Well Bob, as usual, you have all the answers...if I were a dealer, I'd do exactly what most of them are doing already, dumping their dusty stock on Ebay in a desperate attempt to clear out store shelves because all of this HL open edition giftware has confused and overwhelmed and disgusted once-avid and loyal customers to the point where they're just not buying anything anymore...
You will always get an answer out of me, and it isn't always the popular reply the inquirer would like to hear. I like to think of myself as the voice of reason most of the time. Other times you may consider me a "devil's advocate". One thing I'm not, is silent.
Much like you, I would have liked to see the GLOW's fall by the wayside and have Harbour Lights strictly cater to the limited edition collector. You know what? That's never going to happen.
I bought GLOW's for years just to have each lighthouse made by Harbour Lights represented in my collection. Eventually, I worked my way up to a complete collection of LE's (No skinny tower CH-1 though), and I sold all my GLOW's. Now I'm on auto ship for every new LE, AB, and Lens.
Do I have any LLOM? Yes, I own a couple of dozen of those. You know what? I think Harbour Lights did the right thing in offering these inexpensive small lighthouse replicas. It made collecting miniature lighthouses more affordable and much easier to display or store. The LLOM make a great little gift for some special in your life without spending a lot of money.
I think the person who finally opened my eyes about how consumers shop for HL's was our fellow forum member, Jim Awrey from Cape Annie's Light. You probably read the same post where he spoke of consumer/tourists coming into his store wanting to buy a replica of a lighthouse they had seen on Cape Cod, or in the general area. These people didn't care if it was a limited edition. All they wanted was a replica of what they saw. So Jim makes a sale of a GLOW rather than tell them that Harbour Lights makes a truly beautiful limited edition but he doesn't have access to any more of them.
I've shifted gears in my world of Harbour Light collecting. I've now passed the 600 mark and continue to buy and sell. I'm not in the "everything is for sale" mode and there are some very special pieces I would never sell. Other than that, most everything is available for a price. It is not my intention to give anything away, nor is it my intention to leave my collection to anyone in my later years. The ideal situation would be to part with some of my HL's and make people smile that they were able to find a 2-digit flag or other hard-to-find piece they always wanted for their collection. My prices are fair and not premium pricing. Yes, you can take a chance on eBay and buy for less, but as Dirty Harry said, "Do you feel lucky?"
Bob
