Yeah, I'm sure they are keeping your money.
I think I would be happy to never deal with the OP.
Dist. Have to deal with, and pay, Stern.
You wanted special shit, deal with the backlash when you waffle on the deal.
You're gonna get paid! Have a little patience, because they were working extra to make your selfish needs happen in the first place.
You're lucky to get a 100 percent refund period.

Too many people saw this now. The “check the mail today” email comment is a bit odd though.

If they are facilitating unveil of CGC game 3 at TPF 2018 (not sure if they are), just another reason to rest easy. Doug will not tolerate under performing sellers.

Yeah, we got it. You backed out of the deal leaving the retailer on the hook. They didn't charge you any fees but slow refunding. They could be a little more deligent and you could be a little more understanding. You will get your money and life will go on.

I purchased 3 games from Fun in the early years of building my collection. My experience has been good. Fun prices are high, but he has a building and overhead. I also think Pinballz charges well over market for its games. As long as there are buyers willing to pay a premium for a good title, arcades and resellers like Fun and Pinballz are going to charge whatever the market will bear. I now only buy from owners who are always less than companies. The quality varies, but a few hundred dollars in restoration fees generally solves the problem.

Love Pinballz!

Disgusting..... Plea for help and the OP gets bashed. Tell your story show your proof and yet still kiss the other guys ass. I'm sure if you guys got the whole I will pay you your money back when I sell this game crock of shit. You guys would be singing a different tune. Why is this guy out all of the money when the distributor did not even receive the game from stern. Or did he. More BS. Leave this guy alone. He is right for publicly explaining his situation. Yes he was told check is in the mail but he has been told that for over a month now. Calling him a douche. Really? This was his only chance of getting his money back. It has been made public and if the OP does not get his check soon EVERYONE will know and not even the Fan boys sticking up for this guy will be able to make him look good. Come on guys 9K... We are talking about alot of money. Put yourself in his shoes.

Pinside is supposed to be here to help one another.

Couldn't agree more. Terrible service FUN. He asked for #16, paid extra and didn't get it. A fast refund should have been offered, instead of switching plates, etc.

Even if the OP was a pain in the ass, he paid, you didn't deliver. As a business, you should have made it right.

And the admitting of the offer of switching plates gets me. That is a little over the top. Sure, I'm sure it goes on.But......To admit it openly? Ouch!!
I'm with you...This isn't $100, this is 9 grand! I'd come unglued at this point!!!! I've been in business and understand there are two sides, and sometimes it's a juggling act with money etc...I get all of that. But!!! The Op didn't just back out...There were things there that may have made him uneasy. I get that too! I've had to return money on stuff in the past as a business owner, That money was already spent, and had to actually borrow it to pay and keep the customer happy. "The customer is always right."

I see both sides...But 9 grand makes most people a little edgy when a return doesn't happen swiftly! I know!! I wouldn't handle it well....."Don't send me the check, I'll be down to get it! So have it ready!"

Maybe he used the same punctuation for his address as he's used here and that's how the check has been misdirected.

It costs what $15 to overnight something? Can't fathom sending a large check without tracking and likely overnight service. Why not include this in the restock fee and save yourself a possible headache when USPS drops the ball. I would have also assumed the plaque number would be the number off the assembly line.

As one of the presumed ass kissers, I would have to point out I have had 10 out of 10 actual positive experiences with this company - two of which they made no money on. I can't judge the experience the OP had, it may have been poorly handled - let's assume it was. But FUN! does much do promote pinball in DFW and my experience with them is positive. I am sure other have same else they would not still be in business.

If I was the business(Fun) I would be mad at Stern for fouling up the order, not the buyer that's irritated ! A company that size should have it a little more together on a special order. It happens, and Stern should have made it right for Fun and for the buyer? Business is business, when it's your mistake eat it, or part of it for everyone that helps you!!!

allpinball I do not know your location but for a 9k refund and if I had not gotten it when I had been told I would be. I would be sitting at Funs door steps when they opened to get my refund handed to me.

I'm sure you have had great experiences with this company. And it is great that you tell people and post positive feedback. That is great for everybody. Let's just not dismiss this guys issue because others have had positive dealing with them. You can't say that everything sounds right when a company that size says I will pay you when I sell this game to someone else. We are not here to pass judgement. If the company says they will refund this guy his money then that is what I would like to see happen. After that life goes on. I'm sure the OP will find another company to order his games from in the future.

