I'm going to take off my lurker hat for a minute, and say that this is exactly why I'm no longer going to order a Classic edition next month.
While I've never bought a NIB pin before, I'm aware that all have a risk and sometimes you need some things fixed immediately upon opening it. However, this whole game of only telling people "no" through phone calls so that you can avoid public statements around things that may be wrong is just disgusting. Telling people on phone calls that having an ENTIRE COLOR MISSING from their playfield is okay, and its just "artistic differences" between machines is the biggest middle finger to their customers I can imagine.
I've wanted this game since it was announced. This was the game that I found in a pizza parlor in college that turned pinball from "fun in an arcade" to a hobby for me. I've saved, hit setbacks, kept on going, and gotten the go-ahead from the wife because it was THIS title, the one that was so important to me. I know a purchase like this isn't a big deal for some people, but for me its a huge step in the hobby-as well as my only chance to ever feel comfortable with the price of this title.
And now I would be playing roulette if I ordered one. There have been quite a few people posting problems with missing colors or other playfield issues, yet all we hear are a few brave people saying that they got a phone call saying "no."
I'm out, and I'm more saddened than angry. The titles they have waiting in the wings would have been my best chance for ever owning those machines for a price that I'm comfortable with, machines from my era for really discovering pinball.
My Grandfather always said that you shouldn't measure people by their mistakes, but by how they deal with them. While I'm still waiting to hear Onwallst's story, I have a feeling that given the overall silence by people having larger issues, what he is saying is correct and that there is very little to measure in CGC's business practices.
I know that the loss of one Classic Edition won't hurt them at all, but I do want them to be aware that future buyers who aren't vocal on forums are watching all of this very closely.