2 reasons.

Makes it easier to sell your machine later and get a better sale price (makes new buyer feel better- even though they may do the same !!! Storing it).

Other reason ends up being a money grab. Sell your current machine at some point and next buyer does not care about minor playfield issues as long as it plays. Think of this as a payment for pain and suffering.

The good thing is Mirco is back to making them right again!

You were NOT made whole. Not even close!

Dude if they’re cool with it Let it ride!

I'm not making a big deal about it, I haven't been made whole either. So far Stern has screwed me worse than he got screwed. I'm just pointing out that buying a 10k game with a bad playfield and then being sent a blank playfield is not acceptable and as long as we talk like that its going to become acceptable.

I didn't get screwed. I could do the PF swap no problem. I'm a mechanical engineer in the auto industry. I was made whole in my opinion. Sorry you don't feel that way

I can see that.It seems some are just cool with leaving it at that.Maybe their defects aren’t terribly bad

Like all of the playfield freak outs of the past (remember “ghosting”?) everybody realizes it’s not a big deal, games still look and play fine, and we were all overreacting.

I seriously never notice this stuff until it’s pointed out. I played out BKSOR at the local bar for about 6 months before someone pointed the “pooling” out to me.

I hear you but I also get the other side.Not trying to flip flop but I also experienced getting my first nib and being made aware of the pooling problems.Once I was made aware of problem it bug the shit out of me,especially because of Pinside.All I thought about was when I was ready to sell.Fortunatly my Wonka was completely replaced with the beautiful second run units because of a shitload of other issues.This second one has been perfect!

LOL. Good to know you can pay almost $10K for a PF that will be defective, but that's ok because a nice new one that you can hang on the wall and it looks pretty hanging there once you get it 6-10 months later totally makes the price worth it.

The Stockholm Syndrome in this hobby is fascinating.

Can you come over then and do my POTC CE swap as well?

I know how to do it, but do not have the time...seems like you do.

We all got stockholm syndrome now!

I’m really staring to sympathize with this virus.

Yep. Everyone has different expectations and situations. Even if we could all "stick together" and demand populated PF's, it wouldn't work anyway (especially with JJP, whose business isn't thriving).

All negotiations with pinball companies are personal. When I had a problem with my DILE PF, JJP offered an unpopulated PF or a topper. Took the topper and felt like they "took care of me". From my perspective, it's not about being made "whole", it's about getting a perk for the flawed game. Nothing is worse than feeling like you are being ignored...

I had the same issue with my Hobbit smaug....it was a cosmetic cabinet issue....instead of them sending me a new cabinet I negotiated for mirrored game blades, and two sheets of invisiglass

only to a select few that would actually do a swap

Well, uh.... As a customer that was affected, this situation wasn't known to exist prior before purchase. So it's not like we, well I personally, walked into and wished for self injury.

I do have the time- I've been working from home the last month. No, I won't.

What really amazes me is in a hobby where everyone is SUPPOSED to be enjoying it, there sure are a lot of vitriolic, hatefull, snarky, smart-asses on Pinside ready to attack ANYONE. Probably the last straw for me here, will probably be de-activating the account and going to FB marketplace for good.

How on earth do people get through the day that have NOTHING good to say, ever?

I missed the attack. Try not to sweat the small stuff! All social media platforms have disagreeable folks. Still a lot of knowledgeable people that are helpful. With the lackluster support/engagement from pinball companies, this is the best place to fix common problems. Hang in there!

Whaaa? Pinside is a great resource for folks who love the hobby. Now RGP...that turned into a disaster. Glad it was gone.

That depends entirely on the car.

Yeah, if I'm honest, a spare playfield I lack both the knowledge or time to swap out would have little value to me. Now someone that has the know how and desire to take on a project like that, maybe, but still...

Bottom line is that these manufacturers should gave stepped up and supplied fully populated playfields for those affected. Minus that, they charged a lot of money for a defective product that will cost most unlucky enough to have received them on resale and that is wrong.

