Quoted from tp:

What'd you expect? A statement from Gary saying we know were shipping defective product but as long as you junkies keep buying we'll keep taking your money. Or maybe you were looking for; pinball is hard, if you don't know how to fix a brand new $10,000 toy you shouldn't f"n buy it.
I say go jump off a fucking cliff. No other industry gets away with shipping broken product and gets away with it. Lotsa stuff has moving parts and arrives in working order.
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Temporary thread eject incoming so please quote me so I could get a chuckle in the future if and when I'm allowed back.

Quoted from snaroff:

Yep, but just as important is a dealer that really close by...which might not be easy in some locations.

You talk to the dealer? Back in 2004, I had the choice of buying my LOTR at Sharper Image or Pinball Warehouse. I didn't trust Sharper Image for support, so I called Pinball Warehouse and was impressed by the owner (Evan Steiner, IIRC).
fwiw, back then, I would barely take the glass off and depended on Evan for any repairs. Over the next 16+ years, acquired a ton of experience fixing these beasts. Takes time to become proficient, and again, for really busy people, they don't have the time!

Quoted from Darscot:

It really doesn't. The math and data show this is actually devastating to the original manufacturer. The NIB box sales that turn over into the used market is a massive loss. I often wonder if it's even on Sterns radar. Anecdotally JJP seems to be a little more focuses and it doesn't seem to be hurting them. Stern on the other hand seems to just getting their asses kicked by the used market.
Here is how it works, lets say Joe and Fred are friends. Joe buy a NIB Stern. The experience is ok but he has to tinker with it and has a couple of problems. He gets it sorted out and his buddy Fred is getting interested. A few months go buy and Joe is bored with his NIB Pin and is thinking about selling it and maybe getting something else. He sells it to Joe. Joe may buy another NIB, but he may try a different company or even worse he may realize Fred saved some money and he kinda lost on the deal. Joe decides he is going to buy used. 1 NIB pin sold and you lost double that in revenue. You have 0 customers engaged and you have to try and win them back on the next one.
Take the same scenario but Joe NIB sale is flawless, he is in love and his friend Fred is in love. The nest shiny new pin comes out and Fred tries to get Joe to sell him his old pin. Joe says I can't I love it to much and the next one is going to be awesome you should buy it too. Both Joe and Fred buy another NIB. 1 NIB grew to 3 and you doubled the revenue on the next pin. You have two customers that are engaged and willing to spend.
JJP and some of the others do seem to be focused on being that Jewel in the crown of a collection. That pin that you have to get your own because you not having mine and get on board early for what is next. Stern has a few of them as well but they don't seem focused on it. They just seem to occasionally stumble into one. The other companies are focused on making another run of jewels. Stern drops a pin and everyone knows to just wait a couple weeks and you can grab used one. I'm not saying JJP and the others don't have issues just that they seem to be more focused on a better more successful marketing strategy to combat the revenue lost in the used market.