I believe NIB should be about $5200 shipped. Contact JJ at Game Exchange of Colorado and he should be able to give you the cheapest allowed price unless there is a shortage or they are out of production.
You will have to talk to him on the phone because the distributors are not allowed to put the price in an e-mail or in a PM on Pinside.

The lowest price is fixed by Stern. It is just a matter of finding a distributor that will sell for the lowest price allowed by Stern.

I'd check with Cointaker, they're your local Stern distributer. My 2nd choice would be Automated in Connecticut, based on similar good treatment.

Met Pro. Good decision! Call around until you get $5095 shipped. And buy out-of-state to avoid sales tax.

Edited as I provided too much extra info...

Buying my PRO tomorrow.....found this thread just in time!

I know this thread is about the price but do any of you guys know if all the ghosting issues, drop target damage, magnet damage issues are a thing of the past with The latest NIB batch?

I bought mine a long time ago and don't have any of those issues. Maybe some people are pickier than me.

Good to hear that!

Be cool and discreet where and how you get your games. Stern has new pricing policies with floors so some dealers can report others in if they are too low and they can be penelized.

If you have a friend who buys a lot of games from a dealer have him or her refer you and maybe you can get a better deal.

I don't think it is a good idea to post to everyone where you got a game and how much if it is on the low end. It could hurt that dealer. Could be wrong, but just sayin.

Wow just over a year ago i got mine for 4500 nib with upgrades......

Hard to say. Good odds Met you buy today will have a playfield dated last Summer or prior, not that that's a bad thing. Has anyone seen insert ghosting on a Met or clear coat chipping on a Met?

I was fortunate to pick up 3 new Sterns last year. ST Pro, TWD Prem and SMVE. SMVE is the only one ghosting.

Definitely put Cliffy's carbon fiber magnet ring protectors on both magnets on your new Met. That will take care of those areas. I also recommend his protectors for the shooter lane and mystery scoop.

Try Pinball Refinery. Best price is found.

Best deal I found was at Pinball Refinery.

My NIB LED MET PRO was delivered late July with a stamped April 01 2016 playfield. Backbox dated June 15th 2016. I have clear chipping at around shooter lane and also at outhole. 548 Balls played and 178 total plays. I am waiting to hear back from Stern.... I am also working through Stern on Grave Marker in-line drop targets not resetting properly.

At the very least do not play one game without all the cliffy protectors applied, as I kept putting it on the back burner due to being out of town.

My HULK has zero protection, tons more games, and zero issues, so I think 2016 is a bad year to buy NIB. I dumped my GBLE and GBPREM, thinking I would avoid any issues by going MET, well that didn't work.

That sucks! This is why I haven't taken the plunge yet with Metallica. My favorite band of all time

For some reason I would have bet it was Korn...not sure how I would have thought otherwise.

I'm about to put mine up for sale. It is the LED Pro model with the metal back box. I bought it last year NIB from Cointaker. PM if interested but you'd have to pay for shipping.

Question.

I assume all of the new METs currently being produced are SPIKE..correct?

The old METs are SAM...?

If and when did they change over...?

New METs are SAM as well

Thanks!

Stern will never change the system used on a game. If it was intially released with SAM, any future builds or VEs will also be SAM. Gomez has confirmed this.

I think there were some test games (TWD and ACDC?) that were on the SPIKE system but none built for customers.

You guys and your shopping around... so jealous!

Korn is right there next to Metallica, my screen name should have been "MetallicaFreak28" LOL

Sorry but what is SPIKE and SAM?

The computer /board set used to run the game. SPIKE is the newer system. It started with TWD I believe.

TWD was SAM..... Spike started with WWE. I personally prefer SAM as they were rock solid but thats just the way it goes.

Met pro is instock.

PS Pinball Refinery is out of business.

Holy smokes....... the pinball refinery went out of buisness. Great products from some great guys. No more powder coating or anything from GIO ?

What happened? Do you mean they no longer can sell Sterns or did they close down the mod business as well? Did they sell games below Stern's lowest allowed price?

Steve is still around...
http://www.mipinballrefinery.com/

A local friend just bought a Batman66 through him.

Holy crap....... They are now partners with Cointaker. Congratulations GIO, Steve, Chris and Melissa !!!

