April Fools on the Collector—6464 Archives; Once again, for the first time ever a repeat performance for the third time

e*Train Issue: Apr 2005 | Posted in: 1945-1969 PostWar Era, Collecting

By Bob Mintz

The most notorious duplicate from two consecutive catalogs would have to be the infamous Girl’s Set in both the 1957 and 1958 catalogs. Because of excess inventory due to poor sales, the set was shown again in the following year.

Although I do not claim to have each and every example of a 6464 boxcar from the Postwar period, I do have one type of every numerical issue, to say the least.

I had always dreamed about the archives and prototypes, the ones that were a one or none of a kind. Thanks to Lionel LLC, those dreams became a reality, and then, with each consecutive catalog issue, a nightmare.

Okay, so do to backlogged shipping and/or inventory overages, the forth, to the best of my counting ability, Archive Series boxcar were shown in the 2003 Volume 1 catalog and again in the 2003 Volume 2. This was kind of a given and understandable inclusion.

But upon opening the latest Lionel catalog for 2004 Volume 1, I was again hit with #39242 Archives 6464 boxcar 3-pack.

The most confusing part though, was that this set was labeled #1, while the “NEW” set, #39253 was labeled #2.

Occasionally, Lionel would bring out the same looking piece, but give it a totally different SKU number.

Not in this case though.

Our #1 should, in my opinion, be labeled #4 and the one claiming to be #2 should be #5.

Catalogs should be informative and transparent, but in this case, one can get a migraine from doing something that should be enjoyable.

I suppose that this just adds to the collecting mystique…or not.

And while on the topic of prototypes…

“THE GNU EM TEA ACHE KAT A LOG” When one hears about a new catalog, I have to give MTH credit, for they have gotten theirs on-line in record time. As much fun as reviewing one through the WEB, I much prefer to make my purchases while reviewing the actual hard copy, not that either version is actually what the end product will look like. I did find one thing kind of fun on the Web version, though. Look at item 30-75148, a PS-2 discharge hopper car, and tell me just what the heck “AGRICUTURE” is! I think that this word is a combination of agriculture, cut, and manure. Ah, maybe a new type of compost action car!

Shop Amazon and Help TCA

TCA members who shop at Amazon.com can have each of their normal purchases generate a modest payment to TCA! And it won’t cost you anything!

The Train Collectors Association is now a participant with AmazonSmile, which is a special website operated by Amazon that lets customers enjoy the same wide selection of products, low prices and convenient shopping features as on Amazon.com.

The difference is that when customers shop at AmazonSmile (smile.amazon.com), the AmazonSmile Foundation donates 0.5% of the price of eligible purchases to the charitable organizations selected by customers.

The process is simple. Just search for and select Train Collectors Association when you sign up and shop at smile.amazon.com.

You use your regular Amazon.com username and password, but when you log in to smile.amazon.com, you’ll see that you are supporting TCA with your purchases:

Note that if you just log in to the regular amazon.com, this benefit does not operate.

There are no costs to either you or TCA, but TCA benefits!

This is a great way for TCA to earn extra cash to offset costs, so sign up today to help support TCA.

* Note: TCA is not a party to any of your Amazon transactions, and does not endorse any products or vendors.

Helping TCA with your ebay purchases when you use PayPal

If you’re an ebay user and have a PayPal account you use to make payments, you can designate a donation for TCA when you’re checking out — any amount, small or large.
If you’re a regular seller on ebay, you can pre-designate a percentage of your sales to be donated automatically in your name to TCA as long as the purchaser pays with their PayPal account.

In both cases, you will receive a donation receipt from the PayPal Giving Fund, and enjoy applicable tax advantages.

How to do it:

Click on the image above, or use this link. This will take you to ebay, where you will see the following page (log in to ebay if you are not already):

This offers TCA as an option. Click on the “Add to My Charities” button where indicated with the red arrow. Thereafter, when you make a purchase, at checkout you will be offered the option to make a donation to TCA in any amount of your choosing. Small amounts add up, larger ones are great! It’s always up to you!

The option will appear at the lower part of your checkout page, something like this:

If you’re a regular seller on ebay, you can allocate a portion of your sales proceeds to be donated to TCA. Look at the green arrow marked “Optional” above to see how to do it. Details on how ebay calculates the donation may be read here. This is a wonderful way to share the financial benefits of your hobby with the organization that promotes it!

An added benefit to TCA is that these donations are not subject to normal processing fees, so that makes your donation work harder!

* Note. TCA is not a party to any of your eBay transactions, and does not endorse any products or vendors. PayPal issues the receipts to you for your donation, not TCA.

April Fools on the Collector—6464 Archives; Once again, for the first time ever a repeat performance for the third time

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