A statement worth repeating.

I keep reading about the "small percentage". Another poster claims 1-2% of the playfields are affected.

Allow me to introduce a healthy dose of Reality:

1. The Ghostbusters pro at The Pinball Hall of Fame is ghosted in multiple inserts. Witnessed it personally 3 days ago.
2. My Ghostbusters pro at NYNY is ghosted in multiple inserts.
3. My Ghostbusters LE at Fremont Arcade is ghosted in multiple inserts.

So to clarify, 100% of the Ghostbusters playfields, that I have personally seen, are defective.

By looking at the past, that's how. Stern has managed to produce hundreds of thousands of pinball machines over the last 30 years without a ghosting issue. Suddenly, in the last year or so, defective playfields are popping up all over. Therefore, something changed in the last year or so.

FIX WHAT CHANGED. Problem, solved.

Perhaps you can explain why all of my other playfields ARE NOT DAMAGED, even though they've been there longer, and have more plays on them.

No.
No. Yes, but for more QC and cost cutting reasons than just this playfield issue.
Perfectly.

I'll add KPG's playfield to bring the percentage back up to 80%.

Oh, they could, absolutely. That doesn't mean they'll be able, or even willing, to fix their other lack of quality control issues though.

Did you get your BM66 yet? As a collector, it probably doesn't matter that they didn't install a protective piece of plexi, or glass, over the LCD screen. Nope, in typical cost cutting fashion, the LCD is fully exposed to anybody that wants to stick their fingers, knives, etc., or maybe carve their initials right into the LCD screen. Then again, for a lousy $10,000, maybe my expectations are too high.

The Ghostbusters is an outstanding earner. So well, that I'll be taking my GBLE out of Fremont Arcade and placing it at NYNY to let it earn too.

Yes, IMVE & Avatar LE. I don't have a Tron. I've done great with almost every pin that I've placed at NYNY... except Mustang & WWE. But there aren't many locations that see 1.2 million visitors annually. So while pinballs do well there, they're still at the bottom of the revenue stream compared to my video arcade games.

Of course you wouldn't route your pinballs.... you're not an operator.

Remember, I was previously committed to buying a pro and an LE of almost every pin they put out. That ended with GB.

No, I moved it over to the Fun Dungeon at Excalibur next door. I have a TF pro there too.

Ok, maybe. I can only comment on the one at PHoF that Tim bought.

And as everybody here knows, collector pins easily rack up 100,000 plays in no time....

It was most certainly not directed at you. It is directed at all of the repeated (from multiple sources) bullshit speculation that "only a small percentage" of playfields are affected. Based on what?!?! Based on the one playfield somebody saw that looked fine when they unboxed it????

Of the 3 playfields I have personally viewed, all 3 have ghosting, and crater size divots. Two of them are mine and appeared fine NIB..... that didn't last. The third is at the PHoF. Another poster, either in this thread or another, has stated that 4 of the 4 playfields the poster saw where ghosted. 100% failure rate is not a small percentage to me.

Understand that I have personally unboxed, tested, prepped and played no less than 2 dozen brand new Stern games in the last 2.5 years. Until GB, I had never seen craters this large, nor have I seen a single ghosted insert.

Inoperable? No. Unacceptable? You bet it is. Unfortunately I HAD faith in this company to increase their QC after the previous debacles they put out, not to just totally give up on QC. It is clear, going back to at least TWD, that Stern does not even bother to test their own finished product, or, they KNOW the games have issues, but ships them anyway and roll the dice. When EVERY shot up Bicycle Girls ramp on an TWDLE results in a launched air ball, and then months later they put out a "fix", it supports what I've just stated above. When a complete lack of ability to make the orbit on a GoTLE, which is then fixed with a code change so the orbit isn't necessary, it supports what I've just stated above. Do I really need to bring up the fact that the code is buggy and unfinished on EVERY game they produce?!?!?!

I built my entire business based on quality, not quantity. Stern is no longer producing quality, they've opted for quantity. They can keep their quantity. If I should decide to buy a BM66 or an Aerosmith.... or any other future title, it will be in the secondary market.... after the first sucker dealt with all of the flaws, defects, issues, and lack of code.

Well I'm in a similar, but worse, situation as I'm now disappointed as both an operator, and a collector. I was buying at least 1 pro and 1 LE of every title. Many titles even more. That ended. Not even JJP. Way too many problems. I may try one of the newer companies, but in a commercial/tourist environment, I need Licensed & Branded titles to earn a living. MMR & DI simply won't earn for me.

