Typical warranty policies?

An authorized Lionel dealer should be required to take it back for a refund or an exchange.

Are you sure about the item #? Technically, thats an"earlier" 180w brick. The "new" ones are #6- 85226.

Not that there are issues with the earlier unit , but, I would be inclined to think a " large authorized dealer " would have been sold out of them for some time.

Browsing websites of a few large Lionel dealers shows they only have the newer 85226 listed in stock.  They would also likely take an exchange. I'm not so sure Lionel can even repair transformers.

They may have you in a trick bag as the 6-22983 may be outside of the manufacturers warranty period which is 1 year within 3 years of the date of manufacture.

I'd love to know who this "large authorized online dealer is". I suspect, its no dealer I've ever bought from.

DOA, open a dispute via your credit card company.  Most states also have some sort of laws about reasonable return policies.  It could be as short as a week or 2, but a DOA item should be covered, assuming the transaction wasn't over a month ago and you are only checking it out now.

I'm curious who the dealer is too, but I'm sure if you type it, the thread will disappear instantly, especially if it's a Forum sponsor.

-Dave

6-22983 was on the shipping notice of this Flordia authorized dealer, but 6-85226 printed on the box. My mistake. 

Is there a serial number that Lionel would need to determine if this is indeed 'in-warranty?'   I asked the dealer for an exchange instead of warranty service, since Lionel is shut down, and this could take months. 

I normally purchase from Hennings or Nicholas Smith for this very reason and both are about 45 minutes away, but that is no longer an option.  This seller is listed as 'authorized' on Lionel's site.    I'm waiting on his reply, but either way, I'm looking at additional shipping costs.   Actually, it's probably cheaper to ship to NC than FL, but I want the quick turnaround the dealer can offer.

Thanks,

Dennis

Yes, it was delivered by UPS Thursday evening, very quick shipping considering I ordered it Tuesday.  The next day, Friday, I installed it and found the problem, so truly DOA.  The price was good and free shipping, so it looked like a great deal.  I've no history with the dealer, so in fairness rather not mention their name. 

Dennis

Any dealer who refused an exchange would be a dealer I no longer buy from.  Most states have laws on the issues.  I'd politely ask again for an exchange, for all the right reasons (Lionel is closed), and if they refuse, I'd say that I'd regretfully ask for a refund from my bank whose credit card I used to purchase this boat anchor.  Say you'd be happy to ship it back to them at your expense once you have a working item. That's the price of doing business out of town in this hobby.  But all the laws and moral issues are on your side here.

The 85226 should be covered under warranty . I guess another option would be to try and get in touch with Lionel and see how they handle transformers. I know there was an issue with cw-80s a few years ago. Folks were instructed to cut off the cord and send it in. Lionel sent out replacements accordingly.

Obviously Lionels operations are scaled back. I think they are still shipping parts orders and such at a slower pace, but see what happens.

The fly in the ointment here is the receipt doesn't match the item.  That may have been an honest mistake, but in this case it's a mistake that let's the dealer claim it's an older item than it is.  Hopefully the dealer would not play such games, but the paper trail would unfortunately make it easier for him to do so.

I suspect Lionel would make good on it, but you should not have to go to Lionel with this, even if there was no situation with shutdowns due to COVID.  This should be a straight dealer exchange, plain and simple (and if he sold you his last one (can't send you a replacement in short order), that's his problem, and he should issue a refund instead, but you will have to ship it back of course, possibly at your expense).

-Dave

Do you have an email confirmation from the original order showing the item number that you actually received?  Having such documentation would be valuable.

Since the receipt doesn't match the item, as others have suggested my next move would be to dispute the charge on the credit card.  Call and let him know beforehand - his "it's your problem" stance could change.

And when it's resolved - one way or the other - please identify the dealer as a public service to the rest of us.  If he makes it right, he deserves the publicity.  If he's doing bait-and-switch, ditto.  If he's a forum sponsor, at least disclose that.

I didn't get a hardcopy receipt, just email on Wednesday:

Items in this shipment LIONEL 6-22983 180-WATT POWERHOUSE™ POWER SUPPLY × 1

I requested a corrected receipt showing the actual product number, 6-85226, so I can get it repaired by Lionel or a local dealer. The seller's response was they are shipping a replacement PH180. I don't know yet the disposition of the DOA, but all's well that ends well.  They were more than fair IMO.

Dennis 

Check out the Lifetime warranty on the 97 Coal Elevator.

@ADCX Rob posted:

Check out the Lifetime warranty on the 97 Coal Elevator.

.....

I half wonder if they cut and pasted that title from something else in error.  Right in the opening paragraph under it, it explains the standard 1 year period most things fell under then.

There was the "Heritage" catalog items from that time frame that supposedly had actual lifetime warranties.  Lifetime might have just meant until the company changed ownership though.

-Dave