No... but a transition, but I am NOT...... I repeat....... NOT OUT OF BUSINESS

Gio has stepped back from being a Stern Distributor and now I am a Division of Cointaker. Melissa, Chris and I are all working together so we can still offer new full custom line of MI Pinball Refinery Edition machines from several different manufactures, powder coating, custom painting and lighting mods for everyone. We are expanding the availability to get custom machines sooner, meaning they will be finished, available in stock and ready for delivery. Soon Cointaker will have some in their new showroom to check out, play, cash and carry to take home with you on the spot. On top of this we will have some at Pinball shows doing the same, check out, play, order one to your liking or cash and carry....Hopefully if things go smoothly you will see this at The Texas Pinball Festival in March.

So I have not gone anywhere but expanded with new growth working as a Division of Cointaker.

I started a thread announcing this last week....

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/hemi-has-a-new-website

Thank you everyone for this amazing journey in the pinball community for your continued support,

Steve
MI Pinball Refinery
"A token of Cointaker"
New Website : www.mipinballrefinery.com

Thank you for referring your friend to me... We appreciate this and everyones business.

Steve
MI Pinball Refinery
"A token of Cointaker"

No... We never broke Stern's policy or rules to loose the Distributorship. Gio could not dedicate enough time into offering new machines for everyone, so it was a tough decision for him to step back on selling NIB and custom Refinery machines. I've been going all of the custom Refinery Editions for customers for over 2 years and now I'm a part of Cointaker. So with that being said I am still offering NIB and full MI Pinball Refinery machines.

Steve
MI Pinball Refinery
"A token of Cointaker"

Not true!
I have a GB Premium ordered through Steve. They've reorganized and are better than ever.

I've bought several nib sterns through Steve and pinball refinery. Great prices, service and love the refinery upgrades. Highly recommend. Congrats on the new partnership with Cointaker. Looking forward to my next nib purchase.

No it's not.

Not entirely true. Gio retired from the Pinball biz(money man), Steve(Brains/Genius/Artist) made a partnership with Coin-Taker. Talk about the perfect marriage! So, everything you want(New pins, paint, lighting, etc.) & expect from Steve & Pinball Refinery is still available & honestly, better than ever! I recently bought a NIB GOT from Pinball Refinery/Coin-Taker, & I couldn't have had a better buying experience.
Pinball Refinery+Coin-Taker=Pinball Heaven!!

Pinball Refinery is still very much in business. He is now a Division of Cointaker, we have partnered up and joined the 2 companies together.
The partnership is completed and when you buy your game, you are buying it through CoinTaker with Steve doing the upgrades to the machine. We are working on ads publicizing this and major publications announcing the news.
Anyone with questions are more than welcome to contact me at 570-847-9595 or Steve to answer any questions you may have.

Melissa
CoinTaker

Exciting times for both companies. I have dealt with both Steve and Melissa over the years. I couldn't think of a better pinball match than these two. Look out Pinside... greater things to come!

WWE was the last (not KISS as I originally stated). TWD was last to use the old system.

DO NOT post prices from distributors. You guys are shooting yourselves in the face if you do so. Refer people to the best distributor who can offer the lowest price, but don't post them here.

Last thing Stern needs is help keeping prices higher than they should be...

WWE was the first, not Kiss.

Dang, you're right. I am tripping - fixed my comment to reflect accurately.

No problem Steve, it's easy to refer good people when you find them.

Going to calling you next week on a purchase for myself. Take care.

Hello everyone. For those of you who don't know me I'm the co-owner of Tilt Graphics Inc. and I'm posting today to confirm that Pinball Refinery is still in business and working hand in hand with CoinTaker. Yes I do business with both CoinTaker and Pinball Refinery and that puts me in the unique position to tell you the truth, that Pinball Refinery is still in business and has never gone out of business.

open-for-business-town-of-westlock (resized).jpg

No need to roast JJ. He probably heard Pinball Refinery is no longer a Stern distributor, which appears to be accurate. They are not listed on Stern's site. I am glad Steve has found a great new partner. He does great work!

I agree with NorCalRealtor. JJ made a mistake by posting what he did, but there's no reason to keep piling on. I really don't think another 100 testimonials stating that Steve is STILL in business is helping sway any "undecided voters" at this point. We get it.

Steve and JJ are both good guys and valuable members of the pinball hobby. So let's please, respectfully, move this conversation back on topic. Thanks.