(Topic ID: 137778)

The Canadian Pinhead Thread. What's Up?!

By Jeekayjay

8 years ago


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    There are 4,733 posts in this topic. You are on page 43 of 95.
    #2101 6 years ago
    Quoted from chinosts:

    So I have a question... You guys live in Canada. Why don't you order direct from the manufacturer when buying new pinballs? Why go through a distributer? If you organize amongst yourselves you could share shipping costs etc.
    What is stopping you from organizing a road trip to Stern and coming back with a truck full of pinballs? What am I missing here?

    Stern refuses to sell direct to public and there is a long standing contract that anything Canada bound is "supposed" to go through player 1 amusements.

    Not as easy as it seems.

    However, Tommy at nitro is doing a fantastic job mitigating the situation and helping out everyone he can with this.

    Hoping to one day be able to purchase from him.

    #2102 6 years ago
    Quoted from chinosts:

    So I have a question... You guys live in Canada. Why don't you order direct from the manufacturer when buying new pinballs? Why go through a distributer? If you organize amongst yourselves you could share shipping costs etc.
    What is stopping you from organizing a road trip to Stern and coming back with a truck full of pinballs? What am I missing here?
    BTW Ill be in Canada in a couple of weeks and would love to catch up with some Canadian pinheads, drink some beer and play pinball. Are there any events coming up? I'll be there until end of January...
    Cheers!

    what city are you coming to ?

    #2103 6 years ago

    It's a big country

    Quoted from luch:what city are you coming to ?

    #2104 6 years ago
    Quoted from chinosts:

    So I have a question... You guys live in Canada. Why don't you order direct from the manufacturer when buying new pinballs? Why go through a distributer? If you organize amongst yourselves you could share shipping costs etc.
    What is stopping you from organizing a road trip to Stern and coming back with a truck full of pinballs? What am I missing here?
    BTW Ill be in Canada in a couple of weeks and would love to catch up with some Canadian pinheads, drink some beer and play pinball. Are there any events coming up? I'll be there until end of January...
    Cheers!

    Because Stern only sells to authorized distributors in this case Tommy and Player 1, every one else buys from these two. The collector ends up having to choose from limited options. The picture was grimmer a few days ago we only had 1 authorized distributor for the whole contry until Tommy announced the great news.

    If you are in the vacinity of Ottawa drop me a line.

    #2105 6 years ago

    In CALGARY!

    Hey guys I'm visiting calgary and wanted to know how you guys get your parts?

    I'm looking for fl-11629 coils... anyone have a lead on a pair, local to downtown? Any pinball arcades anywhere? I fly out tomorrow.

    Screenshot_20171127-125923 (resized).pngScreenshot_20171127-125923 (resized).png

    Screenshot_20171127-125914 (resized).pngScreenshot_20171127-125914 (resized).png

    #2106 6 years ago

    Calgary too bad ! you'll miss the Grey Cup parade !

    #2107 6 years ago

    Just wondering if anyone from Calgary has seen/played the Earthshaker for sale on Kijiji. I am very interested in this game, would anyone be willing to check it out for me?

    Edit: Whoops I mean Edmonton

    #2108 6 years ago
    Quoted from Indusguys:

    Just wondering if anyone from Calgary has seen/played the Earthshaker for sale on Kijiji. I am very interested in this game, would anyone be willing to check it out for me?

    Cam in Edmonton has a earthshaker for sale. Not sure about a Calgary one?

    #2109 6 years ago
    Quoted from Indusguys:

    Just wondering if anyone from Calgary has seen/played the Earthshaker for sale on Kijiji. I am very interested in this game, would anyone be willing to check it out for me?
    Edit: Whoops I mean Edmonton

    Call me, my number is in the ad. I'll give you an honest assessment of the game.

    #2110 6 years ago
    Quoted from trueno92:

    In CALGARY!
    Hey guys I'm visiting calgary and wanted to know how you guys get your parts?
    I'm looking for fl-11629 coils... anyone have a lead on a pair, local to downtown? Any pinball arcades anywhere? I fly out tomorrow.

