Here's the real question - is this the last step?

I was first introduced to Harbour Lights when I worked at a gift shop that sold them. I quickly became the shop lighthouse expert. I can remember well a guy coming in to pick up his annual christmas ornament from another manufacturer, talking to me for 20 minutes and leaving with the great lakes stamp set, 4 LE's and a society membership. Pretty soon, I was hooked on my own sales pitch. When I first started collecting, I bought about 20 pieces during the first year. Only one of these was from the store I worked at. Why? Because I found better retired pieces elsewhere: a Barnegat at the mall, a New London Ledge in the midwest somewhere, Key West in Colorado. How did I find them? The dealer list. Would it have ticked off my boss? Absolutely.

We all have a regular dealer we like, but would we spend the $60.00 somewhere else for a Sandy Hook at original retail? You bet we would. Would our local dealer rather have our $60.00 for something else? Probably so. Does that mean Harbour Lights should get rid of dealer directories or retired at retail? I sure hope not. We are the ones who keep this thing going. I don't think a little link on a website is too much to ask.

Since I just found this place a couple of weeks ago, I feel confident talking about this. Without that link, I wouldn't be here. Without that link, new collectors may never know there are a whole bunch of folks who love this stuff as much as they do. (Suddenly I feel like I'm at a rally. Do you guys have the signs ready?) It's in my favorites list now, but I sure am glad I didn't try to check it out for the first time today instead of in July.

Long live the forums!