Please read this page carefully as it will help avoid common problems.

If you don't see a question on this page that you feel should be here, please send your request using the feedback page.

1. General Information For both viewers and listers.
   1. Who Can Use e-Interchange?
   2. What Rules and Regulations must be followed?
   3. What limits do Club Members have?
   4. What limits do Public Members have?
   5. What limits do Non-Registered users have?
   6. How can I allow other club members or Public Members to view my listings?
   7. How do I limit my listings and information to my fellow club members?
   8. What information can other club members and Public Members see about me?
   9. If I am registered but then join a club, how do I change my registration?
   10. What protections do I have dealing with members of other clubs or the public?
   11. Am I required to register?
   12. What is Registration?
   13. What if I don't have an email account?
   14. Registration Authorization
   15. How do I login to the site?
   16. How do I tell the difference between a zero and the letter o in my password?
   17. Why do I sometimes have to login again more than once?
   18. How do I change my password?
   19. How do I find out my what my forgotten password is?
   20. How do I use more than one computer to access the site?
   21. Problems with the web site?
2. Viewing Information How to use the e-Interchange to view the available listings.
   1. How do I find items I am interested in?
   2. What if I don't know the exact name of the item I am interest in?
   3. How can I order the output listings?
   4. What does indicate next to some of the items?
   5. Why do some items appear underlined as a hyperlink?
   6. What does or indicate next to some of the items?
   7. What does "This item has been viewed 5 times" indicate?
   8. What is a Search WATCH?
3. Listing Information How to list your item in the e-Interchange.
   1. How do I view the items I have listed?
   2. How do I add an item to the site?
   3. What do I do if there is no price for an item?
   4. How do I change one of my listings?
   5. How do I change the price of multiple listings at one time?
   6. How do I delete one of my listings?
   7. How do I delete multiple listings at one time?
   8. Is there a limit to the number of listings I can have?
   9. How long will a listing remain on the site?
   10. How do I renew one of my listings?
   11. How do I renew multiple listings at one time?
   12. What are hits?
   13. How do I add one or more pictures to a listing?

