It's been over a month now since the announcement concerning the transfer of Harbour Lights to Don. We were asked out thoughts and opinions on the sale to Don and also asked to give our input into things we would like to see happen. There has been a lot of input from us but no response from Don on what direction he is going to take. It would be encouraging if we knew what direction Harbour Lights is going other then to Maine. Will Harbour Lights become a stepchild of Lighthouse Depot or will it remain a separate entity? Will the dealers we have grown to trust be tossed aside and Lighthouse Depot be the only source for our lighthouses. I realize that we do not own the company but we do buy the product so some input from the other end should be forthcoming from Don, or his representative, concerning what his plans are. I may be the only one that feels this way, but, am the kind that likes to know what is in store for my collection of lighthouses.

It would be nice to get some feedback. Obviously, the business deal was in the works for a very long time before it was finalized. Surely Don has some really firm ideas of where he wants to go with the company. I am eager to hear from him. As a collector, I am very anxious about the dealer issue which is becoming a bigger and more problematic one.

I would like to know what will happen in regards to the Collectors Clubs. We have depended on the care packages from Harbour Lights to help with fundraising for lighthouses.

Many of the dealers in local stores I have talked to were not even aware that Harbour Lights had been sold. A few said they only knew because they personally were a member of the Collectors Society and received the same letter that we did. I can see that news of the sale might make some retail stores wonder what is happening and could make some stores panic, maybe deciding to drop the line since they don't know what is happening and fear an uncertain future.

I think the future of Harbour Lights is a known fact. I feel retail outlets will continue to sell HL's as long as it's profitable.

This could change along with the "bottom line" of the new owners. One would think it would behoove the new owners to continue with the great public relations efforts of the Younger Family. Afterall, that's what made Harbour Lights what it is today.

Perhaps the new owners will come up with some innovative ideas to create some rare variations to help raise funds for lighthouse collector club projects promoting restoration and preservation.

We can only speculate what may happen at this point. Time will tell.

Bob

Let's give Don a bit more time. Kathy Johns (formerly Dowling) arrived in West Kennebunk over the weekend and her first day was yesterday.

Five 53' semi-trailers of Harbour Lights products have either arrived or are on the way. They are building out racks in the warehouse to hold the inventory.

The email server arrived Friday from El Cajon and was set up the same day so it should be working. The general email is harbourlights@harbourlights.com

When I met with him last Friday, I gave him print outs of the various threads about the change of ownership. Lot's of catch-up reading to do.

Don has already sent a letter to each of the dealers. Lighthouse Depot had a lot of back stock of retired Harbour Lights; one thing Don has done is tell dealers they are going to merge their own stock with the HL Inventory so dealers will be able to buy those retired pieces at their cost. A list will go out to dealers later.

Clubs will continue to be an important part of Harbour Lights and will receive support similar to what they have in the past couple of years.

Work proceeds on the in-store events and two regional events for 2006. One will piggy-back on the WACKO gathering in Tidewater VA in June. The other will be a Fall gathering in New England.

One thing I can tell you is Don will be providing the Collector Forums with server space at no charge. It may take a month or two to move the contents. Thanks, Don!

Sounds like things may be headed in the right direction, JC. Thanks for the info.

Bob

Hopefully Don will put out an official summation of his plans in the next month or two. I realize it is pure chaos right now but something official coming out will put my mind at rest at least towards my longtime dealer continuing to get my autoship number. My biggest fears are having to buy from Lighthouse Depot, paying their high shipping fees and loosing my autoship number. So far none of these concerns have been addressed officially to the collectors by Don.

Sounds like things are beginning to fall into place. Thanks for the update, John.

Great minds think alike. My autoship dealer is in Oregon. They do not charge me a shipping fee. Will my future new pieces be shipped from Maine to Oregon then back to Massachusetts? It seems like a waste of money and time to ship them cross country to the dealer then back across the country to me.

A loss of my autoship number might change my mind about getting one of every new LE, AB, and lens release. It would be a tremendous cost savings to buy just what I like but I'm a creature of habit and would like to keep my autoship numbers. My only compromise would be a lower autoship number.

I'd be willing to bet there are other people who feel the same way besides Rich and I.

Bob

Let me remind everyone that when the sale was announced, Harbour Lights said that all autoship numbers would be protected and preserved.

What a nice dealer you have, Bob. I always had to pay local dealers to ship mine - they were too far away for me to make the drive - big waste of my time. Of course, that was in the days when I had a dealer.

Over the years I have had dealers that didn't charge me for shipping, because I was buying one of everything that HL's produced and that was their way of giving me a discount.. At the time HL did not allow discounting and this was their way of playing by the rules and at the same time giving me a little something off for buying one of everything..

With some dealers selling at a discount on eBay this was the only way the dealer living up to their end of their contract could provide an incentive for a regular customer to stay with them.. Good service used to be the main thing in keeping customers but it seems harder and harder to find companies with that as a priority!

It still is a major priority with Sue and I...

Bob, I think you misunderstood what I said. The future of HL may be a known fact to you, but to the retail stores who have heard nothing but speculation from customers that is not a known fact to them. Hopefully, now that communication to the retail stores is happening, that will help them know what is going on.