    Don't know of any place to just walk in and buy parts in Calgary, definitely not local to downtown. For where pins are, bet bet would be to use http://pinballmap.com.

    #2111 6 years ago
    Quoted from trueno92:

    In CALGARY!
    Hey guys I'm visiting calgary and wanted to know how you guys get your parts?
    I'm looking for fl-11629 coils... anyone have a lead on a pair, local to downtown? Any pinball arcades anywhere? I fly out tomorrow.

    For the coils you could call SML Entertainment (formerly Southern Music), they will probably run you $20 each.

    https://www.smlentertainment.com

    #2112 6 years ago
    Quoted from flashinstinct:

    Because Stern only sells to authorized distributors in this case Tommy and Player 1, every one else buys from these two. The collector ends up having to choose from limited options. The picture was grimmer a few days ago we only had 1 authorized distributor for the whole contry until Tommy announced the great news.
    If you are in the vacinity of Ottawa drop me a line.

    Wow that seems a bit counter productive on the part of Stern. How about the other pinball manufacturers out there? Do they all sell exclusively to distributers?

    I guess it's too much trouble for them to deal with end users directly.

    #2113 6 years ago

    Not sure about JJP but Spooky sells direct to the public. You realize there's not a ton of manufacturers of pinball machines?

    Quoted from chinosts:

    Wow that seems a bit counter productive on the part of Stern. How about the other pinball manufacturers out there? Do they all sell exclusively to distributers?
    I guess it's too much trouble for them to deal with end users directly.

    #2114 6 years ago
    Quoted from dirkdiggler:

    Not sure about JJP but Spooky sells direct to the public. You realize there's not a ton of manufacturers of pinball machines?

    Lol... yes I do realise that

    From reading through a lot of comments on this thread I got the impression that there was some kind of anti-pinball wall between Canada and the US. Don't tell me Trump has an issue with Pinball???

    If it was me, I would arrange my own big transport across the border etc. but its been pointed out Stern don't sell direct to the public. It just doesn't make a lot of sense to me.. They are a factory making pinball. Their goal is to sell as many machines as they can.

    Supporting end users directly may be way too much overhead for them. Maybe their product or possibly pinball machines in general are just way too much hard work and the pain of support is better 'outsourced' so to speak.

    Here is the scenario I am proposing.. I rock up to the Stern factory and park my big 18-wheeler out the front in their loading bay..
    "Load 'em up boys! I am driving these babies back to Canada where I am going to make a lot of Canadian pinball nerds happy with my cost price brand new pinball machines".

    I guess this scenario is just not possible with all the 'in-between'..

    #2115 6 years ago
    Quoted from chinosts:

    Lol... yes I do realise that.

    Tommy@nitropinball will hook you up with a sweet deal on a pin too man..!! Check out his website nitropinball.com & visit him to grab your new pin when u in Vancouver!

    #2116 6 years ago
    Quoted from Dee-Bow:

    Tommy@nitropinball will hook you up with a sweet deal on a pin too man..!! Check out his website nitropinball.com & visit him to grab your new pin when u in Vancouver!

    Sounds good dude.. I will look him up while I'm there.. ( I was only kidding about the 18-wheeler )

    #2117 6 years ago
    Quoted from chinosts:

    If it was me, I would arrange my own big transport across the border etc. but its been pointed out Stern don't sell direct to the public. It just doesn't make a lot of sense to me.. They are a factory making pinball. Their goal is to sell as many machines as they can.
    Supporting end users directly may be way too much overhead for them. Maybe their product or possibly pinball machines in general are just way too much hard work and the pain of support is better 'outsourced' so to speak.

    Yes, their goal is to sell as many pins as possible, which means having as many sales people and locations as possible. To do this without distributors/resellers would require opening a ton of offices around the country (world) and hiring people to run them, support local customers, etc. That would be big time cash/risk. By having a distributor/reseller chain, they assume that risk/expense, and for that they get to buy at a factory price. The distributor/reseller adds their markup to make money and sells to the end customer

    Now if Stern starts selling directly from the factory, at a factory price, the distributors are going to (rightly) get pissed off and Stern risks losing that entire sales arm because they are undercutting it.