General Information

1. Who Can Use e-Interchange? This area is available to members of the TCA (Train Collectors Association), LCCA (Lionel Collectors Club of America), LOTS (Lionel Operating Train Society) and TTOS (Toy Train Operating Society). Please see the organizations web sites for information about joining. In addition non-club members can register as Public Members. Non-registered users can only view listings.
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2. What Rules and Regulations must be followed? As agreed to on the login page, all participants must adhere to all rules of the clubs to which they are members: TCA, LCCA, LOTS and TTOS. All listings must adhere to the TCA grading standards.
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3. What limits do Club Members have? By default, club members can only view listings and member information and have their listings and member information viewed by fellow club members. A club member may also allow other club members and/or Public members to view their listings and member information. The member information that can be viewed by the other club members and Public Members is restricted to the first name, state/province/country, club numbers and email address of the member.
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4. What limits do Public Members have? Public Members cannot add a listing to the site. They can view the listings of club members who have specifically allowed Public Members to view their listings and member information. The member information that can be viewed by Public Members is restricted to the first name, state/province/country, club numbers and email address of the member. Public Members cannot search the membership directory.
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5. What limits do Non-Registered Users have? Similar to Public Members, Non-Registered users cannot add a listing to the site. They can view the listings of club members who have specifically allowed Public Members to view their listings. Member information cannot be viewed by Non-Registered Users. Public Members cannot search the membership directory. A Non-Registered user must register before they can contact a member about a listing.
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6. How can I allow other club members or Public Members to view my listings? First login and then go to the My Profile page. You can then check off which other clubs or Public Members that you wish to be able to view your listings and membership information. Click on the Update button to save your changes.
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7. How do I limit my listings and information to my fellow club members? By default, only members of the clubs to which you are also a member can view your listings and member information. For example: If you are a TCA and LOTS member then only fellow TCA members and LOTS members can view your listings and member information.
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8. What information can other club members and Public Members see about me? The member information that can be viewed by members of other clubs (those clubs which you are not a member of) and Public Members is restricted to your first name, state/province/country, club numbers and email address.
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9. If I am registered but then join a club, how do I change my registration? First login and go to the My Profile page. Enter your new club membership number and click on the Update button to save your changes. Your new club memberships will be authorized and you will receive an authorization email within 24 hours (but normally much sooner).
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10. What protections do I have dealing with members of other clubs or the public? When you deal with a fellow club member you can use the clubs procedures to handle complaints and problems. When you are dealing with a non-club member (a club which you are not a member of) or a Public Member you do not have these procedures. Please use extreme caution in your dealings. This web site can NOT provide any assistance with any transactions with club or non-club members.
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11. Am I required to register? You do not have to register to view listings. To make best use of this site you must register. Registration is required of members who either are adding their own listings or want to contact a member about a listing.
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12. What is Registration? When you register for the first time you must enter all required information on the registration form. A password will be randomly selected for you. The password will be e-mailed to the e-mail address you supplied on the registration form. You should receive your password within a few minutes of submitting the registration form. You will also receive a second email after your registration is authorized. You cannot login until you receive this authorization.
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13. What if I don't have an email account? If you don't have an email account (You might be using a computer at a public library for example) you can obtain a free email account at (Hotmail is owned by Microsoft). You can then send and receive email using the Hotmail web site. Signup takes a few minutes.
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14. Registration Authorization: You will not be allowed to use the site until your registration has been authorized. Your registration will normally be authorized within 24 hours (but usually much faster). Important Note: If you are a new club member or are not currently listed in the latest club directory, you may be required to fax your membership card to 732-615-0424 to verify your membership. Faxing this information prior to registering will greatly speed up the authorization process.
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15. How do I login to the site? Once you have successfully registered and have been authorized you can now login to the e-Interchange. You must supply your membership number along with the password that you received when you registered. If you desire, you can have the system remember you login information so it will not be necessary for you to reenter it each time you access the area. This information is stored in a small cookie on your local computer. If you use more than one computer you will have to reenter the login information and save it on each computer.
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16. How do I tell the difference between a zero and the letter o in my password? It is sometimes difficult to tell the difference between the letter o and the number zero in your password. Your initial password that is assigned by the system will always consist of only letters. The easiest way to enter your password is to use the "copy/paste" feature. Using your mouse, highlight your password in your email program. Use the Edit/Copy menu command to copy the password (or right click the highlighted field and use the Copy option in the dropdown menu). Then click in the password field and use the Edit/Paste menu command in your browser to enter your password (or right click the password field and use the Paste option in the dropdown menu). It is also easier to have the system remember you login information so it will not be necessary for you to reenter it each time you access the area. This information is stored in a small cookie on your local computer. If you use more than one computer you will have to reenter the login information and save it on each computer.
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17. Why do I sometimes have to login again more than once? Once you login to the site if you don't access the site for a 20 minute period your current session is logged out and you must login again.
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18. How do I change my password? Once you have registered on the site, you can change your password. First login to the site. Then go to the Registration page and enter any combination of letters and numbers as your new password (within the limits of the minimum length of the password field). When you click on the Update button to submit the form, your new password will be activated. Your original password will no longer be valid.
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19. How do I find out my what my forgotten password is? If you forget your password, you can request to have the system send it to you through email. Go to the Retrieve Password page and enter your Member Number on the form (it will automatically be set if you are already logged on). When you click on the Retrieve button to submit the form, your password will be emailed to your registered email address. Depending upon your email software, you will receive the email within a few seconds or up to a minute or more.
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20. How do I use more than one computer to access the site? When you register on the site, your registration information is stored on the server. So when you access the site from a second computer you don't have to register again. You just have to enter your Member Number and password to login. If you had checked the "Remember Password" box on the login screen you will have to also check this box when you login on the second computer. This login information is saved in a cookie on each computer.
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21. Problems with the web site? If you are experiencing any problems with the site, please either use the Feedback page or click on the link at the bottom of each page to send e-mail to the Webmaster.
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Viewing Information

1. How do I find items I am interested in? Use the Search Listings page. This page will allow you to select which listings you want to view. You can use one of the pre-made "Common Searches" (such as all listings added to the site today), one of your saved "My Favorite Searches" or in the Advanced Search section you can enter selections in some of the fields, all of the fields or none of the fields. Based upon what you have selected you will then be able to view information about only those items that meet your search criteria. For Example: You might enter that you are interested in a Postwar Lionel engine for sale in Excellent condition with an original box for less than $500. To do this you would enter "For Sale" in the class, "23-Lionel - Postwar" for the manufacturer, "Excellent" for the condition, "1-Original Box" for the box, "Engine" for the Name and Description and 500 for the price. Once you have performed a search, you can save the search to the "My Favorite Searches" section on the search page by entering a name/description for the search and clicking the Save Current Search button at the bottom of the displayed search results page.
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2. What if I don't know the exact name of the item I am interest in? You can enter just part of the name and the system will find all listings that contain the phrase you have entered.
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3. How can I order the output listings? On the search form you can also enter various ways to sort the output listings. Select one or more of the fields on which to order the output. If more than one field is selected, then the order will be by the first field, followed by the second field, etc. If no fields are selected the order will be by arbitrary.
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4. What does indicate next to some of the items? If the lister supplied a picture of the item, you can click on to view the picture (Note that depending upon the speed of your connection and the size of the picture this may take more than a few seconds.
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5. Why do some items appear underlined as a hyperlink? If the lister supplied additional information about the item you can click on the hyperlink and see more information about the item including additional pictures, etc.
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6. What does or indicate next to some of the items? When an item is first added to the site it will have the indicator for the first 7 days. When an item is modified it will have the indicator for the following 7 days.
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7. What does "This item has been viewed 5 times" indicate? Each listing includes an automatic "hit counter". This indicates how many times all members have viewed a individual listing. Note that this counter does not get incremented when a member views their own listings.
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8. What is a Search WATCH? You can have ToyTrains.info automatically Watch for new listings on e-Interchange. Watch uses the searches that you have previously saved. When new listings are put on e-Interchange that meet your search criteria, e-Interchange will automatically notify you via email. You can enable and disable the Watch feature from the e-Interchange Search page. Next to each Favorite Search, you will see a link to "Begin Watch". Click on the link and you are done. If you ever want to stop the Watch, just click on the "End Watch" link which will appear once you have enabled a Watch. There are no limits to the number of searches that can be Watched.
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Listing Information

