TCA Working for You

Issue: February 9, 2021 | Posted in: Member Exclusive Offerings, TCA News

February Online Book Sale – 10% Off All Books

The National Toy Train Library is having a special sale on books starting the month of February. Prices of all duplicate books have been reduced by 10%. Find that special book you’ve been looking for on toy trains, railroads, and more. Get that book of Lionel catalogues or a guide to Ives trains, or take a journey around the world by rail. When you are ready to place your order, give us a call at 717-687-8623 ext. 108.

We are here to answer your calls Monday – Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. EST. Postage and handling costs will be determined at the time of the order. All sales go to benefit the library. The February duplicate book list can be accessed here.

National Voting Is Coming Up – Sign Up for Fast, Easy, Economical Online Voting

With ballots for our national election now being prepared, join the growing number of fellow members who have opted to cast their ballots the easy online way. It saves money and time, it’s the modern way to go, and it’s faster than the Post Office!

But you must record this choice by February 15, when the process starts. That is only one week from today, so act now.

If you do not opt in, you will be required to vote by US Mail, which has recently been struggling with erratic deliveries.

Simply log in to the Traincollectors.org site your usual way and click on Manage Profile, Edit Bio, where you make changes to your account information.)

There, select “Opt In for Online Voting” and you will receive an email notice at national election time to cast your ballot securely online. The screenshot above shows how easy making the selection is!

Do it NOW, as changing your option won’t be permitted after February 15. (Once you’ve opted in, do not use the paper ballot that may come in the National Headquarters News, as only your online vote will be counted.) While you’re on your profile page, make sure you have a valid email address in your profile. Then click the Orange “Save Changes” button at the bottom of that page to record your choice.

Watch For Coming Ways to Reduce Your Dues

We’ve heard you!

On the pending ballot for the national election is an amendment that would allow members to prepay for 1, 3, or 5 years at a time, which would let TCA reduce processing costs and would let you save money on your dues.

We also anticipate offering savings for those members who voluntarily sign up to receive publications and perform other functions such as voting, paying dues, and printing their membership cards online, instead of by paper. TCA’s savings will be shared with you!

Amazon Smile—Help TCA Without Cost To You

Just a reminder that TCA participates in Amazon’s special program that allows anybody to designate TCA to receive a small portion of the cost of any purchase you make on Amazon. It doesn’t increase the price of what you buy, but those pennies do add up to help TCA! All you have to do is sign up and always make your purchases with your regular Amazon login at smile.amazon.com.

See all the details here.

March National Headquarters News Coming

The March edition will mail next week, and members will be able to log in and see it online before it has been mailed.

As with the last edition, we are now presenting the online version in a fast-loading single file for easier use, with lots of links built into it for easy navigation.

Member Exclusive Ordering Available

And don’t forget, the Member Exclusive Lionel Western Pacific 6464-100 “As Cataloged” Boxcar is available for ordering until March 15. Members can view all the details and place their order here.

It’s a unique opportunity!

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.