Agreed

Did you really think the LE # is actually that number in order which it was made? It was the 16th plate made more likely. Why anyone cares about these numbers is crazy, just send me the one that gets here soonest so I can play it.

I hope FUN learns from this experience. I know Craig's trying to turn things around, but their reputation can't take hits from situations like this.

Businesses deal with difficult suppliers and customers all the time. Sometimes the company takes a loss. Part of doing business. They had a customer back out on a special order. So what. It's not like he ordered some obscure 50 year old game that nobody wants and will never sell. No. He ordered a current Stern game. This is what they do everyday. Of course it will sell.

They should have:
1. Issued the refund check less special order or "low number" fee immediately and sent it via registered mail so they have a tracking number and get delivery signature.

2. Sent a refund check for the fee after the game sold. Or not, depending on what agreement was made at time of order. But wouldn't the customer be surprised to get this check if they weren't expecting it.

3. When the customer stated they hadn't received the check after a week or more has gone by, immediately issue a stop payment and go back to step 1.

The 3 Biggest Lies in the World:

1. The check is in the mail.
2. I'll respect you in the morning.
3. I'm from the government, and I'm here to help you.

I find it to be the opposite, I get first class mail packages from Pinball Resource in two days (I'm just outside Cincinnati), same from JJP and plenty of places farther away including Texas and Arizona (sometimes three days). I do agree that I'll add tracking for anything really important / expensive but am usually really impressed with how fast first class mail travels. If a first class letter takes more than a week from/to anywhere but the most remote places in the 48 states something has happened to it at some point.

Nobody has ever said this to me, in my entire life.

Is this a common phrase where you come from?

Am I missing something here? There are several people saying that Fun! could not deliver the pin he ordered. It seems to me that the specific pin he ordered was actually made available and the op "got cold feet" and declined exactly what he ordered, outright refused it, stating he would not accept shipment if they sent it out.

What if this particular title was a block buster? So popular and in demand that people were able to resell their LE for $10k or more? OP, would you have still backed out of the order? Did you find another Star Wars LE to buy and are you getting it? If not, are you still going to buy a Star Wars LE elsewhere when you get your refund?

It seems to me that this title had so much hype and anticipation, pin fever was wide spread and all LE allocations were spoken for. Once the pin was out for a minute the truth of this pin came out along with its issues and it was no longer the desired title everybody was so hot to get ahold of. So here was an opportunity to back out.

This is why full refunds are a problem on "limited" and "special" orders. If it were so easy to get a full refund, anybody could put money down or full payment ensuring them a purchase. If they decide they don't want it anymore for whatever reason, the business has had to deal with a lot of extra work for free in addition to overhead and cost that were not part of the current financial plan. Other "serious" customers might have missed out on an opportunity or the business might have lost a transaction to a regular customer because of unavailability. Then finally all the drama that is tied to the whole process comes out, reputations are trashed, lines are drawn and now pinball sucks atleast for awhile.

Are you high? Government sucks! Think how much better life would be without those trechorous firemen, teachers and cops trying to “help” people all the time.

From what I read, this isn't what happened. I read, he paid for #16 and thought he would get the 16th game off the line. This wasn't the case, nor was he made aware of this when he ordered. FUN! came up with the idea to switch plates so it would look like he had the #16 game. He didn't think this was right and frankly, who can blame him? Maybe he was wrong, maybe he was misinformed and maybe FUN! acted like a poor distributer. They should have refunded his money, ate the $100 BULLSHIT low number charge and just resold it. Bad business has now created this mess, is it worth it FUN??

Wait, what!?

You’re plainly addled by the clean, potable water coming from your tap and the fact that your toilets flush and your street is paved. Wake up and smell the coffee, man, all of these so-called government services are but signs of your larger oppression!

Agreed! I knew to avoid FUN from RGP days and will keep doing so. They have not changed and thanks to the OP for reminding me.

Hey hassellcastle where is the tracking number for allpinball refund check?

