Will Lionel Deliver 2012 Christmas Items on Time?

The Lionel online shipping schedule has been a complete disaster, and whoever manages it should be quietly shown other job responsibilities at Lionel.  Sorry to be so harsh, but that online shipping schedule IS a customer-facing document after all.   And it's been treated like anything but.

 

That being said... a lot has changed lately... and if you see something removed from the list, we've been recently told that those items have shipped.  Like it or not, that's the way it is.  I particularly don't like that approach, because I'd rather see positive confirmation of something shipping rather than the absence of the item implying that it has shipped.    WHO MAKES THESE DECISIONS???

 

As for things moving out into the future... that's par for the course these days, whether it's a Christmas item or not.    Another "Christmas item" that will be late appears to be the Polar Railroad PS-2 covered hopper 6-27496 in the new red/green paint scheme.

 

Personally, if I had these on order, I'd probably keep the order active and take delivery when they arrive.  Makes it a win-win for everyone, aside from the disappointment factor for something that is clearly a Christmas item.

 

Hang in there... LOTS of other stuff IS shipping in December!!!   So you'll have no trouble spending $$$. 

 

David

 

Thanks, David.  It is good to know that those products have apparently been shipped instead of removed/delayed/cancelled.

I was at MB Kleins this past weekend to get my annual MTH and Lionel Christmas boxcars and I was told the Lionels weren't in yet and they had no idea when it would be. How can Lionel screw these items up? These are time sensitive products that really don't make any sense to get after Christmas unless they are offered at a sizable discount like any other holiday item long after the holidays have gone. Since these are being made in America they can't blame the west coast dock strike or the Chinese can they? How can you screw this up? It's like a fireworks company not being ready for the 4th of July! I thought it was kinda pathetic that a couple 2011 Christmas item finally hit the stores last April and this is even more pathetic! If you type the product number or Christmas boxcar into their shipping schedule it either says nothing found or you get the LRRC Christmas boxcar. I've sent Lionel an email asking if they will be available soon and I'll let you know what I hear.

 

Jerry

Don't even get me started on this topic.  How the heck you can allow Christmas items to be late is beyond me!  One of the reasons I gave up on a Christmas layout......Greg

Hope you're right about the shipping schedule Dave, I feel like I've wasted a perfectly good rant!

 

Jerry

I received the following items

6-38731 Polar R.R. SD80MAC back on 8-14-12

6-37070 Gingerbread Man operating gondola back on 11-12-12

6-37059 Christmas Snow Globe car back on 11-21-12

6-39350 Thomas Kinkade USA-made Christmas boxcar back on 10-9-12 .

 

I posted photos of the 6-39350 Thomas Kinkade USA-made Christmas boxcar back in Oct.  https://ogrforum.com/d...223#9173460012999223

 

I'm still waiting on the 6-29976 USA-made 2012 Lionel O Gauge Christmas boxcar.

 

Good to hear all of that Paul.  So, Lionel's handling of the shipping schedule is at the root of all of this confusion.  Either way, it looks like there is no Christmas O Gauge boxcar yet. That should have been dealers' hands by October, or earlier!  And why would the Kinkade boxcar be shown as having been moved to January if you received yours in October?!  

I know back at York I heard from some dealers that they were upset that they had not received some of the Halloween items, and Halloween was 2 weeks away at the time.

At York on Thursday, I saw only one dealer who had the Peanuts Halloween boxcar on hand, so I bought one from him immediately.  Funny... there were plenty of Peanuts Christmas and Thanksgiving boxcars available from various dealers then, though!

Paul, have you seen the Polar RR round-roof boxcar yet?  If so, does the red/green on your SD80MAC have the same deep red/green used on the boxcar?  The SD80MAC's are already long gone in my neck of the woods here in PA.  So I haven't seen one in person.  At first glance from the catalog, I thought the red/green on the SD80MAC might be too bright or "toy-like", if you know what I mean.  But if the paint scheme matches that of the new boxcar, I might buy an SD80MAC after all... If I can find one, that is.  

 

Thx...

 

David

David, I hope I can dig them out later on today. I received the round-roof box a few weeks ago and know where that one is in the storage room and I'm hoping that the SD80MAC is not to far back in the room that I have them in. I have been trying to inventory all of my trains and I have almost filled the room and I'm not sure when I put it in the room. I know that it was nice looking when I got it. My problem is that I have to many trains and no where to run them, I hoping to have somewhere to run them in a few months.

 

I'm hoping I can find it and photo both of them together and let you know.

Just picked up the 2012 Christmas boxcar (29976) yesterday.

