Trent at Tilt amusements.

He's close to Columbus.

We sell NIB Stern and CGC
Pinballpro.com

I will say geographical location is very important if you want service or local help, conversely it important for sales tax reasons as well. Many choose out of state to avoid sales tax. Even though in an audit you are still responsible to pay them.

At the end of the day, just buy from someone reputable you would like to support and takes good care of you in return. Maybe you have bought items from them in the past etc. Everyone is close on price and spending half a day calling around to save $50 seems silly. Especially if you can work with someone you know will take care of you.

I live in a small town, I like to buy from people I know. Same with the pin world, gotten to know many over the years.

My two cents

Greg

I recently ordered a NIB GB Pro through Joe Newhart at Pinballstar Amusements who hooked me up with another distributor and everything went well. Good price. Answered all my questions without delay.

I made one NIB purchase and went with Trent after making some calls and reading other suggestions on pinside and RGP ... his service and communication were top notch.

With that being said, there are other really good distributors out there. Greg's points are valid.

Mike Geib

Mike from Automated Services in CT does big volume. I bought one NIB from him awhile back.

Trent

Hands down have to go with Game Exchange. http://gameexchange.biz
JJ is awesome! Very responsive to emails, text, you name it.

Trent.

I can tell you who NOT to buy from, Chattanooga Pinball. When I was calling around to find out who get me a GB Premium the soonest the owner of Chattanooga Pinball shot me the normal price everyone was selling for and said I would have it one week so I made a deal with him and gave him my CC #. I had to have the limit raised on my CC for the purchase. The next day I called Chattanooga to find out if the payment went through, he said it didn't. I thought that was weird so I called my bank and they said it was declined because he tried to run it for $500 more than the price we agreed upon and the limit I set on my CC!! I was pissed! I called him and he said he never quoted me that price, there is no way others were selling for that price, yada yada yada. I called Stern, left a message for their distribution manager to tell him about this dishonest seller, but he never called me back.

As other said Trent at Tilt is good, a buddy of mine bought from JJ @ Game Exchange and was very satisfied. Good luck with your purchase and be sure to avoid Chattanooga Crook Pinball.

Cointaker

I second this.

I have bought NIBs from a few of the folks noted, but have landed on Automated Services for several reasons. Others are good to okay, but Mike and his Team have given me the very best service of all, and way better pricing including better delivery rates to Arizona.

They are all good, none make much of a profit, and all have to deal with the "crowd", so you have to applaud them all for providing the service they do, just that Mike's is better, IMHO. Who you gonna call? Merry Christmas!!!

My first second and third choice is Melissa with cointaker. A couple years ago I ordered some led post lights . They were cool white instead of warm white. She made me beyond whole on the error.
Since that time I've ordered 2 nib games from her and will order more in the future. She is pleasant and doesn't seem like she just wants to make a sale and get you off the phone.
In my opinion cointaker sets the standard of which I wish all businesses were run. I always recommend my clients order from cointaker and will continue to do so. Jr

I've bought all NIB from Automated. April is very responsive. Great customer support. When Stern had to be involved a few times, she took care of everything for me.

Another recommendation for game exchange. He is also great for service of you need any after.

I also vote jj at game exchange of Colorado.

Nib sales aside. We went to their home town Denver show for the first time this year. He shipped a ton of our booth back for us and was insanely helpful during the show (not their personal show or anything)

They clearly care about the hobby and it's players. Jj is a straight shooter and right to the point. Also follows Sterns pricing rules which I appreciate playing the game properly.

Trentaur

I'll cast a vote for JJ @ Game Exchange....only dealt with once but he was responsive and professional

Cointaker did me right.

I've only bought one NIB, went through Cointaker. They were responsive, handled all my questions, and made the process painless. So another recommendation for them.

Both cointaker and JJ at Game Exchange are great!

I'll never buy nib from cointaker. They ripped me off for $750 on my down payment for Ben heck zombie game which I explicitly bought through them because they are supposedly reputable and established which gave me some assurance at the time. I know everything went south with jpop but they are the ones I paid for the initial down payment and they are the ones that owe me a refund on that amount. Any queries into this go without response. I've put down deposits with other companies for nib such as with gex and I got refunded no problem.