    In the long run, not selling to trucks parked outside of their factory makes way more business sense.

    #2118 6 years ago
    Quoted from paul_8788:

    Yes, their goal is to sell as many pins as possible, which means having as many sales people and locations as possible. To do this without distributors/resellers would require opening a ton of offices around the country (world) and hiring people to run them, support local customers, etc. That would be big time cash/risk. By having a distributor/reseller chain, they assume that risk/expense, and for that they get to buy at a factory price. The distributor/reseller adds their markup to make money and sells to the end customer
    Now if Stern starts selling directly from the factory, at a factory price, the distributors are going to (rightly) get pissed off and Stern risks losing that entire sales arm because they are undercutting it.
    In the long run, not selling to trucks parked outside of their factory makes way more business sense.

    That actually makes a ton of sense. This is probably why I am not a business man..

    #2119 6 years ago

    Bottom line -- Player 1 has a monopolizing contract with Stern, and they actively enforce it. Many US distribs have gotten in big trouble from Stern for selling to Canadians thanks mainly to Player 1 whining to Stern about it.

    #2120 6 years ago
    Quoted from pinball_customs:

    Bottom line -- Player 1 has a monopolizing contract with Stern, and they actively enforce it. Many US distribs have gotten in big trouble from Stern for selling to Canadians thanks mainly to Player 1 whining to Stern about it.

    Sounds like we should hold a very public boycott of Player 1 across the country until Stern relents and gives Canada a number of distributor options, similar to the US. When they stop selling games they'll start paying attention.

    #2121 6 years ago

    I think a boycott is exactly whats needed.

    Not going into too much detail, but P1 is already on the list for a nasty phone call from me later today.

    Not only will i never deal with P1 again, but now i will refuse to deal with anyone who gets inventory from them.

    #2122 6 years ago
    Quoted from Fytr:

    Sounds like we should hold a very public boycott of Player 1 across the country until Stern relents and gives Canada a number of distributor options, similar to the US. When they stop selling games they'll start paying attention.

    As much as I am a proud Canadian, the pinball buying power for the overall country is probably less than that in California alone. So I could see Stern not wanting to support a bunch of Canadian distribs, but at least three or so would be nice (west, mid, east)

    #2123 6 years ago
    Quoted from ChanceKJ:

    Not only will i never deal with P1 again, but now i will refuse to deal with anyone who gets inventory from them.

    Made that decision myself a couple of years ago. That's why the Nitro announcement was so awesome.

    #2124 6 years ago

    Well, Nitro is the only game to trust in town out here.

    John’ Jukes wont ship to Alberta, Jay Richardson can take a long walk off a short pier, and don’t get me started about that ass clown Tony Fisher at SML.

    Stern’s only hope north of the 49th is Nitro.

    #2125 6 years ago
    Quoted from ChanceKJ:

    Not only will i never deal with P1 again, but now i will refuse to deal with anyone who gets inventory from them

    +1

    -2
    #2126 6 years ago

    Jerry at P1 is well aware of all the problems , and has said in person that he is trying to make things better and change the culture at P1 , and maybe we should give him and the company some time to make it right , just my opinion

    #2127 6 years ago

    Changing corporate culture for the better isn’t hard. Ive see it done in person in much larger companies then P1. Swift, large, and drastic changes from the top down can be put in overnight. Waiting any longer does a disservice to everyone involved.

    #2128 6 years ago

    Just for the record, I think it's perfectly legal to be a Canadian and buy a product from a store in the US. I doubt any distributor would refuse to sell to you because you are Canadian. Why even mention that anyway - nobody cares and money talks if you are there in person (but have to be there in person).

    Either drive it back to Canada or have it shipped independently perhaps with help by a fellow pinsider you know. Either way you pay the taxes owed and all is perfectly legal. Have a friend in another province with lower taxes? Take him along and have him buy it for himself and then buy from him after he changes his mind about his purchase (or after he played for awhile).