 

Agreed it doesnt make sense to drop the items from the list after they are shipped.

As least on the consumer side of the website, better off leaving it the way it was.

This is only from a single source, but it's remotely possible the SD-80 may have been a partial shipment.

 

I was supposed to take delivery of mine back around when Paul mentions getting his, but the end styrofoam was glued to the deck by the paint and left marks when removed, so I refused it.  My dealer indicated he had another one on order that was a potential replacement (which usually indicates the item was only a partial shipment), but I have not heard any new news on it since.

 

And I also received the new Thomas Kinkade car back in mid October.

 

Agreed this is a step backwards, with all of the no show items but the American boxcars likely a victim of the Chinese factory issues of late.

 

-Dave

Trust me you would not want this person moved anywhere, and he does it as kind of an "other duty" and works with what he can find out.

 

I think same person has also said before, when a partial shipment is received he puts the info up about the next shipment as soon as it's known. Perhaps it would be better to but the date up and an asterisk or note indicating some of the shipment has previously been received

The 2012 Christmas Box Car is out. Check my last post on whats shipping plus that list has also been added too since then. I will try to get the revised one up but we are quite busy now. Thanks Charlie...

Oh boy...  Be careful what we wish for folks!!!    December is traditionally a wild month for deliveries, as companies attempt to get as much product as possible onto dealer's shelves.  Gotta be a wild and crazy time.  If only deliveries could be spread out evenly throughout the year... But we all know that's just never the way it works.  

 

David

Chris, your comments don't surprise me at all. For many of us, I think that thought has crossed our minds numerous times this year.  Stuff we think is important tend to be just one of MANY "other duty" responsibilities that get accomplished whenever someone gets around to it.

 

The only thing that's more sad is the fact that with most manufacturing now firmly entrenched overseas, companies here continue to spread the remaining duties over as few personnel as possible... resulting in the mayhem we see here.  

 

All we can do is hope for the best, 'cause the last time I checked none of these companies is asking us for our advice.  

 

David

Last year I ordered the Route Of The Reindeer RS-3.  Based on having previously read forum reports of late arriving merchandise I figured it would not be here for Christmas 2011, but probably would arrive by this year's observance.  What a pleasant surprise to have received it the first week of December 2011!

 

Looks to me like for any holiday item it may be best to not count on it being in time for that year's holiday, think of it as ordering a year in advance.  Easier on the blood pressure.

 

Pete

David, Here are the photos of the SD80MAC and the Polar RR round-roof boxcar. The greens are pretty close, the SD80MAC has a tad more shine then the box car. The box car red is a shade darker then the SD80MAC. But to me they do look good together. I hope this helps you.

 

I talked with my LHs owner yesterday.  he said all the stuff he ordered would be reach his store on the 22nd.  I guess that means that, technically, the answer is yes, in time for Christmas

 

Of course, he has Chritmas stuff from last year that was delivered too late to sell then. . .

Paul, many thanks for posting the pics.  They look sharp together!  Decisions, decisions...  

 

David

I never unstood it either, who wants christmas trains delivered on December 22nd?  that stuff should have shipped by MId October at the lastest. 

I see the "O" Gauge Christmas Boxcar is in some stores. However, it does NOT have the red trucks as pictured in the catalog.

I don't think that is true  The 6-27073  PRR Offset Hopper 3 pack was removed from the list and I can find no dealer that has received these yet.  I think the shipping list is totally messed up.

That's exactly why I'm not a fan of removing items when they supposedly ship.  It's too prone to error.  Better to keep items on the list with a confirmed ship date.

My comment was based on recent info provided to us here by Lionel.  It's possible that the product in question is still enroute to dealers.  But who really knows is anyone's best guess at this point. 

David

Hhmmmm... for those interested... although the online shipping schedule still indicates Jan 2013 for this item, the updated shipment list that Charlie received and posted earlier now indicates this item as shipping from Seattle the week of 12/10.  So who really knows for sure??? 

 

David

 

 

P.S.  And the Charles Ro website has now been updated to reflect an anticipated arrival on 12/19.

I just got a call from a local dealer who just got my boxcar in.  He told me that the company that makes the parts is going out of business and all the parts were made in the USA, it even says it on the box for this one!  He thinks it will certainly be a collectors item b/c of how few were made and released this year.

Already beat to death:

https://ogrforum.com/d...nt/11285375720665882

Rusty

Less than two weeks to Christmas and LHS is still waiting for six different sets out of the 2012RTR catalog which came out in Feb. Will be very close if some make it here before the holidays.