Also, That low number charge is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard, what BS

Lots of distributors do this.

as I stated earlier there are two sides to every story. There are a lot more little details I would like to add some of which I'm not liable to post publicly due to our distributor agreement. Allpinball has repeatedly posted lies now to which I now must defend. Please make sure all you have stated publicly is correct allpinball, slander of a company might not be the route you want to continue to take my friend.
Brandon throughout your communications with Ruth over the past few weeks. Your belligerent accusing her of theft she has asked you repeatedly and nicely to confirm your mailing address. You have YET to confirm with giving her your address but repeatedly stated "you should have it from the beginning of our transaction!" Wouldn't it be just as easy to give us your address as to where to send the check? She has told you she mailed it to the address on your check and you have not once answered the question if the address on the check is your current mailing address.
I've stated all I can say publicly. However PLEASE if anyone would like to call and discuss this with me in greater detail I will be happy to speak to you. Feel free to call me at the store, 972-686-7808 anytime after 8:30am CST. I would love for many of my fellow pinsiders to get more to this story than they can read here.

Bottom line check WAS mailed October 20th. He WILL receive it.

P.S. The Charge for requesting a specific LE number or low number is a legitimate charge from the manufacturer. It requires more paperwork as the game is to be segregated and shipped differently than the mass population of LE's. Maybe there are some distributors that are absorbing this cost, but to state it is BS is false as we and all others distributors are charged an up charge for doing so.

This is not Brandon's first rodeo with LE's when I spoke with him a mere week after the shipping snafu and told him game #16 was on Sterns dock ready to ship. He stated to me he had several other low number LE's he had purchased new. I think after reading initial reviews he made the judgement call that he wanted to pull the plug once he had already paid for his game. To offer a refund immediately would have resulted in FUN having to purchase the game...we didn't need it. Buyer take ownership of your purchase.

Stop payment yes sounds like a good option and Brandon has requested this...all the while refusing to confirm his mailing address. Not an option at this point. We had a meeting yesterday with our financial officer of our bank on the subject and he suggested not to do so. He stated that issuing a stop payment is only good for 90 days. Should Allpinball receive the the first issued check it could (not saying he would) be redeposited after 90 days. Our advisor has heard the whole story and he stated it would be in our best interest not to do so since this customer has been very erratic and difficult.

I'm done on the matter.
If anyone would like more please feel free to call me at the number above.

It's way out of my budget, (and apparently sold to someone else) but I kind of want #16 now, just to have the story.

No sides....only wish every consumer one day has the job of running a company, and every company remembers the aspects of being a customer.

If the check was mailed 13 days ago shouldn't he have received it by now?

I just had some rare VW bus parts shipped over from Germany and it only took 9 days ..... .... .. .

Mailed October 20,
Wait what is today's date?

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ummm... never publicaly threaten a previous customer in front of other customers that you are threatening to sue them... esp when it is all over YOUR screw up.

you knew where to supposedly send the game? That means you knew where to send the check! This is all BS. If the customer was forced to wire you the funds, then wire them back. If your policy publicly states you will send a check, then be smart enough to send it priority with a tracking number. That is smart for you and for them.

To me it seems you have made the situation all the more difficult. When you are in the business of selling retail at super high prices to unknowing customers, that means you have also built in the ability/expectation to deal with all sorts. Even if this was a fickle customer that got cold feet... Tough luck and you get to deal with it. You are charging some BS "early # fee" and that is really your whole excuse. Eat the $100 and refund the rest IMMEDIATELY. It really is that simple. Then, get a better contract which clearly spells out what happens if a customer refuses a shipment and charge a 5% restocking fee to cover your time.

This actually all reads as if SWle is such a poor seller that you did not want to take a game back and have to sell it again? I dont believe that is the case and sounds like SWLE sold out from most places. So that means you really decided to make a customers life hell over $100 ??? That is just crazy. I dont care how bad the customer is. For the $100 you would have been better off just paying to be done with them. Hell, if you think he is a multiple LE buyer then you shoudl want to delight him all the way. For what you charge on games, you could have made thousands off him and his friends for the next few years. Instead you have this thread and after all your posting, people get even a better idea of how you/your company deal with any customer.

If this is how you treat someone over 100 bucks... WOW!

You realize you picked a number to go on a plaque (#16), not the true #16 machine to go down the line? LE owners can pick any number. If they've already made 50 machines, you can still have #16 on your plaque if no one else has "claimed" that number. To be honest, you are better off to not get the first few dozen as the assembly line works out any kinks.

Fun seems like a "Fun" company to deal with.
From everything I've ever read about them - for years - I wouldn't go there if I lived next door.
This thread reinforces that.
Don't hold on to money when someone asks for a refund. That's crappy, regardless of how you think you've been wronged.

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This is just getting uglier and uglier for Fun/ HassellCastle

now I have another concern... It is not even noon and you are at 15% charge... Better find some power ASAP