CAN A NEWBIE POST A TOPIC? Heres my attempt. Why do people buy HL's?
1. The casual buyer who simply wanted to buy a momento of their trip or of a memory of a vacation of the past?
2. The person who likes lighthouses, reads about them and visits them?
3. The person who has fallen off the edge and now has to have all the HL's (wacko)?
4. The person who grabs as many as they can including looking for bargains on EBay in order to make a profit?
5. A combination of the first 4? I suspect that most of us belong here.
If I am right(remember,I'm a Newbie), then why do some of us readers of the FORUM get upset when Younger & Assoc. increased their edition size? I know the answer. It devalued our collections (refer to #4). BUT, I can think of advantages to the bigger edition size too.
1. Newbies will find it less expensive to fill up their collections and thus become wackos.
2. Casual purchasers will find it easier to find a certain model and possibly become collectors and thus increase the funds to "save the lighthouses".
3. The bigger edition size should have been able to keep the costs down on the new HL's (bigger production size = lower costs per unit. That benefits all of us.

It seems to me, (remember, I'm only a newbie)that we collectors should relax and "smell the lighthouses". Most importantly, ENJOY them! Take a look at that little snowman on Quoddy and smile! See Ya! EASY


[This message has been edited by easy (edited 01-03-100).]

Of course, easy! That's a great way to work toward earning the 'Wacko' label. Welcome, and thanks for starting this thread.

You bring up some good points. However, I think that the objection to the large edition size goes beyond the devaluation factor, although that probably plays some role too.

My personal objection to the 10,000 edition size is the amount of unsold, unretired pieces that clutter retail shelves. If a retailer does not move the stock, he may drop the line. That's bad for all of us who like to see new models come out each year. Cluttered shelves full of languishing collectibles and a decreasing retailer base are signs of distress. If it goes too far, HL would need to cease producing the sculptures we all love. That would be disasterous.

For the same reasons, I also object to having too many new models come out each year. The object, I believe, is to keep the stock on the shelves fresh. That's the best way to preserve the line's viability over the long haul, imo. Of course this must be done while generating sufficient profits for Y&A. That's the tricky part.

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-Art

Easy and Art both have good points.
I think HL is testing the waters of a middle ground with their '2000' timed pieces! Available to all(this should satisfy all current collectors) but only for a limited time and therefore a limited amount(less than 10,000 - we'll see!. Or is this another way to create a short term 'supply and demand senario'). And no shelf life except for dealer speculators.

I Like your outlook easy. I started out as a casual buyer. I bought 2 lighthouses in 2 years, both of lighthouses I had visited. But the whole time, all I wanted was a Jupiter lighthouse, which I had been to many times. Unfortunatly, this was retired and unavailable. Then in June, I discovered ebay, and finally got the long awaited Jupiter. Well, this was enough to put me over the edge! In the last 6 months, my HL collection went from 2 LH to 26, and I have the urge to buy again!

Art, thanks for the insight from the point of view of the "shelf life". Good point. EASY