Special non-lighting limited edition Christmas piece Limited to 500.

Still make the regular lighted Christmas piece.
But also offer a special Christmas edition limited to 500, using the same mold as the Lighted version, But no light and No hollowed out bottom for batteries. Maybe some distinctive painting differences and rather not see the clear plastic lens either.

Interesting concept...question is, which way works better for the Wow Factor?

It might also work to have the non-lighted be the regular edition, and the lighted be the 500. The lighting is a novelty; the regular edition is not. Limiting the quantity of the novelty version might create more buzz than the other way.

Limiting the lighted version might work better business-wise, because then it might get casual collectors a little more excited. Conversely, limiting the non-lighted version might create more buzz amongst collectors.

Re-releasing a non-lighted Christmas piece will also have to require a bit of face-saving by HL. They've lighted them for several years; why go back? Us collectors would know why (or think we do), but what would be the greater public reaction to a reversion. That's why limiting the lighted piece might be better - the marketing department can "play the card" with limiting the "special version," while the regular one is released to the "masses".

There'd be marketing and image pros and cons to either way. Obviously, it'd have to be left to HL/LHM's marketing department to figure out which way to go - that is, of course, if they ever even considered doing this. But I think there may be a touch more publicity goodness in limiting the "special" lighted edition.

Just because we hate the light-upness doesn't mean that that's not a selling point.

I'll second that motion! I'm sure it would cause quite a scramble for those 500. Count me in!

Bob

Greg
I picked limiting the non-lighted to 500 verses the lighted because, I feel the HL collector is generally not excited about the lighted lights. I am talking about people that really collect, that would have from 50 to 300(or more). I think these people would be more interested in a rare low production of a non-lighted.

I feel the majority of collectors that like the lighted version are more of a casual buyer and is caught by the neat lights. I feel most of them would not be interested in a small production, they just buy what catches their eyes.

I would be one of the ones scrambling for one of the 500 non-lighting Christmas pieces.
I am trying to collect all of the Christmas pieces, still missing four of them, but I prefer the non-lighting. The lighting pieces I have are in the curio and not pluged in and no batteries.