Have you visited any HL dealers lately? I don't mean the one dealer you buy from all the time. I mean other dealers you have in your area or you pass by in traveling.

Since I'm on autoship, I usually don't make the effort to go out with the specific purpose of visiting dealers. Then I decided to visit a few to see what was going on in retail sales.

The first dealer I visited was in a mall in Taunton, MA. He has quite a collection of older pieces on display at above retail pricing. He was not receptive to me asking him if I could take a look at his stockroom. I was able to do that several years ago, but not now.

The second dealer I visited in the same mall told me they don't carry HL's anymore and had nothing left in stock.

Another dealer in a neighboring community (Middleboro, MA) had nothing but LLOM.

Another dealer I visited in Hopkinton had no new LE's on display and only had LE's that you see on eBay starting at $20-$25. They were strictly retail on their pricing.

Another dealer I visited in Bridgewater, MA, had a very limited supply of recent LE's and a few GLOWs. I asked them if they had anything out back that wasn't displayed out front. They said, "no".

Now that was five dealers I hadn't visited in quite some time. Only one out of the five had a decent supply of various LE's new, and not so new. One had nothing, and the other three had next to nothing.

Would you take this as a sign that the HL LE market is starting to dry up? Could it be these dealers are just servicing autoship customers and not stocking LE's for regular sale? Could it be the dealer sales of HL's are too slow so they are cutting back on inventory?

Let us know what's happening in your area, and what you make of it.

:rolleyes: Bob :rolleyes:

Maybe that's why there's no need to shop around. I get all my HL's from one dealer who carries everything I want.

She has it all on her web site. She ships all HL LE's free with terrific speedy service. I'm not on autoship and don't want to be, but all LE's that I purchase from her with one exception have been VERY low numbers.

What more could I ask for?

Judy

In the beginning (1996): We travelled often to visit Harbour Lights dealers, looking for good deals on retired pieces. On vacations, we'd always seek out the area's dealers.

Today: Other than one or two trips a year to Lighthouse Depot, I stick with my local dealer. I've got all the retired pieces I want, and have cut back on my purchases to 3-4 per year.

I wouldn't be surprised if EBay wasn't having some effect on the migratory habits of the North American Spotted Harbour Lights Hunter.

I travel quite a bit. While living in Maine over the past year, I checked numerous dealers that were listed on the HL website and all were a "retty sad state of affairs". Nothing to write home about. Several had nothing.

Then, My wife and I moved this past month closer to our parents in Pennsylvania. Same story here. Several dealers in the central PA area either have only a few "unwantables" or nothing at all.

So then, we traveled to my sister-in-laws on the eastern shore of Maryland. Quess what? Yup, pretty much the same story. Either old unwantables that are on ebay all the time, few LLOMs, or nothing at all. I have not see any new lights in my travels from Maine to Maryland except the new East Brother, CA Society piece.

Pretty sad if you ask me. And not to mention some stores that have their HL (and Anchor Bay) stock on sale or on cleareance.

I've had the same results Bob. Some of the dealers that I did buy from in the past have done away with them all together and another has closed up shop. Both of these were in Franklin. I buy my lights from Noah's at the Emerald Square Mall and they have cut way back on what they have. As soon as I know that there's a piece that I want I notify them as they have told me that they're only getting one of whatever they order. After buying from them for the last seven years, they are very happy to put whatever I want aside and call me as soon as it comes in.

In the past I've gone to different stores to see what they might have and have found the pickings very slim.

Bert

I realize Salt Lake is not exactly the booming hub for lighthouses, but...

When I first started buying HL's in 1996, there were 5 stores in the Salt Lake area from which I could buy LE's. Now, there is only 1!

Secondly, the only time there has been any kind of Bill (or rep.) event in Utah was in July 1997.

When I started purchasing HL's in 95 it was from a store in town that has since burned down. They had a wealth of older signed pieces (from a BY visit), and I was able to pick up amoung other pieces a signed AP Cape Blanco for retail minus 20%. Most of my original collection (first 3 years) was purchased from them at a 20% discount, but since the fire they have chosen not to reopen the store. For the last 5 years I have purchased from a local dealer that was able to give me a consistent 3 digit piece on autoship. There is only one other dealer in Colorado Springs & I have not visited in several years, but their inventory was always limited.

I have gone to Denver (about 60 miles) for signing events lately, since there has never been a signing in Colorado Springs since I started collecting. I would be concerned about dealers leaving the market during the downturn, excedt that I have been making most of my low # speciality purchases of earlier pieces off Ebay these days, while continuing my current consistent # purchases from my dealer of choice. The only concern that I have right now is that the dealer has moved from their high traffic mall location to an outlying store, and this may mean the end of the same number should they not survive. Before I have wondered what would happen if the my normal dealer went out of business, & what options I would have to continue with the same number from HL. Am I concerned about HL and the future, yes. Am I concerned that I will not be able to continue upgrading my collection, no. My biggest concern right now is not being able to get the pieces, but where to get the room to display them. With four display cases busting at the seams, I am running out of space. If I had a suggestion to make it would be to make fewer LE pieces per year, and continue to make new never before produced pieces, not new versions of previously released pieces.

