There was no Register & Win contest in 2006. I wouldn't blame the new owners, considering the transition that must have been going on during the period from Nov 2005-Feb 2006.

The timing of this contest always kind of puzzled me. It applied to purchases made in the first three months of the year. With new introductions announced in January, it was sometimes difficult for the avid collector to find something new to purchase in those first three months.

On top of that, this is the season for the annual gift shows for retailers. A busy time (but not necessarily busy with retail sales) for manufacturers, no doubt.

But I suppose (don't know) that the first quarter of a year in the collectible retail business is the slowest time of the year. The Christmas/Holiday rush is over, collectors are paying down their resulting credit cards and the latest and greatest introductions aren't available to put on the shelves just yet because of shipping delays (and sometimes the Chinese New Year when factories close down.)

I suspect that those were the factors that Harbour Lights was trying to overcome when they first started this contest in 1999. Help the dealers move existing inventory to make room for what was coming down the pipeline. I don't know if it worked then or would work now or not.

But their purpose of 'driving collectors to the dealers' was worthy.

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If you were designing or redesigning a program to:

1. Reward frequent purchasers
2. Drive buyers to retailers
3. Move old stock from dealers' shelves and
4. Allow collectors to get their 'hands on' new introductions

What would YOU propose?