Why so many delays from TOPP?

We know it seems like it's just been one delay after another in getting your Painted Ponies this year, but we want you to know that something is being done about it.


A lot has gone on this year, the first year of Trail of Painted Ponies being manufactured by Enesco. You can start with changes in China with regard to labor laws that have ultimately changed the way things are done in getting products to market. For example: in the past if you needed a bunch of items manufactured hastily you would place your purchase order and the factory would hire as many temporary employees as it needed to push out your product. With China's new labor laws the use of temporary employees is frowned on. To get product out in a hurry now, as with the case of Trail of Painted Ponies re-casts, you're going to have to be a little more creative. I think at this point, almost a year into Enesco's contract with TOPP, Enesco is ready to admit that they could have done a better job getting product out to the retailers and consumers. In fact, right now they are making operational changes that should improve their ability to get the products the retailers want, to the retailers, when they want them.


The most recent bottleneck is the increase in security at customs brought on by the recent news of bombs being shipped into the U.S. from Yemen. I suppose we should have expected this at some point with the continued threat of terrorism, but I guess we just thought all that could be done was being done. None the less, knowing this was going to happen probably wouldn't have changed anything. It's going to delay the arrival of the product regardless.


It appears that Enesco is working hard to improve at least the manufacturing bottleneck by placing smaller purchase orders which will have the affect of getting a greater variety of products out to the retailers in a more timely manner. For now, it's nice to know that they are sensitive to our complaints and are taking steps to improve things. We're looking forward to improvements for 2011.

Breyer 's Horses - 60th Anniversary

The Breyer Fall 2010 release has been out for pre-order for a couple weeks now. We just love the 60th anniversary model, Diamond Jubilee. He's a limited edition with on 2010 being made. Don't wait on ordering this one, my guess is they'll be all sold out long before Christmas.

Here's what we really like. All of the wonderful new products for the Wind Dancers product line. Wind Dancers have been extremely hot this year and these new additions are going to be great for Christmas 2010. Every child loves stickers and Breyer's Wind Dancer stickers are great for decorating book covers, folders and notebooks. What little girl, or little boy for that matter, doesn't love having a diary for their private thoughts and dreams. The Breyer Wind Dancer diary is 160 lined pages and has a sturdy gold tone lock & key. Add to that a Wind Dancers Journal and Memory Book, and you've got hours of affordable fun.

Breyer's Big Lex

Now that's a horse of a different color. I didn't even remember we ordered these, but I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. I've seen the buzz all over the Internet about these, so I'm glad we've got a few. Big Lex is based on Edward Troye's 1868 portrait of the famous Thoroughbred racehorse, Lexington, Big Lex is an elegant and stunning representative of the Bluegrass region of Kentucky, home to the world's most iconic farms and famous racehorses.

Breyer, maker of the world's finest model horses since 1950, is proud to partner with the Lexington Convention and Visitors Bureau to make this officially licensed keepsake model horse.

Big Lex is a resin model 5"H x 5.75"L.

Manufacture-to-Order - That's a concept, or is it?

Manufacture-to-order: A production management technique in which goods are produced to meet firm orders, rather than being produced for stock.
I was talking to our Enesco sales representative the other day when, out of the blue, she mentioned that Enesco manufactures to order. We've been dealing with Enesco since late 2009 when it was announced that they would be taking over the license to manufacture Trail of Painted Ponies figurines. It's now May of 2010 and this is the first I've heard of this. We're not used to dealing with manufacturers who operate this way, so it will be a "BIG" adjustment for us. What this means is, we place our order with Enesco, and only then do they place their order to the production facility in China. In the past I've been told that it typically takes 3 months from the time an order is placed with the production facility in China, until it arrives here, on the boat. In thinking through the whole "manufacture-to-order" concept, this is what I've come up with. While I'm no expert, I could see where "manufacture-to-order" could be a great business strategy, here's why. If Enesco is only manufacturing what is currently on order, they are carrying virtually no inventory. By doing this they are getting a greater number of turns on their inventory, which means more money in the bank and more money to invest in other ventures. So, they're getting a greater ROI, (return on investment). It almost seems perfect. The problem is that when a manufacturer operates this way they are, in some respects, asking the retailer to warehouse there inventory for them. If you're a retailer and you know that once the items you have in stock have sold out, it'll take you 3 months to get the next shipment in, you may be inclined to order a lot more than your immediate demand dictates. You would know that you'd have to have a 3 month supply on hand to get you from when you place your next order until the time it arrives. The problem with this is that most retailers are trying to increase their inventory turnover and ROI as well. Most likely, this desire by manufacturers and retailers to improve ROI will result in product scarcity. Now, you might think that Enesco would not want this because it reduces the amount of merchandise they will ultimately sell. This is, of course, why most manufacturers don't operate this way. But, if you believe the work of Dr. Robert Cialdini president of Influence At Work, and his six universal principles of persuasion, then you believe that "If I cant have it, I want it". You believe that perceived scarcity will generate more demand. And if you subscribe to that principle then you could easily believe that, in the long run, Enesco will be selling far more product under it's business model than any number of other manufacturers. I know, just what you wanted to hear, more scarcity of Trail of Painted Ponies figurines. As a seller of Painted Ponies figurines, I'm not really thrilled with the idea either. I've been working on a plan to make sure LAGH Members can get the Painted Ponies figurines they want, when they want them. Of course, we are several months behind, because we just found out about this. There's not much we're going to be able to do about that. We do have a plan moving into the future. We are pushing up orders this week, and we're working on a way to give you more timely information regarding when your pre-orders will arrive. We'll get through this together.