Amen to fewer pieces Dick. These retail stores only have so much room to display them too. Too many pieces have done in many dealers, imo. Instead of having to committ to buy them all perhaps it would have been better to let dealers commit to purchasing only those that they thought would sell, ie those lighthouses in their area. Plus of course the lights they need for their autoship customers.

I believe we are down to three dealers in my area. One is fairly new so doesn't have any older pieces but gets all the new ones. (Last I knew anyway, haven't been there since last winter.)

The other is in a mall and used to get them all. Haven't been there in a long time so don't know that store's status now.

The dealer I use has cancelled her autoships and mostly orders on demand. She's had pretty much the same pieces kicking around for a long time.

It is a pretty sad story here in Bay City, MI. When I started collecting back in 1996, we had three stores that carried Harbour Lights. Today that number is now down to one, and that dealer hasn't received and new pieces in about two years, so I gues you could say we have 0 dealers that carry and new releases. Everytime I go into that store, NOTHING has moved. The same pieces are sitting in the same places.

Now, I have to travel to Saginaw to purchase anything new. It is worth the trip however as they are great to deal with and most helpful in getting what you need.

It is sad to me to see so many dealers who were once the "backbone" of the Harbour Lights network dropping the line, selling off stock at half price, and just plain letting what they have sit in a dark corner somewhere to collect dust.

-Todd

When we started collecting back in '98, there were quite a few good stores around the Chicagoland area to choose from. Since that time, seveal of what I considered the better ones, have closed up shop, for various reasons. There's still a few good shops around, but most that advertise themselves as dealers have very little new stock. Most have the typical collection of 10,000 series lights.

My dealer used to get three autoships, and had customers coming from as far away as Indiana to grab them, now, those customers are gone and I'm the most consistent one she has. I say "consistent" because I take a lot of them but not all of them. Earlier this year, she told me she was dropping her autoship altogether, but then decided to change it to just one, giving me first right of refusal. I've stuck with them, of course, but I'm still just not sure how long they'll keep getting them.

In my travels for work and vacation, I kill time by stopping at dealers. I too have found that most dealers now are down to just a few pieces, and most cry the same cry, "they just don't sell so we're dropping them"

Moral of the story, if you have a good relationship with a good dealer, make sure they know your feelings about keeping you as a customer, and be as loyal as you can.

Mike

Visited a local dealer earlier this week to make a planned purchase only to discover that all the Harbour Lights have been removed for the Christmas season and will not be put back on the selling display floor until January 2004! They stated they just did not have the room plus added inventory for the holidays. While they still carry HL they are down to autoship and special request only and LLOM. What has been put away is 50% off until that inventory is gone. They will have the piece I want out of seasonal storage for me to pick up tomorrow. Had I not asked however I would have thought they had dropped the line altogether. I still buy most of my HL from my autoship dealer in DE.

I try to stop in from time to time at the few surviving dealers in the Bay Area that still carry LE's (to see the new releases) but the list is getting smaller here...my favorite place (Tomorrow's Treasures, Cupertino) will be closing soon...this stuff just isn't selling...the LE's are too big, there's too much giftware, too many LLOMs, too many GLOWs...very sad. And reading this discussion about whether or not LLOMs have affected the purchase of LEs is like watching a bunch of people in a flash flood, up to their necks in water, saying to each other "Naw, it's not too wet out here!"

You're right, Rock. Limited edition collectors may become an endangered species. You will always have the faithful Wackos and our counterpart, the non-computerized collectors. But, what is being done to recruit new LE collectors?

A potential new collector walks into a store and notices how nicely done the Harbour Lights products are. Then he or she sees the LLOM at under $15.00 each and then sees a very small display of LE's at almost five times the retail price of a LLOM. And, the LE's on display are probably some of the left over dogs from the 10,000 edition size plus some GLOW's. What do you think that person is going to purchase?

Bob

When I moved here to Western NC 3 years ago there was only none dealer who had just dropped HL line and was selling the few remaining pcs for 50% off to move them out. Since then a another local collectibles dealer started carrying the HL line at my encouragement. Although I patronized to a degree, he never carried many LE, mostly the less expensive of the GLOWS. As such my business was limited to LE and apparently he had no other customers for HL's. He dropped the line after 9 months. So now my closest dealer is 100+ miles away when I can get there. I buy HL usually only after seeing them first-hand somewhere, so ordering "blind" even from a picture (on auto-ship) doesn't usually appeal to me. HL IMHO is in a declining mode which is further supported by HL actions on other types of issues (ballons, etc).

My dealer (who has recently cancelled her autoships of new pieces) carried only the LE's and the GLOW's. She did get the very first set of LLOM's but no more. She also got the first 6 or so AB's but then stopped them.

So I suppose not all dealers carry the same items. Some "full fledged" dealers carry everything I guess. Some newer "dealers" carry only LLOM's.

