So, is your long-awaited 990 command set new or "gently used"?

 

There is no great conspiracy going on.  The 990s had defective parts in them replaced by Lionel service before release. These were the parts that failed QC when they were first built

The problem is that they should tell the customer.  Put a little white piece of paper saying to the effect that "[t]o ensure quality control, your unit was selected by Lionel to make sure it operates appropriately.  This is why you might see slight signs of use."  That being said, the others are most likely correct, but it would be good to confirm

 

Heck, I would like to see more stuff tested before shipping.  I have made a point of having any new trains tested before leaving the store.  I don't want to get it home to find out something is not right.  I find this is much more necessary than it was when I was a kid -- DOA units or other problems were simply not an issue in our experience.  Of course the trains were much simpler but given the complexity today, it's a good precaution in my view.

To add to Chris's statement above. They did, Mike Reagan stated months ago that the remotes were "sent back" because of a component issue.

 

They all had to be repaired/upgraded to fix the issue, that cannot be done without opening the box.

 

I think we may be picking "nits" here.

I have 2, Fully Up-dated to 1.52 by Lionel...Also one extra with a charger..So, when we run trains, as Lou Kovash says, We can all Play.  Do you remember the early days of IC controls?  We have taken a Giant Step for Humanity, LEGACY SYSTEMS!!

Hey...mine just suffered a comm port issue. Must be a systemic

Although I agree with the bigger point, I am not picking nits.  You have no idea the person who opened the box.  We can engage in informed speculation but we don't really know.  It goes back to whether you want to make sure the customer is happy on a high dollar discretionary purchase, or whether you would risk having that person be less than fully pleased.  Personally, I wouldn't really care as long as the item worked, but at the same time the person above is a consumer who spent money on a high dollar discretionary product.  If  you were in charge at Lionel, would you rather make sure that this person is happy, or take the chance that they were less than happy, and came here to post about it?  It's a question of how detailed you want to be in running your business.  Not every O gauge consumer reads this forum is or up to date on the latest bit of information from Mike Reagan at Lionel.  So it comes down to whether in a space where you are selling high dollar discretionary items, you believe that it is critical that the customer be happy.  My view is that it is.

I found a potato chip crumb in my 990 box. 

sure we do.  on another thread Charlie Nassau posted pictures of his pallets of 990's someone enlarged the picture and some of the dates were feb and march of this year.  you can bet that lionel did not just sit on those for 5 months.  and I would not believe lionel sent them back to china they were opened and fixed here.

What flavor?

I think the bigger answer is that Lionel train items generally have no "sealed" quality expectation. I have gotten new items from various dealers that have been opened but with no obvious degradation having been opened. I would guess some things have been displayed, etc. Maybe even took a loop around the track once or twice. My local store has many items in the glass case that have to be repackaged when you purchase them. I have gotten "sealed" items fresh from China with windows fallen out, hoses broken off, smoke motors screeching, coil couplers with pinched wires. It seems to me that if anybody doesn't want to open a box, it would be the dealers. If they had to fix all this stuff after they tested it they wouldn't ever get any profitable work done.  So I just don't get the "it has been slightly used" issue with these kinds of hobby items. Even cameras on the shelf when we had camera stores. How about new cars on the lot? Jeeze Louise...

On a similar note, I have a friend who used to open the box of something in a store to inspect it, and then take a fresh unopened box off the bottom of the stack for his own use. My comment to him was that he inspected carefully the item, and then took a completely unknown to purchase. Dumb.

Kind of like sandwich crumbs in your magazine delivered in the mail?

IMHO, Jim's question was perfectly reasonable, as was his comments that a notice placed inside the box would have been nice.

How many of us would be happy to receive a new television in similar condition?

That was the squirrel, he was commissioned to thoroughly test each unit prior to shipment, after Lionel had made the repairs. I think that's how he got his before the rest of us. He must also like potato chips, would have expected to find walnut crumbs?

 

cjack,

The mail man needs something to read while eating lunch in the delivery truck.

 

My shipping carton has 01-14-14 date. #990 box has code 00714 EL.

you except lionel to put a note in hundreds if not thousands of 990 sets?

 

they would spend more time putting in notes then fixing the issue.

People would complain about getting a thousand dollars in $1 bills. 

My level of concern would depend on how truly "light" the scratches are. 

 

The tape on the box flaps I could chalk up to the situation.  It would not be prudent to expect Lionel to reproduce the boxes (at great expense) just to produce "sealed" units in this case. (though others may feel differently)  Fresh tape over the previously cut tape is not really any better than just tape that is obviously cut, IMO.

 

Back to the scratches.  If I take an item apart in my basement to fix it, scratches are a risk I am subjecting myself to because I am doing the work.

 

If I buy something "new" from the company that makes it, I fully expect their manufacturing processes and technicians to be competent enough to not mar the product if they need to re-work the unit prior to delivery to correct something like the poor quality chip that seems to have caused the delay in shipment.

 

-Dave

I bought a new car in March of 2011 and it had 37 miles on the odometer. 

I don't believe anyone is talking hand-written notes here.

 

A fraction of a piece of paper placed in each box with a (mas produced - computers and/or photo copiers are wonderful devices) 2 sentence explanation would add no time to the process.  (certainly no time when compared to actually replacing hardware within the unit)

 

-Dave

So...it's an adventure! A package with an unknown history

What a bunch of girls, you got your 990, have fun and stop whining.

Im with david, quit whining about the factory scratches and get to work putting your own scratches on it. You can complain all you want but the fact of the matter is if you want to have a legacy system you have to accept the fact that the cherry has been pooped on your box. Be thankful they checked them all out so you dont have to send them back

Does anybody read those things anyway? We don't even read the manuals, we come here for answers to all our problems!  

Not me, my LHS takes George Washington's just like they do Ben Franklin's.

They should of charged more for these items because they have been tested. Thanks to Mike Reagan these units are perfect. Some people call and complain that there is marks on the wheels of an engine that is new, they think its used and I tell them they are tested at the factory and they do not believe me. These same people think I used the engine before shipping it to them.

Pat

Friend of mine put a dollar bill on his selling table at local train show with sign that said free...someone came along & asked "can you do better than that?" 

I worked one summer at a car dealership. You would be surprised how much work we did on a new car before it was offered for sale. Everything from adding a mirror to adding AC. We even swapped radios and did do a factory directed service ( ie recalls) And no one ever posted a note in the car since we did the work before it was offered for sale. Same with these units

Now had they gone to dealers and failed and were returned to be repaired  then I would expect them to be marked as "Refurbished" but the fact is these were never offered for sale and never left Lionel's control. They are new

How do you feel about MTHs claim they test and adjust as need every premier engine before shipping, does that make them not new?

I had a building on the ogr board for free just pay exact shipping. A guy asked if I could ship it to him, get ready for this----------FOR FREE. 

I received a 990 last week. The remote was in a distressed condition. It had scratches  and some type of dirt on it. i sent it back and asked for one that appeared new.
I am surprised by the number of posters who disparages anyone who pays for something new and conplains if the product they get is a scratch and dent.

Perhaps Lionel really tripped on this product rollout.  Delayed for months, then repaired in a less than professional manner, at least judging from the unit I got. Some seem eager to give a pass on this. 

Lionel should discount this product, they have done a poor job bringing it to market.

Fred

There is a big difference between light scratches and wear on the contact vs what you describe. In your case I probably would have said something