When your set arrived differently from the catalog

Manufacturers didn't always ship a set exactly as the catalog listed it. A car ran short and another was packed in its place, an item was left out, or a dealer added something extra to the box. You can record how your copy actually arrived, so it counts as complete when you have everything that came in it.

Your changes apply only to that one copy. The catalog set, other collectors' copies, and your other copies of the same set stay as they are.

Recording the differences

• When you add the set: on the set's page, open Add to My Sets and expand My set was delivered differently from the catalog.
• Later: open the set in My Sets and choose Edit contents (or Delivered differently from the catalog? on a copy with no differences yet).

For each cataloged piece, choose one of these:

• As cataloged — it came in the box as listed.
• Not included — it never came with this copy.
• Substituted with… — something else came in its place. Search for the model that actually came.

Use Add an item that came with this set for anything extra. Each difference can have a short note, such as "1955 shortage substitution". Reset to catalog removes every difference.

If a piece you already linked to the set no longer belongs, you're asked what to do with it. By default it stays in your collection as a standalone piece. You can also delete it.

What changes for that copy

• Completion and Add missing pieces count the pieces your copy came with. A copy with every piece it came with reads complete, and a substituted-out car is never added back.
• The copy shows an As-delivered badge in My Sets. The Contents filter shows only copies that differ, or only copies that match the catalog.
• The owned sets summary on your Pieces page counts a complete as-delivered copy as a complete set.
• My Sets exports can include the Differs from catalog and Differences columns. In the list view, turn them on from Columns before you export.
• Inventory audits: scanning the set's barcode counts the pieces your copy came with when it's clear which copy the box is. That's the case when the audit covers just that set, or when all your copies of the set have the same contents. If you own copies with different contents, the scan counts the catalog pieces. Use Adjust members to mark what wasn't in the box, and scan any substitutes on their own.
• Selling it: the listing tells buyers the contents differ from the catalog set and shows each difference with your notes. A buyer who completes the purchase on CCMF Trains receives the as-delivered copy.

What stays the same

• The catalog set. If the catalog is wrong for every copy, suggest a correction on the catalog set's page instead.
• Checklists are based on catalog models. A car that was substituted out still shows as not owned there, and the substitute counts wherever it appears.
• Possible sets (loose pieces that match a catalog set) are matched against the catalog.
• Collection value still uses the set's catalog MSRP.

Known delivery variations

When several collectors record the same difference for a set, it can appear on the catalog set's page under Known delivery variations, for example "6464-25 delivered in place of 6464-1 — reported by 4 collectors". Choose Use this variation to fill it in when you add the set. For a copy you already own, the same list appears on its Edit contents page. Nothing is saved until you check it and confirm.

Your differences help build that list anonymously, even when your copy is private:

• A difference is listed only once several collectors have recorded it, never for just one. Only the number of collectors is shown, never who they are or which copies.
• Your notes are never shared there.
• Sold copies don't count, so a set that changed hands isn't counted twice.
• These are collectors' reports; the manufacturer hasn't verified them.

See also How does set completion work?