    You could also drive down to a show (or fly) and do the same thing.

    Have friends who want games? Drive down together and buy many at the same time.

    Of course all of these things make no sense unless it's quite a bit cheaper. And there is more risk involved as you won't possibly have a distributor to help you if something goes awry.

    The main point is that don't believe there is only one way to do things. One of the reasons we pay more in Canada is because too many of us (polite Canadians) believe what we are told - that there are no other options. This is part of why prices are high here.

    In any case, don't let anyone tell you that you can't buy things from the US. You can buy whatever you want just make sure it makes sense in advance. Our prices in Canada should be same as US taking into consideration shipping and taxes and no more. And not MSRP, it should be US street price - price that distribs are actually selling for. (Rant over be happy

    #2129 6 years ago

    Reading through all the posts it's great that we are having more options and all the positive feedback out there and Tommy is doing great things for pinball.

    What I don't really care for is reading through is all the childish bashing. I have no vested interest in any of this but posts can actually be made in a more constructive manner than what it's being posted. Personally, if you have a complaint letter to make over and over again have maybe just stick to facts and not attack everyone. There is likely justification for the points made and I likely would agree with close to most of them but let's not type in TILT!

    This has been a P.S.A.

    Back to flipping (and not the bird).

    #2130 6 years ago
    Quoted from TBatti:

    Back to flipping (and not the bird).

    It's such a great stress relief though. You should try it

    index.jpegindex.jpeg

    #2131 6 years ago
    Quoted from ChanceKJ:

    and don’t get me started about that ass clown Tony Fisher at SML.

    Sml wanted to charge $40 for flipper coils.

    True story

    #2132 6 years ago
    Quoted from trueno92:

    Sml wanted to charge $40 for flipper coils.
    True story

    Each or for 2?

    #2133 6 years ago
    Quoted from trueno92:

    Sml wanted to charge $40 for flipper coils.
    True story

    I needed a cool for my doc ock kicker and p1 (starburst at the time) wanted $48. It was $9.99 USD on Marcos site which I checked on my phone while standing at their parts counter.

    #2134 6 years ago

    For shits and giggles, I contacted SML this afternoon and they quoted me $8499 + Tax for a new Guardians Of The Galaxy Pro! That's cray cray

    #2135 6 years ago
    Quoted from JoshODBrown:

    For shits and giggles, I contacted SML this afternoon and they quoted me $8499 + Tax for a new Guardians Of The Galaxy Pro! That's cray cray

    LMAO....

    #2136 6 years ago
    Quoted from JoshODBrown:

    For shits and giggles, I contacted SML this afternoon and they quoted me $8499 + Tax for a new Guardians Of The Galaxy Pro! That's cray cray

    Hey, those expensive mall stores (not filled with pinball machines) don’t pay for themselves.

    #2137 6 years ago

    What’s everyone else quoting? 7499?

    #2138 6 years ago

    7590 + tax was another that I got from a different P1 dealer in Alberta, but Johns Jukes wouldn’t give me a quote because they didn’t want to step on another dealers toes from a different province, but I’d imagine it’s similar.

    #2139 6 years ago

    Just to be clear, I have not purchased a GOTG, just been gathering quotes to see what the pricing landscape looks like after the dealer/distributor shake up.

    #2140 6 years ago
    Quoted from JoshODBrown:

    For shits and giggles, I contacted SML this afternoon and they quoted me $8499 + Tax for a new Guardians Of The Galaxy Pro! That's cray cray

    I wonder why they even bother offering a quote like that? Not too many products ever sell at MSRP let alone higher.

    #2141 6 years ago

    Because at the end of the day some people are just ignorant (not in the negitive way). Example in point: Upper middle class household wife wants to buy something “really cool” for her husband for birthday/holiday/anniversary. Doesn’t do her reserch, but has seen SML locations in the mall, or remebered that time they bought a hot tub. Goes in, doesn’t price check or shop around, they realize what shes looking to buy and are all over it.