Who's Minding The Store?

In the wee hours of the morning this morning, I was checking prices on the Internet, as I often do. I was looking around in Shopping.com and a particular item caught my eye. I noticed a Breyer Traditional model, Theodore O'Conner, for $14.25. I thought to myself, wow, that's cheap! I clicked on the item and was shown Amazon.com Marketplace $14.25, below that was Amazon.com Marketplace at $19.25 and below that was State Line Tack at $34.99. I clicked "visit store" on the $14.25 and it took me to Amazon.com Marketplace and listed the store as The Original Horse Tack Company. Interestingly enough, it showed the price as $28.90. What happened the $14.25? I then clicked visit store on the $19.25 and it took me to the same spot, again showing Teddy at $28.90. What happened to the $19.25. What's more, Shopping.com listed this store as a "Trusted Seller", and since it had the low price it was designated a "Smart Buy". I don't know about you, but I wouldn't trust that store as far as I could throw it, and I guess it would get my personal rating as "Dumb Buy".
Here's the problem. All of these places, Amazon.com, Shopping.com, Nextag etc. are out selling advertising. Yes, that's right, Amazon.com is in the advertising business. I've purchased advertising from all of these places at one time or another, so trust me, I know what I'm talking about. It's a money driven system where depending on how much money you want to spend you can be a "Trusted Seller" or anything else you want to be. Unfortunately, what is being displayed as a "trusted" price is not really controlled by anybody. The ads that are displayed come from a data feed that the retailer provides. What if they submit inaccurate data, what if they're not all that "honest"? Well, the truth is nobody cares as long as they get paid. There is really no way to monitor all of this data for accuracy. So, who's minding the store? NOBODY!

Horse of a Different Color takes #2 spot

We received our report on Westland Giftware's top 20 selling product lines last week. It contained some shocking information. Horse of a Different Color, a product line just announced in December 2009 that didn't even hit retail shops until February 2010, took the number 2 position. What's really interesting is that the #1 selling product line is MWAHH!, a product line that has over 100 items in it. Horse of a Different Color only has 29 items, total. Horse of a Different Color was announced by Westland Giftware shortly after they lost the license to produce Trail of Painted Ponies figurines and ornaments to Enesco. At the time the licensing switch took place, Trail of Painted Ponies was Westland's #1 product line. Of course, they had to go out and try to replace those sales, and what better way than to produce another horse figurine line to replace the one they lost. Enter Horse of a Different Color; featuring ornate horse figurines of different breeds with only 10,000 of each numbered figurine produced. Now can you think of a better way to ensure value to collectors? These collectibles are "HOT". It may be a horse race, but I'm betting that Horse of a Different Color will jump to the #1 spot on Westland's top selling product lines list by the time the second release hits the retail shelves, probably sometime in August, 2010. Each 6" figurine has a copper plate in the base that identifies the issue number ex. 100/10,000, meaning that figurine was the 100th made out of the total 10,000 that will be produced. If you love horses it's time to saddle up, the first release is still available, but they're going fast. Currently, the entire product line consists of 12 different 6" figurines, 8 mini figurines, 8 - 12"x12" canvas wall art pieces and 1 paint your own 6" figurine.

Breyer Spanish Flamenco Set

It happens all the time. People see a particular, ornate Breyer Horse that they'd really like to have, but they feel it's too expensive. They just can't afford it. They don't make the purchase, and then later, when it's gone, they're kicking themselves for not having purchased it when they had the chance. Breyer's Spanish Flamenco Set is one of those. It's a very ornate limited edition that carries a suggested retail price of $150.00. I know, that's a lot of money. At Look A Gift Horse we are always trying to take the sting out of prices. We offer "Unbeatable Member Pricing", a "MyRewards" points program and a "Free Shipping" program. Our members pay the lowest price on the Internet for Breyer Horses. Today, we want to help you out with that Spanish Flamenco Set. Today, you can get Breyer's Spanish Flamenco Set for just $71.25. Now that's a smokin' hot deal, so don't let this one get away. At $71.25 with Free Shipping you just can't beat it.