I feel for you. The bottom line is that today's trains are more detailed and feature-rich than ever. At the same time, almost all of them are being shipped individually and directly to the end user. Compare this to "the old days" when rugged postwar toys with cast-in detail were shipped by the case-load to a dealer (and then brought home from the local hobby store cradled lovingly in the back seat of your car.)
I agree that Lionel needs to improve the packaging of certain items. But if I were in charge there, I would either beef up the details or omit them altogether (at the expense of realism.) Another option might be to package the detail parts separately, and allow the end user to install them at home. Some buyers would probably balk at this approach. But it's clear to me that things cannot continue the way they are, it's just not sustainable. My $.02.