To make it even worse, I'm the technician in my arcade business, so I really don't want my only hobby to be "just like work", so to speak. So, as an operator, I'm buying a lot more video arcade games this year, and as a collector, I've already taken up a new hobby.

With all that said, I'm not totally giving up on pinball. I'm just going to limit all of my purchases to the local secondary market where I can personally inspect the condition of every game. Buyer beware.

I was reading some industry news this morning when I stumbled across a brief article regarding customer service. It lists 10 facts about customer service. I've included the first 5 facts below. Numbers 2 & 3 is what puts companies out of business. The second 5 are just historical references (first ever customer complaint, inventor of 800 number, etc).

1. Consumers are 2 times more likely to share their bad customer service experiences than their good ones. (Source: Salesforce.com)

2. 63% of U.S. customers say they have stopped doing business with a brand due to a poor customer service experience. (Source: Microsoft)

3. For every customer complaint, there are 26 other unhappy customers who have remained silent. (Source: Providesupport.com)

4. It takes 12 positive experiences to make up for one unresolved negative experience. (Source: Providesupport.com)

5. By 2020, the customer will manage 85% of the relationship with an enterprise without interacting with a human. (Source: Fonolo.com)

Slow down now. I may be an asshole, but I'm not a sheeple. I stopped buying the product completely.

And buyers like me will matter. I own a fairly large arcade company. I NEED to spend at least $280,000 on new arcade equipment this year for tax reasons. I really don't give a shit what I spend it on, as long as I spend it. That was the potential market Stern had in this one customer. But the reality is that earnings don't mean shit if I'm constantly getting service calls, on top of the need for monthly cleaning & service. So I refuse to purchase another NIB Stern pinball until things change.

Bottom Line: Fix the obvious lack of testing prior to release, fix the multiple poor quality issues, ship the games with complete code, needing ONLY an update or two for finishing touches, and perhaps I'll give Stern a crack at the $300,000 I'll need to spend in 2018.

Correct!!! There just aren't enough KPGs to influence Stern to correct their obvious, continuing, and multiple lack of quality control standards.

So yes, Stern IS just going to continue to screw everyone that still hands over their money, sight unseen.

It most certainly does not!

A story such as the one suggested can only serve to tar the image of the current industry leader of the hobby (Stern pinball), not of the hobby itself. Stern has options. They've chosen to ignore and alienate their own customers.

I have a clear bra on the entire front end of my Lamborghini. So what's your point?!?!?!

How many have I seen lately? Aside from the half dozen or so in Las Vegas alone.... I'm not stupid enough to buy another NIB just to see if they fixed the problem.

Am I a douche for buying a car instead of a truckload of defective pinball machines?

Or am I a douche for having a clear bra on the front of my car to avoid..... eh, let's use the word, divots?

So I'm NOT a double douche for buying $250k+ worth of pinball machines, but I AM a douche for buying a car with a clear bra. Got it.

Haters gonna hate.

I upvoted your post. If I could only get Double Douche approved by DMV on a license plate, I'd do it: DBLDOUSH

Wow. Thanks for your contributions to this thread. Clearly you've decided to stay off topic and continue to make this personal.

You say "so what" because you simply haven't reached your threshold on value/risk/reward. I'm way past mine, both as a collector, and an operator. I won't buy another NIB again. When I decide to bring fresh pins into NYNY, they'll be used. I'll personally shop them & mod them prior to location, but they will be used.

With this I also agree. But from a different stand point. As an operator, I learned that I could ROI on a $5k pin in two years, then sell it and get 80%, or more, of my investment back. Or even keep it another two years, make even more money, then sell it for 70%, or more, of what I paid. So I bought 40 or so NIB & HUO pins.

What I failed to calculate is just how poorly pinballs earn, and even worse....just how much freaking time it takes to maintain them. And there is the catch. My time is the single most valuable asset that I have. So even though I might buy a NIB arcade game for $10k, and only get 25% of that when selling after 3-4 years, it has earned me 5x-10x the money a pair of pinball machines would have. And most importantly, the video arcade game consumed almost none of my time.

Now bring that pinball cost up to an average of $7k-8k, reduce the quality exponentially, and you just kissed my fat ass goodbye.

Since I have some high mileage pins still working well, without any board issues, I may be inclined to disagree. Automobiles have been using SM boards for years, and they take a hell of a lot more hardcore abuse than pinball machines.

That is true. And there are a whole lot more "rich old men" today, than ever. But a Harley is more of an image thing, and less of a hobby. IMO

Just for entertainment purposes, define "over priced".

..... I'm waiting.....