Hi,
Unfortunately the 3rd edition has become so big in volume that as a consequence mistakes were made in the so called 'rarity system', which is not a good word it. It is more based on popularity than on rarity. Just 2 simple examples, the 3238 'hospital accessories' (produced between 1976 and 1978) only gets 2 'ratings' in the 3rd edition, yet the 3262 (knights accessories, also produced between '76 and '78) get 3 'ratings', both are equally rare. The 3404 (v2) which is a rare set to find (in mint in box condition) only gets 3 ratings, where as the 3406 (indians) get 5 ratings, both were made in the same timespan. There are unfortunately some big mistakes like giving the 3589 and 3590 (space) only 1 rating, they are both from 1980 (!!!). As a mint in box collector I contributed a lot of photos to the 3rd edition, unfortunately not enough time was spend on correcting the 'ratings' which to me are only based on popularity (sought after among collectors), how can you otherwise explain rating the 5360 victorian park fence with 6 ratings (which is ridiculous) while this set is offered almost every single week on ebay over the last 2 years. How can you compare that with giving a 3590 (only produced for 2 years in the early eighties) with 1 rating (!) ? I hope the 4th Collector will leave out this 'rating system' or will present a 'rating system' which is truly based on rarity.
Regards,
Eddy