What's your take on collectibility of Heritage frames?

[Sunglass Shack]

So I was made aware today by my rep that only 250 stores in the USA will be allowed to sell the Heritage frames; the old school look of the Eyeshade, Razor Blade and Frogskin. Only 8 of those 250 will be Sunglass Huts. I was surprised he mentioned I was one of the 250. In his whole territory it was me and another guy (in Roanoke) selected and he actually passed on it. Part of the deal is you have to buy it in a complete set of 9. So that means 1 of each color and no reordering. You can only do this 1 time, and you can only order a max of 3 sets. So once they are gone they are gone. I'm kind of stuck in a dilemma wondering whether or not to do this. I was even considering buying a whole set of 9 as a personal purchase to hold on to. Do you think there will be any collectible value to these down the road? I may do at least the 9 because I know over an entire Summer season I will be able to sell them. I just wanted to know what your opinions are on these and whether or not you think they are worth picking up a set or just passing on it like the other guy did. Thanks for any input, I have to let him know my decision by tomorrow!!!

 

[the_owl]

I think the seafoam and matte clear options will be popular. The others wont be super collectible.
Who knows.. the Stanley Donwood Artist series ended up on the vault for under a $100...

 

[The Game]

If you can make money off of them why not order them.

 

[Sunglass Shack]

If you can make money off of them why not order them.

Well it comes down to the fact that unlike other retailers I have a set amount of SKUs I can fit on display. Most retailers use the Oakley cabinets with glass shelves. I actually built all of our display cases myself and used a company to make me the white acrylic display panels with cut-outs and pegs for glasses. So for each slot there is a SKU for that slot. The fact I can't reorder these make this system very hard to use. I also have a display tower with glass shelves for Oakley but that is already full to capacity with other displays such as "Breast Cancer" shelf, etc If I bring these into my store I need to find a place to put them that makes sense. It basically all boils down to the fact I need more room. I have about 300 unique style/color combos for sale but it's addictive, you always want more and I just don't have the space. If I am to buy them I would just simply make room somehow. But if it is going to take me all Summer to sell through the set of 9 then it is not worth the space they take up. Mid Summer it costs me around $60,000 a month just to break even so I need high turn over with popular styles. I am on the fence about these since they take up precious room and I can't keep ordering them if they sell. I may be more interested in picking this up as a brand new set and holding onto them as a complete set and see if they ever have any sort of collectible value. Then again, I don't want to get stuck with them either. I think the fact I have to make my mind up about it in 1 day is making it tough too.

 

[Sunglass Shack]

This is an old picture but you can see how every peg has a different SKU. The fact I can get these just once makes it so throwing them onto a peg makes no sense so I'd have to come up with some room some how in a display tower that I have. Just not sure if the trouble is worth it. =/

 

[Sundalo]

What about putting them on a table. Once it's sold out, take the table to the storage or put different sunnies.

 

[Patient_Cero]

From a retail perspective the only thing worth taking a chance is the Frogskins without a waiting list with deposit or something similar. Given you have to order everything, unless you can sit on inventory (for a long time) or want them for personal collection if it falls through, I would pass. I have seen more desirable and recognizable Oakley's sit on a shelf because the right customer base didn't frequent that store. So unless you know your clientele would definitely buy into this collection as a whole, pass.

 

[Sunglass Shack]

What about putting them on a table. Once it's sold out, take the table to the storage or put different sunnies.

I appreciate the idea but that would never work. We are open 7 days a week from 9am until midnight and located right on the shopping strip at the Oceanfront. Let's just say on any night of the week after 9pm it starts to get scary down there. I have been doing business down there for 12 years or so and it just gets real rough. Some times there are shootings, stabbings, etc. I have learned that if something isn't bolted down it will be stolen. It's a very rough crowd and on a Saturday night we can go from having an empty store at 7pm to having over 40 people in there all at once. It's not your typical families out walking the strip once the sun goes down. They would dispensary if left on a table within a few days.

 

[OakleyFrankFMJ]

So you are basically only allowed to 3 complete sets of each? That sounds pretty interesting. I can pretty much guarantee you if I was your customer you would see every single item of all 3 sets out just on me alone.

 

[OakleyGuru379]

I think they are a ripoff.