Dave45681
As RICHTHROW POSTED on the afore mentioned thread
"Sometime last spring, I brought a box of supplies in from the garage and placed it under the layout. Apparently that box (now referred to as "patient zero" ) had some mildew on it and within a few months, it was everywhere "
I would be concerned buying an item and paying a premium for the original outer shipper and receiving a "contaminated" outer shipper. As I posted myself earlier, that is exactly what happened to me recently.
Some people get used to the smell of mildew or mold. To me it smells , just as does cigarette smoke , and is just as difficult to eliminate.
An item purchased at a train show might not "stink" until you've got it home.
An item purchased at auction or through eb!@# wont reveal till you get it delivered to you.
There may soon be collections from California entering the market place that will have "smoke damage" to the outer box. Perhaps perspective buyers will NEED replacement boxes and Lionel and MTH Should make an attempt to stock some generic sizes.
(The size and capacity are printed on the original boxes and probably in their data base, from when their orders were first processed.)