Have bought from 4. Haven't had a single bad experience. JJ at Game Exchange of Colorado is my favorite.

If you live in Ohio and order from Tilt Amusements, I'm thinking you'll also have to consider that you will owe sales tax on the purchase.

Don't forget about Michael Pupo at Flipper Fidelity

I have had great experiences with JJ @ Game Exchange of Colorado.

That's a lot of dough. You put a deposit down then backed out and didn't receive $ back?

Chris and Melissa at CT are good people and great friends

At no fault of theirs a piece of shit like JPOP made off with all moneys

They too were at great loss of funds

This is the chance that is being takin on every preorder and is why I NEVER do so

Sorry for any of you that lost money, but the good people at CT are at no fault of such

I personally would trust them with anything I have including my home

Allen Saby

I would have to suggest The Stern Store in Fairless Hills PA. I was looking for a Ghostbusters Premium and they were very helpful. They will defiantly be getting my business in the future. I would give them a call if anyone is looking for a Stern machine.
Here's there number: (215)-435-6565

JJ at game exchange. Excellent Communication and got my game (GB premuim)in three weeks others had been waiting multiple months.

For Stern, Trent at Tilt, although Cointaker and JJ at Game Exchange are also excellent. But for your purposes, I'd stay local with Trent.

For JJP, Spooky, etc., Joe at PinballStar is my guy. Great service start to finish...no contest.

I disagree. It's true that they may have lost money but that is their problem and part of the risk of taking pre-order money as a dealer. I lost $5500 but of that I should be getting $750 back from cointaker whom I paid and is still in business. I could probably sue them and win but it's not really worth it. They could have offered me store credit towards another game, led bulbs, something but instead chose to ignore completely.

If you're in Ohio, I would go with Trent at Tilt Amusements. I've been buying and selling games with him for 10 years.

Not sure of all the circumstances that happened in your case. All I can say from personal experience is that they are exactly as I stated.

What I said I meant. I would vouch for them any day of the week and twice on Sunday

I would not hesitated to give them 10k 20k or more if that was the direction I was going

Sorry you had issues but maybe they can still be resolved. Give them a call

If you're near Philly, Bill Disney of Pinball Gallery is a great guy to work with.

I bought my NIB ST Pro from him. He came to my house, brought it in, set it up, walked me through some basics, etc.

And his Pinball Gallery is a great pinball arcade...

I agree on Bill Disney he's a very nice man.

Have had great experiences with Buddy (dough slingers) and Mike Puppo at Flipper Fidelity. Automated is fine too..But like the more hands on and personal attention from a guy like Buddy

Trent @ Tilt Amusement or JJ @ Game Exchange both excellent dealers. You won't go wrong with either one.

One question: Middlemen aside (dealers); Why would ANYONE even consider the purchase of a Nib from Stern with all the QC problems and their lame attempt to correct bad PF's with what, yes more Bad PF's......!

I purchased a GB premium from Cointaker and Melissa was great to work with. I have also purchased LEDs from them and highly recommend them as a supplier.

I had great service with Melissa at Cointaker with my KISS Pro. She gave me the best price and included a free shaker motor too. The only negative, is that they charge an extra 3% if you use your credit card.

Highest on my list is JJ at game exchange. 2 NIB, no problems, on time, good communication. Unfortunately, and while I realize this is in the minority, my experience with cointaker wasn't so great.

Contact all of them and then go with your gut ... hopefully you won't need service but if you do, you'll be glad to have the support.

Another vote for Melissa / Cointaker - she was super helpful and turned my machine around the day it arrived and got it to me two days later. I'm new to this community and this is my first pin so not sure how far my opinion goes!

Also, thanks to all in this thread for recommending some great shops for a noob like myself to reach out to.

Another vote for JJ. Even though he is in state and has to charge me tax ...

I can suggest you wait. Don't get early production games.

Colorado game exchange more votes for JJ.