1. How do I view the items I have listed? Use the My Listings page to view the items you have listed.
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2. How do I add an item to the site? Use the My Listings page to view your current listings. Click on the "Add" button to enter a new item. Fill out the form. Items such as item number must be typed in, while other items like condition are selected from the pull down list of available choices. Some entries are required to be entered. You will receive a message if you have not entered a required item. You can use your browsers back button to go back and make changes to an item.
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3. What do I do if there is no price for an item? Some items do not have a price. This includes a LIST (enter LIST for the Item #) and items For Trade or Wanted. For these items enter a price of 0 (zero) and a dash "-" will display for the price.
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4. How do I change one of my listings? Use the My Listings page to view your current listings. Click on the "Change" button. You can then modify any of the entries in that particular listing. Click on the "Update" button when you are done making changes. You can modify a listing at any time as many times as you like. See the section How do I change the price of multiple listings at one time? below for additional information about changing the price of more than one listing at a time.
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5. How do I change the price of multiple listings at one time? You can change the price of more than one listing at a time. If you have many listings this can be a great time saver. Use the My Listings page to view your current listings. Each listing will show its current price. Change the prices of any of the listings. Click on the "Update Prices" button when you are done making changes. You can modify the price of a listing at any time as many times as you like.
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6. How do I delete one of my listings? Use the My Listings page to view your current listings. Click on the "Change" button to view the individual listing. Click on the "Delete" button to delete the listing. See the section How do I delete multiple listings at one time? below for additional information about deleting more than one listing at a time.
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7. How do I delete multiple listings at one time? You can delete more than one listing at a time. If you have many listings this can be a great time saver. Use the My Listings page to view your current listings. Each listing will have a delete check box. Check the box for each listing you want to delete. Then click on the "Delete" button to delete all of these listings.
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8. Is there a limit to the number of listings I can have? Yes. Each member is limited to 1000 listings at any one time. You may delete or change listings at any time.
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9. How long will a listing remain on the site? A listing will remain on the site for 120 days after the last update of the particular listing. You can periodically update a listing to keep it active. See the section How do I renew one of my listings? below for additional information about renewing a listing. See the section How do I renew multiple listings at one time? below for additional information about changing more than one listing at a time.
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10. How do I renew one of my listings? A listing will remain on the site for 120 days after the last update of the particular listing. You can renew a listing to keep it active. Use the My Listings page to view your current listings. Click on the "Change" button to view the individual listing. Click on the "Change" button to renew the listing. You can renew a listing at any time as many times as you like. See the section How do I renew multiple listings at one time? below for additional information about renewing more than one listing at a time.
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11. How do I renew multiple listings at one time? You can renew more than one listing at a time. If you have many listings this can be a great time saver. Use the My Listings page to view your current listings. Each listing that will expire within 5 days will have a renew check box. Check the box for each listing you want to renew. Then click on the "Renew" button to renew all of these listings. You can renew a listing at any time as many times as you like. You can optionally have the renew check box appear for ALL listings by checking the "e-I Renew Only" box and clicking on the "Save" button on the Web Site Personalization page.
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12. What are "hits"? Hits are a simple mechanism that automatically keep track of the number of times each listing has been viewed. The hit counter starts at 1 when a listing is added. Whenever someone views a listing, the hit counter is incremented. This only occurs when the actual listing is viewed. It does NOT get incremented just by searching for a listing without clicking on the link to view the listing. The hit counter does NOT get incremented when a member views their own listings. Note that no trail of the viewer is kept, so you cannot see who viewed the listing or how many times an individual member has viewed a listing. Note that the hit counter is NOT incremented when a listing is viewed by a non-registered member.
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13. How do I add one or more pictures to a listing? There are two different ways to include a picture with your listing.
    1. Include the URL of the picture on your web site.
    2. Upload the picture to the ToyTrains.info web site. You can upload up to 3 pictures per listing and each picture is limited to 60000 bytes.
    The first method assumes that you have a location on the Internet where you can store your pictures. Both methods can be used for the same listing (you can supply the URL of one picture and upload another picture. Both pictures will be displayed with your listing. Note that if you are use the Batch method of adding new listings, you can only use the first method. If you want to upload pictures you have to do this interactively (although the pictures can be later uploaded for listings that were added using the Batch method.
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