>>I think that without the income of the GLOW line ... . HL would not be in the shape financially that they are in today, and probably wouldn’t be bringing us the unrivaled product that they do. <<

In an unguarded moment when he was at the Door County Maritime Museum, I asked BY if Glows were subsidizing LEs - he said 'no'.

Its not uncommon for a collector to say somethng like Weasel's remarks, so this is not an unusual opinion by any means. However I'll suggest we all should be concerned about the appreciation in value of the Limitied Editions. Without this there would be no secondary market. Without a secoundary market Harbour Lights would not be Collectible, and without collectibility there would not be the same interest in their product line as there is today. In fact, I'll argue that if LE's had not appreciated in value, Harbour Lights would not be in good financial shape - they might not even exist today.

Believe me, although they don't openly discuss it, *any* vendor of 'collectibles' wants a secondary market for their product - it is a tremendous attracting factor in creating interest and bringing in new collectors. Do not underestimate the role played by the 'hard to find' model - without it there is no urgency and no thrill of the hunt.

To address Moby's topic - I guess all I can say is this is not news. Yes, prices have suffered a 'correction'. Yes people are running out of display room, including dealers. OVer half my collection remains in boxes because we simply haven't purchased enough cabinets to show every model. Why? Not enough space. I mentioned to Sean at the Chi Harbor soiree that recently a successful dealer in my town has decided to stop carrying Glows - why? - not enough space.

HL realizes what dealers realize - they must have product turnover. If you kept seeing the same models in a dealer's display you'd lose interest or realize 'gee these don't seem to be moving - I have plenty of time to buy one, so not today'. Versus the likelihood the piece could be gone tommorrow. Product turnover drives the collectibles industry - always have something new to attract the eye of the audience you've already captured - and want to keep. So what drives turnover? Supply and demand. A small supply keeps the item in demand. If its not in demand, its much easier to take a loss on two Navesinks than on ten. So what drives supply and demand? Scarcity & rarity, coupled with high quality. Turnover and scarcity go hand in hand.

Ergo, smaller edition sizes are the key to a thriving collector market. *Limited Editions" - the name says it all.

And yes, the market *is* flooded with 9500 edition size pieces. This pig is slowly working its way through the python. The only place where there is any market strength is in the original 5500 series plus a few one-off pieces. And of course Glows do nothing here to help - just the opposite.

Again - the bottom line is this... there are only so many people with an abiding interest in lighthouses and a smaller number of those who are collectors. There are only so many disposable dollars in people's pockets to spend on lighthouse models. And yes there's only so much space the "normal" person will devote in their home to lighthouse model display.

I'm perfectly happy if collecting Harbour Lights remains the hobby of a few. And perfectly happy for Y&A to remain a small family owned business.

And for all the folks who say "well I could never afford an LE of the rare Cape Nosebight so I'll buy the Glow instead", just remember - those Glow purchases add up. All it takes is 2-4 Glows and you can purchase most any one of the 5500 series. Depends on your interest and your inclination.

Personally I get more long term satisfaction out of buildlng a collection over time of original Limited Edition models.

Rgds,
St. Goldfinger


[This message has been edited by JTimothyA (edited 06-25-2001).]