So I imagine that a dealer must have some latitude as to what they order. Maybe some of the trouble is not with HL but with the reps talking the dealers into stocking more stuff than they can sell, or inappropriate stock for their clientele, location??? And, on the other hand, perhaps some dealers don't know when to say "no"?
It's not that most stores don't have other merchandise to think about.

I still think the main culprit was the 9500 and 10000 edition sizes as well as the sheer volumes of LE's being cranked out by HL. Dealers were probably selling the smaller edition limiteds ok so just continued to let the pieces roll into their stores. Then the bottom dropped out and they were stuck with a large inventory. Maybe those who are taking a chance with LLOM's and the other less expensive HL products are some who got burned with the high edition limiteds?

Perhaps instead of complaining so much we can direct our non HL lighthouse friends to the HL line, explaining the various products with an emphasis on the limiteds? Hey we don't have to tell them that those large edition sized pieces aren't worth the money to blow them to kingdom come. (It will take them a while to find that out and by then we'll have time to find new friends, lol!)

Ten years ago in Ocala there were 2 stores that carried HL limited editions. Both those stores are still carrying limited editions in addition to GLOWS and Anchor Bay. There is now a 3rd store that carries LE and GLOWs and a 4th store that carries GLOWS and LLOM. Not bad for a horse country town. Of course it helps to have the influx of Snowbirds each fall and to be a retirement community. I believe that Gainesville has dropped from 3 dealers in the past tens years to 1 dealer and Daytona has basically stayed at 4-5 dealers. We are holding our own. I still deal with the same store in Jacksonville that I started with 10 years ago. They have no plans on cutting the line and carry LE, GLOWS, LLOM, Guardians and Anchor Bay.

I have also noticed a significant shift on the Cape Cod. Th biggest dealer on the Cape, Collector's World, is still cranking as usual. I do an LE autoship with them at retail. No special considerations, discounts or "suprise adds". This is a cash on the barrel-head deal, which is what I agreed to do, but is somewhat surprising in this economic climate.

Most others in this area have reduced their stock or limited their inventory. Cape Annie's in Sandwich is full service, but the vendor list is declining. There is no question in my mind that "days gone bye" is HL's current mantra given their present marketing strategy and their over-stuffed annual offerings.

That's a good question, Bob. Aesthetic appeal and size no longer seem to be the main differentiators. Some folks even find newer renditions more appealing than original versions.

Is there a difference between a collection of LEs and a collection of other pieces that serves as a reason why someone would become a collector of LEs? Why would someone collect original Rolexes rather than reproductions?

Is there anything that HL can do to recruit LE collectors specifically?

T

Well...bad news in my direction fo purchasing Harbour Lights.

The Lighthouse Gallery in Nags Head is going to be sold next year.

Sure hope that someone who loves lighthouses and particularly Harbour Lights becomes the purchaser of this lighthouse replica building and business.

Anyone have a cool million setting around?

Judy

OUCH !

That is some bad news .......

Hey Judy, ...Why is the Lighthouse Gallery being sold? Are the owners retiring, or they just getting out of that particular business?

I've never been there so I don't know that much about their store. Is all the merchandise directly related to just lighthouses? Are they selling because business is not good? Are they selling it as a business or a location near the coast? Is the selling price only a million dollars? That's not that much for a coastal location these days, if they are close to the water.

Inquiring minds on the East Coast, where it's bright and sunny today, but morning temperatures are in the low 20's, would like to know.

Bob

Lighthouse Gallery and Gifts is located about milepost 10.5 on a side road that leads from the main highway to the shore road. There are several art galleries on this street known as "Gallery Row", but it is not on the main highways.

Here's a photo of it from the recent trip to the OBX:



The upper floor is a residence, the lower is the store. It was built for this purpose and looks somewhat like Point Fermin CA. The store carries many nautical and OBX themed items with a heavy emphasis on lighthouses including sculptures, artwork, books, etc.

Hey John, ...Maybe that building would be a great spot for the Headquarters of "Lighthouse Stickers". Do you have a cool million you would like to part with?

Bob

The Lighthouse Gallery in Nags Head was built by Bruce & Cheryl Roberts and was actually built from the blueprints of Pt. Fermin with modifications.


photo by Bruce Roberts Photography

It is located on Gallery Row and is two blocks from the ocean. Although it may seem off the beaten path, Gallery Row is actually a destination point for tourists.

The reason the Griffins will be selling is personal, but I can tell you that if I had the means, I would purchase it in a heartbeat. You can see a good deal of the current inventory on their website www.seabeacons.com but is by no means all of it!

This hasn't been advertised as yet, but they have told me I'm free to spread the news. These are the terms they have given me:

So...anyone interested in partnering with me?

Judy

Well...now the Griffins are unhappy that I've posted this because they've gotten a couple of phone calls regarding them "not selling" Harbour Lights.

• (1) I haven't said anything that would indicate that they will stop selling Harbour Lights before they sell the business, and I have every intent to continue making my HL purchases from them for as long as they own the business.
  
  (2) I have it in writing from them to give out the information that I've posted here, or I would not have posted it.
  
  (3) They are known for changing their minds...so maybe they'll decide not to sell...which would be my preference.

Go figure!

Judy