>>Even with 500+ registered on the forum that is less than 10% of the people who own the 5500 series LEs. Even if we use statistical analysis, aren't we looking at a very skewed sampling base.<<

I don't know if its skewed or not. The question is not what percentage of HL collectors are on-line, but rather what percentage of secondary market sales take place through on-line venues. That includes The Market Place, e-bay, Lighthousekeepers.com, etc. etc.

I don't have a clue, but my off-the-cuff guess is that at least 50% (and probably more) of secondary market activity goes through folks who advertise on-line. If true, I think thats a reasonable base from which to get a sense of what's happening generally and for individual pieces. And, fwiw, I'm not sure how else to come by numbers. One exception I can think of is the brokerage/consignment market published in 'The Guiding Light' by Jim & Julie Rutherford (hlsg@aol.com).

One thing E-bay gives us no clue about is Trades. I was about to suggest that someone should start 'Swapmeet.com', but sure enuf - such a site exists although it is not active.

Rgds,
__
/im