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GroundStrike
Collectibles Newsletter
Vol.
2 No. 5
November,
2001
Hi Limoges Collectors!
Back in August, I promised you that we'd send out the next newsletter
sometime in September. Who could have imagined how the world would have
changed since that time? We just haven't felt that it was appropriate to
"hawk Limoges boxes" during this time of tragedy and mourning
- we even put the launch of our new Flash!
bulletin on hold. We appreciate all the newsletter subscribers that have
signed up for the Flash!, and we plan to send them regularly beginning
RSN (real soon now!). Remember, the Flash! is totally opt-in, so
you have to click
here if you want to receive it. And, as always, we don't want
to offend you with our email... so if you'd like to be removed from all
our email lists, simply click
here.
We have received several emails about various Limoges dealers offering
to donate money to some charity based on sales of boxes during this
time. I'm sorry, but no matter how well meaning that sounds, in my mind
it still boils down to a sales pitch to sell Limoges boxes. We felt that
the events of September 11 should never be exploited in any way for the
purpose of sales, so we made a donation in our company's name that was
not tied to box sales. We
did
get overwhelmed with orders for Limoges boxes that had pictures of the
New York skyline or had a patriotic theme. For example, we had
backorders for over 40 of the Dubarry
and Rochard
NY Shopping Bag boxes! We were backordered for a time on a number of
other boxes, too, including the Chamart
American Flag and the Chanille
New York City boxes.
The tragedy hit us hard, because so many of our customers are in the
NY/NJ area. We have many customers whose shipping address was in the
World Trade Center complex. And when we took packages to the post office
on Sept. 12, we learned that our regular postal clerk, Lowell, was out
on bereavement because his brother was the pilot of the plane that went
down in Pennsylvania.
What a terrible, terrible tragedy. Even though as a country we have been
urged to "get back to normal", we know that for some of our
customers life never can be "normal" again, as they have lost
friends and loved ones. Our hearts and thoughts forever will be with
you.
The Holidays are Coming!
Here it is early November, and already we're seeing holiday purchases
underway. We're going to start our annual "Holiday Countdown"
on November 5. This is the little box on our home page that tells how
many days are left until Christmas, and when you can expect to receive
Priority mail and Express mail orders made on that day. Christmas falls
on a Tuesday this year, so all the procrastinators like me can wait
until Saturday, Dec. 22 to place Express mail orders and still receive
them in time for Christmas. Since Express mail is "next day to most
areas" service, and since the Post Office delivers on Christmas
day, you could
wait until the 24th if you are a gambler! In conjunction with the
Post Office, we're going to guarantee that orders placed before 10:00 AM
CST on Saturday, Dec. 22 will arrive before Christmas day.
Rochard Ornaments
We've added a new product line to our Limoges boxes... Christmas
ornaments in the shape of Limoges boxes! Rochard recently introduced a
line of "mouth blown glass" ornaments that are styled like
their famous Limoges boxes. They are hand painted and even have a faux
hinge just like the boxes they mimic. They are packaged in exquisite
Rochard gift boxes, and at our selling prices between $22.00 and $50.00,
they make excellent gifts for the Limoges aficionado. Rochard also makes
3 different "Tree Toppers" of mouth-blown, hand painted glass,
that run from $80.00 to $99.00.
The truly decadent among us can picture their entire tree trimmed in
Limoges box ornaments... and we can't wait till it's time to trim our
tree, 'cause that's what we're going to do!!! As soon as we have our
tree up and decorated, we'll add a picture to our web site. It's going
to be fabulous! Click
here to see all the Rochard ornaments.
We have a few more coming, but all of these are in stock right now.
New Feature: Today's Special Limoges
We have a new feature on the home page of our web site... "Today's
Special Limoges". This is a selected Limoges box that, for a very
limited time, we are offering at a large discount from our regular price
- as much as 30% or more. The featured box will change without notice,
and the special sales price will be valid only while it is the
"Today's Special"... so it's a good idea to check our site
regularly to see if the "Special" is one you've been waiting
for! Click here to see
today's special! Write
us to nominate a box as "Today's Special". Watch for
other special offers on our web site in the coming months.
Rochard Crummles
We have a limited number of "Crummles" from Rochard, which are
similar to Limoges boxes but are made of fired enamel on copper with a
brass hinge. These are beautiful works of art and our prices reflect a
30% discount from Rochard's normal price. They're not listed on our web
site, but you can see them and read more about them on this "exclusive
to the newsletter" link.
