Love them, or hate them, GLOWs are an important part of the HL Line. They give every collector a chance to own a quality replica of a favorite lighthouse that sold out long ago as a LE. In some cases, the GLOWs are a better replica than the original LE.

Call them "giftware" if you like, but the production and subsequent sale of GLOWs does bring more collectors into the HL family of friends. These are the LE buyers of tomorrow. More folks joining the group means more HL purchases. More purchases means faster retirements of HLs and a definite increase in demand on the secondary market. We all know what that does to the value of our collections.

Only one GLOW, West Quoddy, has been announced so far this year. Can you predict what the next GLOW will be? Your replies will probably look like a "wish list", but that's okay.

I would love to see them make a Nauset Light GLOW. Nauset is one of my very favorites. I'm sure many of the collectors who weren't able to obtain a Nauset LE would love to have a GLOW version in their display case.

Let's hear what you think...

Bob

Ocracoke. Do I want to see an Ocracoke GLOW? No!

No more Glows, please.

Oh yeah BABY!! WE need and Want a GLOW Ocracoke. And we want it yesterday!!!! Are you listening Bill? We want it now now now now!

I would like to see a Burrows Island GLOW since the oringinal was so rare. (I do have one but lots of collectors do not), I agree Ocracoke would also be a nice one.

This is a nice sentiment, but I don't believe it is true and find no evidence to support it. In fact a case could be made that just the opposite is true. GLOWs, while admittedly appealing to some folks, actually harm the hobby in the long run.

If the number of Collectors was actually growing from the purchase of Glows, why the need to reduce the edition size of LEs? Purchases of GLOWs simply dilute the pool of dollars availble to be spent on Limited Edition Collectibles.

For example contrary to Bob's suggestion that sale of Glows plays a role in increasing secondary market value, the $90 Sanibel Island Glow doesn't seem to be helping sales of the LE on the secondary. Its price is stagnate at close to retail. Regardless of the causes attributed, the more Glows made the lower prices have gone for LEs on the secondary. (And yes I'm aware of Art's reply to the effect that warmer Winter weather or the increased use of plastic shopping bags also correlates with lower secondary LE prices.:-> )

Glows are helping turn some LE's into commodities. The hobby and its appeal are driven by scarcity and the thrill of the hunt, not by the easy availability of any given model. The easy availability of a GLOW reduces the desire of a potential Collector for the more elusive LE. ("Oh, I've got one of those already...") If this notion is correct, that's a Collector lost, not gained.

For the price of a couple Glows you could probably get yourself a nice Diamond Head; spare yourself three Glows and buy an original Montauk or New London Ledge instead.

Whatever it is, the next Glow will be nice looking, easily compete with its original for immediate appeal, and probably cost around $55-$75. But the best GLOW is the one passed by.

Promote Limited Editions and the hobby will take care of iteself.

__
/im



[This message has been edited by JTimothyA (edited 02-25-2001).]

Wishful thinking from the neglected Pacific NW:

North Head, WA
Yaquina Head, OR

Just don't expect me to buy them...DOWN W/GLOWS!

[This message has been edited by Rock (edited 02-26-2001).]

It could be Fire Island

"The Lightkeeper"

I also vote for Ocracoke. It is one LE I will probably never attain but would definately like one in my collection. I am also proof that GLOWs bring in new collectors. My first piece was the Ponce DeLeon GLOW. It happened to be my favorite lighthouse that our family visited every year while in Florida. When I bought it in 98, there were no more of the LE's to be found. It was that particular lighthouse that drew me to the display case. Had GLOWs not existed, I would not have purchased that first piece which has since turned into a small but nice collection of LE's. There is a least one of us that is here thanks to a GLOW and I'll bet there are a few more.

Hey Tim, ..."Ed14" is the first bit of evidence that a person who purchases a GLOW will eventual become a LE collector. Thanks for sharing that with us Ed! I know there are many more folks out there who have done the same thing.

Bob

The first Harbour Light that I received was the Split Rock glow that my husband gave me for Christmas several years ago. I saw it in a store and thought it was fantastic. As they say the rest is history, as it was the start of a large collection.

2beacons

Hey Bob ... I hope you're not assuming the suggestion that anyone who buys a Glow will never buy another HL piece. The folks who have large collections probably would have them even if Glows didn't exist. After all the LEs are rather appealing aren't they.

