Swarovski Christmas Angel Mo – the Postoned Release Date for USA

In June, our favorite crystal brand announced that the Swarovski Lovlots Angel Mo would be released July 9, 2012 joining a series of other Lovlots Mo cows.

Well, they did make the Swarovski Angel Mo available online, but with some limitations as to who can purchase it.  While I (in the USA) was not able to add it to my shopping cart, if you are in any other country, you can add it to you cart!  Check out the product availability based on country of residence:

• Angel Mo in USA
• Angel Mo in Canada

I find this interesting in that according to the Swarovski members’ only announcement which has since been removed from their website, Lovlots Angel Mo is a limited edition available only in 2012.  I know the hype…I am a secondary market dealer that specializes in Swarovski.  It means that some collectors will purchase a hoard of figurines, then sell them on eBay at inflated prices or list them on our site at above retail price as the owner themselves wants to get in on the action of making some money.  While it can be perceived as a win-win for me (the dealer) and the owner (the seller), it is certainly a losing situation for the buying collector who simply does not want to take a chance that it could be sold out prior to it being available here in the USA.

Honestly, I don’t like how commercial Christmas has become….with artificial Christmas trees out mid-summer, decorations hitting stores after Labor Day, and so forth.  All this before the Halloween trick or treating event or the Thanksgiving turkey is even cooked.

While I can certainly appreciate the crystal giant putting on the brakes to ensure that Swarovski Christmas Ornaments and merchandise release dates are appropriate for the figurines, I think that delaying the Swarovski Christmas Angel Mo only for the USA collectors was an incredulous decision.

Straight to the point, this is going to upset crystal fanatics in the USA.  What could this mean to the crystal brand and its followers?

• Disappointed collectors.  Collectors who ‘want it now’ will likely be forced to pay ‘above market prices’ to ensure they have the Lovlots Angel Mo in their crystal collection now.
• Reduced Lovlots Angel Mo profits.  Dedicated Swarovski crystal collectors are not going to wait nearly 3 more months to get it online, instead, they will probably turn to the online auctions to buy it now and will not buy later from authorized source(s).
• Reliance on other distribution channels.  Collectors will build bonds with new channels: secondary market brokers, gray market dealers, and eBay dealers.

This is not about ‘fairness’… it is about the loyal following of Swarovski crystal collectors and the reality of what goes on post-sale of limited edition Swarovski figurines.  I really hope that when it comes to limited edition releases, that Swarovski will settle on a world-wide launch date to eliminate the mini-frenzy that could be bearing down upon the collectors in the USA.