# Aristo's dreadful clear plasitc boxes!



## Ted Doskaris (Oct 7, 2008)

Aristo-Craft's more recent business model includes changing from cardboard box material to clear plastic to house their freight cars to apparently enhance the looks of a packaged product on a store shelf. 

The first attempt was to revert to those dreadful box types with flaps at either end - but this time using a stiff clear plastic material.

It is a struggle to put a car back into these type boxes as the plastic flaps have too much of a memory - so you have to bend and hold them whilst trying to get a car back into the box so the car's end caps don't fall off in the process.

Finally, after doing several of these, I cut my index finger on one of the sharp plastic edges!
I wonder if Aristo has considered those "dial 1-800 For Injury" lawyers in its business model?

The more recent version plastic boxes are made with a telescopic lid and are much easier to use, but I must say whoever came up with the first version with the flaps must have been a real dolt. I wonder if these people actually try out these things before being put on the market?



















-Ted


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Ted, sorry to see you are damaged. Do you think it's Lewis getting back at you for posting a Lionel 027 loco? 

he he he.... 

Regards, your partner in crime, Greg


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

What is worse is the "BLISTER PACK" type packaging. I have broken the item inside trying to get it out. 

I have sisors stached all over the house and car incase I have to open one of those.


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## W3NZL (Jan 2, 2008)

I agree Ted, after opening up several 2-bay hoppers packed in those clear plastic fantastics, I too would prefer
to have the previous packaging, especially if I transported them in their boxes and had to be packing & unpacking 
them all the time !!! I'm thinking this was not one of Aristo's better ideas...
Paul R...


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## JEFF RUNGE (Jan 2, 2008)

Not to mention the increased cost by using plastic. Probably enough there to make another car or a few gallons of gas.


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## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

I saw the solution this weekend... 

Throw away the plastic box and use the shipping carton instead.


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## Treeman (Jan 6, 2008)

They do display much better.


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## bottino (Feb 7, 2008)

My problem is what to do with them all. There is two of everything to store, a box, and the car/engine it came in. I was sitting here looking at the four boxes my hoppers came in, and saying what am I going to do with them. Maybe Tom has the best idea, throw away the plastic, and save the cardboard. So far, I have just been keeping my locomotive boxes, and throw everything else away. 
Paul


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

I agree that this type of pacaging is a bad decisions. I also like the cardboard box, sure made for easier storage. Later RJD


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## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

Will this affect the resale value?

If this plastic packaging requires destruction to get the product out how will anyone deaccession items and advertise them as "used, with original boxes"


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## Ted Doskaris (Oct 7, 2008)

Normally, the plastic box does not have to be destroyed to get the goods out.
The problem is trying to put the goods back into the box - particularly the version having the end flaps.

When the factory people have to install the goods in this version box, it must take them some extra time, too.
One would think that would cost more in man-hours just to do the packaging.


-Ted


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Cheap Labor. Most of the folks doing it are less than 20 years old. They could care less. Later RJD


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## Dwight Ennis (Jan 2, 2008)

I'd sue!


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Ted : I'd go for it. Later RJD


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## Robert Fasnacht (Jan 2, 2008)

*Ted:*

*So it was your turn to get cut on those blasted clear plastic boxes. I was cut twice unpacking box cars and became so enraged with the idiocy of the packing arrangement that I soon sat down and created a thread on the Aristo forum wherein I suggested, "Someone get a rope." For a time, the thread did not prompt much comment but eventually Lewis responded by saying the intent was to increase the visibility of the product on a sales shelf. Good idea, perhaps until one realizes that the product was always clearly visible under the old cardboard box scheme. To you, getting the car out of the box may not seem to pose much of a problem, but to me anything that makes removal unnecessarily diffcult and prone to injury enrages me so much that the standard tool now has become a razor knife. A pox on the head of any collector who wants this stuff in OB. It finally turns out that Lewis is somewhat in agreement with what you and I insist is a stupid move (no he doesn't go that far) and says the matter of rolling stock packaging will be reviewed. I have no idea what that means but if they didn't hang the guy that came up with this scheme, I'm not hopeful things will improve. Nowhere did Lewis seem to show any willingness to return to the old, tried and true packaging system that allowed multiple uses of the storage box. So, I repeat, "Get a rope."* 
Bob


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## Ted Doskaris (Oct 7, 2008)

Robert,

AMEN!

-Ted


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Well as usual AC has given you the political answer meaning no change. His way of smoothing over and not up setting the customer. It may come back to haunt them much like the E-8 coupler did. Later RJD


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## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

As I've often said, I would hate to be a large scale manufacturer--no one is ever happy! I have my own set of complaints about aristo, a long list, but they aren't the same as Ted's.

For example, I throw the boxes away. I keep the loco boxes, in case they need repair, but for a freight car? No, it gets stomped on and goes into recycling. I know for some people this is almost as bad as, say, cutting the tag off a beanie baby, but I don't have the space to store a bunch of boxes, or to store a bunch of rollingstock I don't use. So maybe I'm the customer they had in mind on this one? 


The new packaging is dramatic and distinct in the store. I seriously wonder if Aristo is doing that much in-store, as opposed to online, sales? But he's in the business, not me, and he needs to attract new customers, and the new packaging will certainly do that. It's perfectly reasonable from a business standpoint. It's not some sort of sign that Lewis Polk is out for blood.


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## Ted Doskaris (Oct 7, 2008)

I appreciate the sales presentation issue, but I don't think I am in the minority in using the Aristo boxes to store the cars & locos in. (However, I don't keep the outer shipping boxes; they get recycled.) 
As for being out for blood, Robert and I have given some, and I wonder how many others have done likewise whilst handling these plastic boxes. 

-Ted


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## Great Western (Jan 2, 2008)

I keep my Aristo stock in the yellow boxes they came in: the inner part is within the outer which means that you can see the contents but still have a strong container. I also keep the polystyrene coupler/end protectors in use. I had reservations about the first new version although I never saw it. 

The second version of the new box seems fine for my purposes however. I have the box/container and I have cut the clear plastic to make a see through lid.

So as far as I am concerned I am quite happy with the latest packaging. I accept Teds caution regarding the plastic however: but many little projects in model railroading can be injurious when you are ham fisted as I am. I can weald a screwdriver with almost lethal precision.


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## Guest (Nov 15, 2008)

I got real tierd this year of taking cars out of boxs to run,so after seeing paul nortons web site i decided to beg my bakery for some old damaged bread trays and came up with a little different ideal then paul did ,







but i can stack them on top of each other for storage or for transporting and it works great, and now i have been throwing away all boxs from rolling stock...
Nick


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## Great Western (Jan 2, 2008)

As mentioned in my previous post my stock is kept in the original boxes. But I do use similar trays. obtained legitimately**, for carrying in and out of doors.

** It is an offense, regarded as theft, in the UK to have bread trays without a bakeries permission. I guess so many folk were using them for purposes than storing bread.


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## Guest (Nov 15, 2008)

All trays were gained with permission of the bakerys as they have some sort of damage to them... as stated above....


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

yeah sure nick!!!! I see that the damage was probably box cars squashing loaves of bread! 

You could still use some bagels to keep the cars from bumping into each other, like shock absorbers. 

ha ha ha! 

Greg


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## Guest (Nov 15, 2008)

Greg,
I tried for freebies but they said all i could have was broken trays and stail rye bread!!!!! he he he








Nick


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