Remember, HL was very successful before Glows existed. Thats what made the line go in the first place. I suspect there are very few Collectors who have only acquired a significant number of pieces because Glows existed.

I will agree with you that some folks don't care about the models as Collectibles and the distinction between Limited Editions and Open Editions doesn't matter to them. There is a ton of knick-knacks sold every day. But I'll bet that Harbour Lights would never see the success they've had if they had started with a line of giftware.

What we don't know is how many more new Collectors would come to Harbour Lights if they only made Collectibles.

Cheers,
__
/im

And welcome Ed14 - only 15 more messages to go!

There have been many HL collectors who have expressed their opinions on GLOWs at the CF. A good percentage of them wish GLOWs would go away. On the other hand, many of our collectors would not be able to justify the purchase of a certain LEs, if they could find them, because of the expense.

Everyone should be aware that Younger & Associates listens to its collectors. They also have to listen to their dealers who probably plead their case for more replicas from their local area whether or not they are LEs or GLOWs. It's great for a dealer to have a "best-selling" light from the area, but once the LEs of that light are gone, what do they do? That's when a GLOW really helps out the dealer.

So far, there has only been one GLOW announced. This would indicate that maybe most of the dealer requests for area lights as GLOWs have been fulfilled, and HL is listening to its collectors.

The good part of reducing the number of new GLOW releases is that more of the collector's dollars can be spent on LEs. Buying both GLOWs and LEs can take a pretty big chunk out of one's expendable cash.

Bob

2000 only saw the introduction of 3 GLOWs down from 7, 8 & 7 the previous years. 2000 was also the beginning of Little Lights. I don't think we'll see many more GLOWs.

Hey Sue, ...You could be correct. The LLOM may be HL's answer to reduce the number of new GLOWs. I would much rather spend my cash on LEs than GLOWs, but I definitely have my order in for the new West Quoddy GLOW.

Time will tell what will become of the GLOW editions by HL.

Bob

I think a Jupiter Inlet GLOW could be in the future. Since the lighthouse recently received a top to bottom restoration, it no longer looks like the L.E. Also, I don't think that any of the other lighthouse makers (Lofton etc.) have redesigned their offerings to take account of the new look of Jupiter. This would allow the GLOW to stand out from other competitors. I know my local H.L. dealer would love to have a Jupiter GLOW to sell.

Jack Wilson

WE have every GLOW that has been produced, and the variations too, all in low numbers. But, the shelves are full! Please no more GLOWS!

I would like to see HL spend their energy and talents with limited editions.

The LLOM's are adorable, and a decent price for the beginner collector, or for that special little extra gift.

Go limiteds!

Hey wilsonj3, ...What did they do to Jupiter to change it? Any chance of you taking a photo and posting here for all of us to view?

Thanks in advance!

Bob

The biggest change with the Jupiter lighthouse has been the color. It went from a bright red, to more of a brick red. When you see the color of the L.E. (or a Lofton for that matter) compared to the current color, the difference is remarkable.

Here is a link that shows some before and after photos http://www.uslighthouses.com/jupiter_restoration.html also, http://users.erols.com/lthouse/jitd.htm

The bright red color had faded quite a bit before the restoration began. So, even the before picture doesn't look like any of the current offerings available to lighthouse collectors.

Jack Wilson


[This message has been edited by wilsonj3 (edited 02-28-2001).]

[This message has been edited by wilsonj3 (edited 02-28-2001).]

GLOWS can and will get people hooked on Harbour Lights! Proof.... I know a person who passed on a CH for a Old Mackinac Point GLOW simply because they liked the looks of the piece better. Now, this was only the 2nd piece they owned and the first that they actually purchased so they had no idea what they were doing. Important part is that that's all it took to catch the "fever" and since then they have purchased over 120 LE's.

1 GLOW, 120 LE's, I would say that the figures speak for themselves, GLOWs may take a nibble but never a whole bite!

Of course I will never reveal the buyers name!

There was a Cape Hatteras revised I presume, still at retail alongside an Old Mack GLOW? Wow! It's nice to see that the regret of missing a steal didn't prevent them from continuing the collection. Wow!