    Its not like it happens every day but it still happens. This is also just one of many examples. And also why you see money grubbing jerks trying to sell gutted, beaten down 1980’s arcade cabinets fitted with LCD’s, 20+ “Aliexpress special” buttons, a pair of crap joysticks and a 9000-in-1 board for $2000 on Kijiji. A foolish person who doesnt know any better will buy, eventually.

    6 years ago i walked into an SML not knowing any better and got a quote for a Konami 4-player simpsons cabinet. $3500. Used. Going rate for that in the community today is $600-1200. For the next 6 months i was trying to figure out how i could save up an extra $3500. Good thing i never bought it.

    #2142 6 years ago

    The guy I bought st pro off of is your classic rich guy. Decides to do a mancave. Goes to sml in calgary and buys st pro, imve and a expensive nascar sit down driver. Doesn't even look at the receipt. Gets new girlfriend who doesn't like games and sells it all off without barely using them and at huge losses. Mentioned sml charged him like $1000 to deliver and set them up.

    #2143 6 years ago
    Quoted from pkrobin:

    I wonder why they even bother offering a quote like that? Not too many products ever sell at MSRP let alone higher.

    You would be surprised I have bought games off guys that have purchased NIb from Sml . They do sell games at that price .

    Quoted from ChanceKJ:

    Because at the end of the day some people are just ignorant (not in the negitive way). Example in point: Upper middle class household wife wants to buy something “really cool” for her husband for birthday/holiday/anniversary. Doesn’t do her reserch, but has seen SML locations in the mall, or remebered that time they bought a hot tub. Goes in, doesn’t price check or shop around, they realize what shes looking to buy and are all over it.
    Its not like it happens every day but it still happens. This is also just one of many examples. And also why you see money grubbing jerks trying to sell gutted, beaten down 1980’s arcade cabinets fitted with LCD’s, 20+ “Aliexpress special” buttons, a pair of crap joysticks and a 9000-in-1 board for $2000 on Kijiji. A foolish person who doesnt know any better will buy, eventually.
    6 years ago i walked into an SML not knowing any better and got a quote for a Konami 4-player simpsons cabinet. $3500. Used. Going rate for that in the community today is $600-1200. For the next 6 months i was trying to figure out how i could save up an extra $3500. Good thing i never bought it.

    Haha I bought a real nice jhonny mnemonic from Sml a couple years back for 3500 as soon as it got into other collectors hands it automatically went up in price 1000 . Some collectors are actually worse gougers than Sml go figure !

    #2144 6 years ago

    I think one of you guys should start a new thread entirely dedicated to bashing Sml and all other pinball retailers in Alberta !

    #2145 6 years ago

    I think we just need to continue getting the news out that Nitro is the only place to purchase NIB pinball, that will hurt SML and other pinball retailers more, and then we can continue bashing on the side!

    #2146 6 years ago
    Quoted from Fytr:

    Each or for 2?

    Each

    #2147 6 years ago

    I’ve gotten smaller coils from them before ran $20 and got me out of a pinch. That’s just ridiculous though.

    #2148 6 years ago
    Quoted from JoshODBrown:

    For shits and giggles, I contacted SML this afternoon and they quoted me $8499 + Tax for a new Guardians Of The Galaxy Pro! That's cray cray

    That is hilarious I'm going to call and get a price on a hot tub for shits and giggles . This is going to be awesome !

    #2149 6 years ago
    Quoted from Fytr:

    I’ve gotten smaller coils from them before ran $20 and got me out of a pinch. That’s just ridiculous though.

    Yeah it does seem ridiculous...at least until you price the same coils through Marco. Convert to Canadian dollars, then add shipping, then add 3-4 weeks for said shipping. If I was in a real hurry I'd choose SML too.

    #2150 6 years ago

    Yah i was in town and the traffic in toronto to get to playdium store can be even more rediculous...

    At least only 5% sales tax..

    Now my barn find demolition man can start the restore

    There are 4,733 posts in this topic. You are on page 43 of 95.

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