Dr. Seuss is On His Way!
We're very excited about this! A new line of Dr. Seuss character Limoges
boxes (such as The Cat in the Hat and the Grinch!) will be available
soon. These are sure to be very popular and initially will be available
in limited quantities. We'll let you know more about these as soon as we
get the pictures ready.
Investing in Limoges Boxes
Every day I am asked "What boxes are going to appreciate in
value?" My answer is always the same: "Don't buy a Limoges box
expecting to make money on it; buy it because you love it."
The truth is, some Limoges boxes DO appreciate in value, sometimes to
many times their original sales price. As collectors, we've found that
over the years, many of our boxes have held their value, meaning we
could sell them for at least as much as we paid for them originally. We
used to find small collections of Limoges boxes at antique and jewelry
stores, and we paid retail (and sometimes higher!) prices for them. We
have never lost money on the few that we've sold from our collection!
However, we've seen some boxes skyrocket in value - boxes that
originally sold for under $200 now selling for $1000 or more on the
collectibles market. We've tried to analyze that trend but it is
impossible to say for certain what boxes will go up in value. We have
noticed several factors that may influence future value. These include:
- Rarity. Certain
true limited editions (and not the pseudo-limited editions I discussed
in the June
2001 newsletter) can go up in value. An example is the Chamart
Flower Box series of Limoges boxes. When Chamart introduces a new
flower box, it discontinues the previous style box - and each style is
limited to 250 pieces. Serious collectors who have missed one of the
series often will pay "whatever it takes" to obtain one.
We've had large offers for boxes we simply can't get anymore. The Chamart
Hyacinth box is their current feature in this series.
- Characters. Certain
characters - like Mickey
Mouse - are timeless, and collectors are often willing to pay high
prices to obtain a character that is no longer in production. We've
seen prices in the $1000's for boxes made as late as the 1980's that
are no longer available.
- One-time events.
Millennium boxes were hot throughout 2000, but they went cold as 2001
began. We sold off our remaining boxes at deep discounts, but I
believe that a few years from now these boxes could be hot again.
After all, a new millennium is commemorated only once in 1000 years!
- History. After the
tragedy of September 11, patriotic themes and boxes with the New York
skyline have sold faster than we can keep them in stock. I believe
these boxes will continue to be in demand as they are a remembrance of
a tragic event in all of our lives.
In summary, it is a
risky proposition to try to guess which of the hundreds of boxes in
production today will be a high-priced rarity tomorrow. Some will, but
your best bet is to buy the ones you like and that have a special
meaning. These will ALWAYS be priceless to you!
Refer-a-Friend Program
We recently started a program that let's our customers invite their
friends over to see our web store. If you know someone who loves Limoges
boxes, refer them to GroundStrike Collectibles by filling out this simple
form.
We'll send them an email inviting them to visit our web store, and we'll
include a coupon
good for $10.00 off
their first purchase. We'll only send it once and will never use their
email address again without their express permission.
As soon as your friend uses the coupon we send,
we'll send YOU a coupon good for $10.00 off
your next purchase!
Thank you! Thank you!
Our newsletter distribution continues to grow. We thank you all for your
help! Remember to send this newsletter to all your Limoges-loving
friends and you'll both be rewarded! Click
here to find out how to get your rewards!
The "You Made it to Here!" Reward!
Whew! This was a long newsletter. I hope you enjoyed it, but as usual,
you deserve a gift just for getting through it all! Let's reward the
early holiday shoppers with a
10% discount on all purchases
made between Monday, Nov. 5 and Friday, Nov. 9! If you're a Limoges
Lover, your discount will be
15% and it will start immediately
(so you will have first crack at limited quantity items)! Just use the
code:
novnews
(or your regular
Limoges Lover's code) in the shopping cart where it asks "Enter
Gift Certificate Number" and the discount will be applied
automatically. This discount is good only on orders placed through the
online shopping cart by current newsletter subscribers and does not
apply to phone orders or to items already on sale.
We love hearing from you! Please send your articles, comments,
suggestions, concerns, etc., to us - see our
Contact Us web page.
That's all for now. Take care, and get ready for a joyous holiday
season!!!
Sam and Susan Juliano
GroundStrike Collectibles
http://www.groundstrike.com |
