Quoted from pinballinreno:Its not that it cant be fixed.
Its that the purchase price and shipping were for an undamaged game.
A damaged game was delivered therefore not worth the purchase price.
I the game needed repairs it would have been included and listed in the purchase price.
Its the principle of it all, and that the paid for contract was not met.
The simplest remedy is to get a complete replacement shipped out ASAP.
Its about the money, as always.
I haven't been in the pinball hobby long, and thankfully my purchases have been problem-free.
But in this situation, I hate to say I think your comment about principle and complete replacement isn't realistic. The trucking company isn't looking at this like "OMG it's a NIB Iron Maiden pinball machine, and we've ruined it!!". They're looking at it like "it's a cabinet...what's the repair cost? Agnes, call the insurance company.".
Stern and the distributor may be able to put some pressure on the trucking company, but they can't force them to cover full replacement. I'd also be very surprised (happily surprised) if Stern and/or the distributor ponied up to cover the difference and sent a new one on their own.
I've seen this type of thing many times in the flooring industry. We put in a $10k wood floor, and the appliance company scratches it putting in the refrigerator. The homeowner goes ape-shit and wants Lowes to pay to replace their floor. In the end, Lowes pays for the replacement of the scratched boards.
To the trucking company, the simplest remedy isn't to take this one back and bring him another one. The simplest thing for the trucking company is to write a check for repair. Not ideal, but realistic.