What do they expect you to do unbox it in front of them at the store? I’d get my stuff from somewhere else if that was the case. Email me and I’ll tell you where I get mine and they’re always shipped because I have no shops that are close.
Thank you for your offer. My reasoning behind buying from Nassau is for three reasons. One, they have had a great customer service department. Two, they support and are a sponsor of the OGR. Third, they have unbeatable preorder prices. I paid $2,000 for this model (MSRP being $2,500). Compared to Charles Ro or Train World, they charged between $2,300 to $2,400. A great difference considering it is an expensive locomotive.
I agree that their policy is not truly fair to their customers, in my opinion, but to protect their business from manufacturer's problems, they have to do this. I have tried Train World and Charles Ro both and I have had mixed results. Either terrible customer service, or misplaced orders. This is the first time I have had any problems with Nassau and up to this point, I have enjoyed doing business with them. In the end, it is not their fault that Lionel released a defective model, but they should have at least tried to rectify the problem.