Carl - It was only a matter of time for the lighthouse "FAD" to end and another "FAD" to take over. The lighthouse product lasted longer then I thought it would with Harbour Lights going from 1991 to 2012. I beieve it would have lasted longer if the production quantity issue would have stayed between 2500 and the original 5500. The over production plus the number releaased during the boom period made it all but impossible for the "average collector" to be able to afford collecting these little gems. During the peak period HLs was producing an average of 25 lighthouses a year at an average cost of $80.00 each. You do the math and it comes out to approximately $2,000 per year. Also, the storage area that these lighthouses take up discouraged a lot of collectors. I, myself, have 5 average size cabinets, 2 extra large cabinets and 3 small cabinets holding my collection and I was totally out of room when HLs went out of business.

The average collector was probably in his/her middle to late 50's and were probably downsizing their home, living in a condo or apartment and saving for retirement or on a fixed income. They didn't have the room or money to keep up with the pace that HLs was producing. The Youngers sold the business at exactly the right time to realize the maximum effectiveness of their business. When Lighthouse Depot/Marketing bought from the Youngers, the only way for the market to go was down and that is what it did to the point that even issue quantities of 1200 or less were not being sold out.

I,for one, am glad that the production stopped because I was going to have to stop buying due to the lack of display room. I could not see throwing anymore money away on something that I would have to store in a closet.

These are my thoughts only on the downfall of Harbour Lights, the Lighthouse Depot and Lighthouse Marketing.