There have been a number of posts about the relative value of Harbour Lights limited editions.

No one wants to pay more than they have to for an item. The sources for retired lighthouses can be:

1. A retail dealer who still has the item at retail (check the "Retired@Retail" service before buying ANY retired item.)

2. A retail dealer who has purchased the item from a collector and who re-sells it at an appreciated price. (A few retail dealers mark up retired items from their inventory.)

3. A Secondary Dealer - who owns inventory they are selling.

4. A Secondary Broker - who is brokering the items that individual collectors have placed with them for resale.

5. Individual collectors who are either selling 'extras' they own or are liquiding part or all of their personal collection.

Those who are selling a particular lighthouse are free to ASK whatever they want for it. Sometimes a price may have a reason to be 'higher' than it 'should be'. For example, the piece may have a very low serial number or have a unique coloration or be an especially fine example of the piece when others are 'rougher' in appearance.

Some pieces may be offered for 'lower' prices because it is missing a box. (Never devalue a piece because it is missing it's certificate. HL will provide you with a replacement certificate free.

Brokers are most likely to publish prices and you are likely to find a range of prices for any given piece. Keep in mind the list a broker offers is going to change frequently as they sell items and add items to their list. One list that is available on line is that of the Collectible Exchange. http://www.colexch.com/ (Select listings, then choose Harbour Lights to see the most recent list.) This is not a recommendation of Collectible Exchange over any other broker/dealer.

You might see, for example, the available for the limited edition Hilton head:
1 HL-HILTON HEAD, SC #136 438/1, 467/1, 469/2, 474/1, 500/1
This means that one is being offered at $438, 1 is available at $467, 2 are offered at $469, 1 is at $474 and 1 is offered at $500. A total of 6 are available from $438 to $500. These prices already reflect the commission that Collectibles Exchange adds to the amount these sellers want to receive for their Hilton Heads.

As a rule of thumb, I discount the top and bottom prices and use the middle range as realistic. (The cheapest one is likely to have been sold; the most expensive one could be priced by someone with unrealistic expectations -- or who wants to 'push up the value' of the piece by listing his/hers at an inflated price.)

I also use the NUMBER of items available as an indicator of its scarcity. However, gain, this is not always firm. For example, there's only one Cape Henry listed -- but this one can be widely found at retail.


In the case of the Collectible Exchange, individuals can list their items for sale at no charge, may also be trying to sell it themselves and may change their minds about selling when the Exchange calls to say they have a buyer for that piece. Thus the buyer is not SURE of being able to buy any or all of these items. In addition, the pieces offered for sale through the Collectibles Exchange may ALSO be listed through another broker.

Again, remember these are ASKING prices from sellers.

To find out what SELLERS got for the pieces, you need to refer to a service that collects information from Secondary Dealers and publishes that information. The only such service of which I am aware of is the Collectors Information Bureau (CIB). Recognized Secondary Dealers contribute data on sales during the preceeding six months and CIB publishes the range of sales prices 2 x a year. www.collectorsinfo.com . You won't find the prices at the web site. You'll need to purchase their book. It's a good investment if you're wondering what the value of your collection is or if you want to know how much a piece you want to buy is selling for.

A caveat here, too. The information in the CIB guide is 1 month to 7 months old. Some pieces appreciate rapidly, others do not.

Prices on the secondary market are determined by buyers who decide that something is worth a set price to them.

To be a secondary market 'dealer', one only needs to call themselves that. I noticed at the Reunion that many, many postings on the bulletin board there were made under names that I had not seen before as sellers. That is not to say that they are less reliable, simply that all it takes to be a 'dealer' is to call youself one. Caveat Emptor. Ask for references, check the references and understand in advance the return policy or satisfaction guarantee (if offered) by the seller. Purchasing with a credit card (not a debit card) gives you some recourse.

Others comments are welcome. We're NOT looking for the NAMES of secondary dealers with which you have been happy or displeased here - just information that will be helpful to new collectors making their first purchases on the secondary market.

Postings with the names of specific sources may be deleted or edited.

Great posting, John. I agree with what you say.

I have bought several pieces from the secondary market---both retail stores (who sometimes inflated the price, but still came in well below what the secondary market was asking in general) and secondary market dealers.

In all cases, the first thing I do (besides asking if the piece is still available) is to chat a bit about Harbour Lights in general. What do they know about them? Have they attended any of the collectible shows? What's their 'take' on the success of the company? What pieces are hot right now? Who do they talk with at Harbour Lights, how often, and what about? Are they up-to-date on the latest retirements? Do they themselves love lighthouses and visit them? What's their opinion of current releases?

In other words, establish a rapport. All things being equal, people like to do business with their friends. All things NOT being equal, people STILL like doing business with their friends. Secondary pieces are expensive, and the service you get from a secondary dealer should reflect that. If I get the runaround...or if the dealer tries to rush me or dodges questions, forget it.

One final thought. While it's smart to shop around (and if you're new to the secondary market, you should ALWAYS shop around, starting at the Retired @ Retail site), it can also be smart to stick with a single dealer once you've established that both the product, price, and service are up to your standards and expectations. I've bought most of my secondary pieces from a single source. This company has firmly earned my trust...giving me a fair price and excellent service. They always call to make sure I've received the piece, and they keep my "wish list" handy for when they get a piece that matches my price point. Besides that, they're just nice to talk to about Harbour Lights and lighthouses in general.

So that's my 2 cents worth. I have had wonderful results on the secondary front, and I hope you do, too.

[This message has been edited by Bill Harnsberger.]

As a collector whom is getting to the point of only having a few lighthouses left to acquire in order to have a fairly complete collection, I am very interested in this information thread on pricing. Since the remaining editions I have left to get in order to round out my collection are on the "expensive" side, I am always searching for reliable and cost effective options to acquire lighthouses.

I agree you need to settle on sources you feel comfortable with and have had good success with in past transactions and to this end I have gotten to the point where I have about 3 good sources for secondary purchases and 2 local vendors whom I deal with for current releases. However, I am always open to new sources, if they are good, and your reference to the Collectible Exchange made me immediately link to it and see what it is all about.

It looks interesting, but I do have a question that maybe someone can help me with. I noticed that they list the items with only price and quanity available and yet there is no mention of other important aspects, such as edition number, country of manufacture, if it has a rod, condition, box included, etc.

Since I am at the point where I am trying to build my collections with certain types of LH's (ie. all the original 17 with rods, low edition numbers, etc.)how does one go about getting answers to these types of questions on a site like Collectible Exchange? Is this site primarily for hardcore collectors who resell, or is it something that can be used effectively by people like myself? I was pleased to see that I have been purchasing from my existing sources at very close to the "going price", but I am starting to find limited availabilty with some of my needs, or more appropriately my wants, from some of my existing sources.

Since I collect to enjoy and not to make a profit I am very interested in finding the best pieces at a fair price. At some time in the future I am sure that I will have some HL's to sell simply since I am upgrading pieces at this time, but making a profit is not the goal, it is only to improve my collection.

If someone could help with some information I would appreciate it.

How can you get information of the pieces for sale ? in the case of The Collectible Exchange there is a toll free phone number on their web page, you can call them and ask if they have information on certain pieces such as edition number, water color, country of orgin, if it has a lightning rod and so on. On most dealers, brokers internet web pages you can e-mail them questions about their stock.

Is this site used primarly by hardcore sellers ? In my opinion no ! because a hardcore seller trying to make a profit would not want to share a large percentage of the profit with a middle man. Anyone can use it

there's my two cents, ( your milage may vary )

Mark