Quoted from DJNOEL30:

Hello Everyone,
I am one of the candidates that were selected to purchase the Batman 66 SLE, I through a video and application together on September 13th just for S&G's and boom they picked me. I got the e-mail on Oct 12th! I am new to the pinball world and I am a little disappointed with how this Batman 66 SLE promotion has been rolled out. A little back story, a month into my game purchases I got a little buyer’s remorse on an Elvira game I bought. My distributor was very supportive and got me a credit to swap it out for a new Metallica Pro I also put a deposit on a BM66 Premium. When it was unclear as to when I would receive Metallica I made the decision to go with games that I could get right away. So I applied my BM66 deposit toward a new GB pro and a ST Pro which I absolutely love BTW. So as a first time pinball’er I got (KISS,ST and GB) all at once then shortly after I get the email from Gary Stern saying that I was selected to purchase the BM66 SLE!! I was super excited and super pissed off at the same time because if I had known just 1 week prior I never would have bothered swapping out Elvira I would have waited for the SLE. What's even more irritating is I get the e-mail half way through the Pinball Expo which probably means I am one of the 50 rather than the initial 30. If they had just notified me a little sooner I would have shot up to the event and happily dropped the cash for that SLE, now I am a little hesitant only because I have a suspicion that there will probably be more than 80 SLE and I don't want to be the chump buying this when I could be buying some nice pro's down the road. BTW, it's been 9 days and to date nobody has called me to take my money so I guess I'm not that special hahaha
My e-mail from Stern:
Congratulations Leigh!
You have been selected to receive one of the Super Limited Edition Batman
’66 pinball machines celebrating 30 years of Stern Pinball and 50 years of the 1966 Batman television series!
Those of you touring our factory with the Pinball Expo group on Thursday morning will see this exciting version of Batman ’66. In collaboration with my Stern Pinball co-founder, Joe Kaminkow, and his Ka-Pow! Studio, George Gomez and Lyman Sheats created an incredible Super Limited Edition version of the game featuring:
· A one-of-a-kind art package,
· Multiple translites,
· A unique topper and accessories package, and
· A high-fidelity 3-channel audio system that is three times more powerful
than audio systems of previous generations.
If you attend Pinball Expo please remember to attend the Meet and Greet with Adam West on Friday at 3:00 pm. You will be receiving a customized phone-answering message from Adam (Batman) as well.
Demand for this Super Limited Edition was incredible. We were overwhelmed with fantastic applications and it was difficult to decide who should get these games. In fact, in fairness we could not reject enough applications.
Due to this demand, we have increased the quantity to 80:
· 30 for the 30 years of Stern Pinball beginning with 1986, and
· 50 for the 50 years of Batman ’66 beginning with 1966.
I want to personally thank you for your support of pinball, Stern Pinball, and me personally. Seeing all the videos, pictures, letters, and personal notes touched my heart. I was able to take a walk down memory lane with each of you. I learned from my dad early in life that when you truly love something with all your heart, you can overcome all that life has to throw at you. I can’t say that making pinball machines has always been easy, but I can honestly say that I would do it all over again. I love pinball and sincerely appreciate people like you who continue to passionately support our vision.
We will be contacting you in the next few days outlining the $2,000 deposit and payment process. We will ask for the balance shortly before we produce your game in early December. We will endeavor to ship all Batman ’66 Super Limited Editions well before year-end and to our US buyers before Christmas.
I hope to one day soon shake your hand and personally thank you for all your support over the years.
Warmest Regards,
Gary Stern
President
Stern Pinball, Inc.
2001 Lunt Avenue
Elk Grove Village, IL 60007-5605 USA
[email protected]
http://www.sternpinball.com

Quoted from jar155:

The sole purpose of the LE or SLE purchase is to have something limited. They're making that less so at the expense of the consumer on the SLE. They're devaluing the product. It degrades my confidence in them going forward.
They're doing this with other stuff too. They had sticker packs that were exclusive only to attendees to their party. Well no, you can buy them now anyway. One of the reasons to buy that ticket was to gain access to exclusive things. To screw people over who bought into that idea after the fact is poor form.
There's a pattern of dishonesty and disingenuous behavior from Stern lately. It's just one more example with the SLE. It's not just the price, it's the underhanded business practice.
If someone wants an SLE, that's their business, I agree. But to hype it up as limited to only 30 run to generate a social media campaign and impulse sales only to more than double the production later...that's terrible. Some show of appreciation to fans and partners, Stern.
I hope that the game is fantastic and worth every penny that people pay. That would be great. But if that's how it goes, it still doesn't excuse Stern's poor form.