I'm very willing to be very wrong about all of this. But ...
I can imagine a scenario where the math shows that on a per piece basis HLs in turning a profit. That is per piece as in a sale of one LE to one collector. The piece cost $X to produce and it is sold for $X+. The + is a profit, on that one piece.
But I don't see that enough entire editions are being sold, so that HLs as a whole is profitable.
As I was thinking about the question of profitability for HLs, it occurred to me that edition sizes are way down too. This shows the decline in distribution as dealers and collectors have withdrawn from the market. It also probably means that HLs per piece costs have gone up, as volume discounts from the factories have diminished or even disappeared.
In fact, this could be the last straw. HLs may not be able to find a manufacturer for 2012, because they want (need?) another reduction in edition size. The factory may not want the work because at those volumes they cannot make money themselves.
I see a business that is being squeezed from many directions. And the squeeze has been going on for a number of years. There doesn't seem to be any more blood to get from the HL stone.
