" configurations. They will not be reopening, as the build completion is far away.

My other frequent dealer is a large Hallmark store, though their HL display has been downsized. This store carries alot of collectibles, Boyd's Bears, Cherished Teddies, Disney, Jim Shore Heartwood, Precious Moments, Charming Tails, well you get the idea.

There is a third store, GiftHouse, nothing but collectibles, but it is another 25+ miles northwest from the Hallmark and I have to drive 25 miles just to get to the Hallmark. Not to misslead anyone, I live in the sticks, "way" outside Denver.

Mel, I live right in the city - thought I was moving to the "sticks" when we bought this house, nothing but rice fields beyond a few blocks from here. Now I'm almost inner city and still have to go 20 to 25 miles to find a dealer who may still carry a few HL's - they usually have only LLOM's.

I used to really enjoy trying to hit Harbour Lights dealers in my travels, but its just not the same anymore. A vast majority of the dealers I've visited recently, that are listed on H.L. dealer list as carrying the full line are lucky to have 4 or 5 pieces on the shelves. Even more that I've visited before, that I go back to a year later are no longer carrying them. I'm lucky to have a dealer that's still committed to carrying H.L., I just hope that H.L. will still be committed to their dealers.

Mike

Mike (and others) - don't give up on the 'new' Harbour Lights just yet! I would venture a guess that Don may well work to improve the dealer network so that he can move more product. He is a strong business person with lots of retail experience. I do believe he is well aware of the need to maintain (and maybe / hopefully) expand the dealer network. Remember, the stronger the dealer network, the more product that is moved. The more product moved the more profit. A vested interest to make it work well.

Don't you suppose that some folks are just using the change of ownership as a convenient excuse to thin out the product lines they carry? At this point in time there is no basis on which to make a good decision, IMO.

I don't know Dave, seems this has been the trend for the past few years. When we first started collecting, there were 10 dealers within a half hour drive of us. now, there is 1. Granted several have closed up shop completly, but many have just abandoned the line. Those that have them have a small fraction of what they once had. Like I stated, I travel often, and frequently to the same places. I just see a trend that things just aren't the same as they we're even a year ago.
I think the new Harbour Lights owners will have an uphill battle getting their existing dealers to carry more, and get new dealers signed up, at least in the midwest.

I hope you're right.

Mike

Another CF member reports that the rep covering Wisconsin-Illinois-Indiana has basically retired in place.

Tony Constantino, the new Director of Sales & Marketing, for Harbour Lights is working first to resurrect the rep program and get them selling and servicing their dealers. I'm impressed at what I hear - but some dealers have no doubt 'retired in place' - haven't ordered new product and been simply selling their current inventory.

Reps have been encouraged to read the Collector Forums to understand the frustration of not having dealers convenient and some not being knowledgeable about the line.

They can also understand the passion of collectors about Harbour Lights.

Let's give them some feedback on what we'd like to see.

Well that's a breath of fresh air! One would think the pursuit of new collectors would be a priority. Getting new dealers on the team will eventually mean more new collectors. That is exactly what this collectible needs.

If an interested collector has to travel too far to view new releases, he or she will probably lose interest. I know when I was first starting to collect HL's I visited every dealer within an hour or so drive. It was the thrill-of-the-hunt days and the hope of finding a rare find, especially at retail. We need to restore similar feelings via new collectors to make collecting more desireable. This would lead to an increase in value of the older pieces.

We all know that a person would have to have extremely deep pockets to start out now and collect them all. On the other hand, if a new collector wanted to collect all the pieces from his or her region, it can be done without breaking the bank.

Bravo, Harbour Lights! Your faithful collectors aplaud your forward thinking business practices.

Bob

That is really good news. Don and his crew are steering in the right direction. I can see that, in a part of the country like mine, there is not much interest because we just don't have many lighthouses here. But the entire Atlantic coast, for instance, ought to have a lot of dealers. Accessibility to lighthouses nearby, I think, would inspire people to collect. If they walk into a collectibles shop and see an attractive and extensive display of Harbour Lights - particularly those in their area - that would motivate new people to want to buy. Eventually, they would move on to other models in other parts of the country. Isn't that how most of us got started? I bought Boliver and Port Isabel and wanted more. Of course, that was it for my area, so I had to move on - Florida was next because I'd seen many of those lights and so on. There should be heavy sales on the west coast, the Great Lakes, etc., wherever there are many lighthouses. Hopefully, the company will be able to reinvigorate interest and bring many more people into the world of lighthouse collecting.