I suppose you must be talking about me. It was not my intent to attack you, make you look bad or be rude to you at all. I just hate seeing these companies get away with selling someone a 6 or 10k game with a bad playfield and call it even by giving them a unpopulated playfield.

Please dont leave because of me, I still like 99% of the people here even if I disagree with them. Me and Wesman are good friends and we do not agree on the playfield thing either. One of these days I'm going to make him see the light and get him off of Jack's nuts but its probably going to take awhile as big of a JJP fanboy he is. I think hes trying to compete with Panzer for being JJP's biggest fanboy.

lol. Pat him on the head and say you didn't mean to be rude while pissing on two new people not even involved. lol Best suggestion I can offer for Pinside "Why So Serious" the Joker.

I like Wesman and Panzer both. I give both of them shit every chance i get, especially Panzer!

I know, messing with you. Your post did make me curious who didn't make your 99% list though lol.

Who-Dey. Doodoo poopy head.

Yay! I’m a one-percenter now!

Lol no you arent. I have no issues with you. I think everybody on here has a few people in mind that they think are dicks. I'm sure that I'm on that list for some also.

Your safe also Yelobird.

Which means Who-Dey dislikes only one percent of Pinsiders.
And one percenters generally refers to the very richest Americans.
So basically, Who-Dey doesn't like the excessively wealthy?

I wish I qualified to be disliked by Who-Dey. Unfortunately, I do not.

Lol I'm with you on that. I'm broke as a bad jioke!! I'm saving some money right now though because of this coronavirusthing, might have to treat myself to a Elvira 3 when its over with!

can’t you guys get a room?

They could, but would need to stay 6 feet apart, so what's the point.

Looks like stern still having issues.. bunch nib games on Facebook have insert issues and what looks like planking but it's something else. Games were maiden and Jurassic park

Link?

The most recent pic of a chipping playfield is over 2 months old is this because of a fix or a lack of buyers

Well, when this pandemic started, I watched the market for used pins. There's been plenty available. So instead of NIB, a lot of people are probably buying used. Myself included.

Can anyone confirm if the latest run of Iron Maidens from Stern still have issues with the playfield pooling? Or has this now been addressed and fixed?

100% addressed and fixed.

Not to put you on the spot. But do you know what was causing it and how they fixed it?

The post gets loose with use. It happened to mine. I put a silicone washer under the post and locktite on the nut. It’s hasn’t come loose since.
When the post is loose it bangs up the clear coat causing chips. Keep your posts tight.

I was kidding. There’s never any guarantees ever that you’re going to get an issue free game. Always a chance.

I would be fine with that and still buy their games if they would make it right after they sold you a piece of shit, but they tell you to get f*cked instead so until they change that im not a buyer.

They could have 15K of my money right now for a JP and a Elvira 3 but I'm scared to buy them because I'm afraid I'll get a bad playfield and they tell me to go pound sand. Great business model they have going there, I dont even see how it is legal to not stand behind a 8 thousand dollar product.

It's a shame too because Stern makes the funnest games by far of anyone in the industry. My next game is going to be a CGC probably. They care about their quaity.

Yep. Their process for making these issues right is clearly not much, so have to weigh that into your decision as well.

Honestly no one will really know unless they have a similar issue. I honestly doubt any company can handle sending population PFs out to everyone that has PF issues.

Wel the key is to make a better product the first time so that they don't have to send out new playfields. It's called quality control, every factory has that. Stern needs to take that much more serious than what they do because its costing them tons and Tons of money in sales. I personally know lots of people who will not buy a new Stern right now, matter of fact a friend of mine just yesterday ordered a new MMR instead of the JP Premium that he wanted because he is afraid of Sterns quality and afraid of getting the shaft if he gets a bad playfield.

If I was in charge at Stern stories like this would wake me the F up, especially since they just lost all of their location sales. What do I know though, I'm just a dumb hillbilly from Ohio.

Yep and these companies have shown that they can have issues in this dept (JJP and Stern). CGC has been pretty clean so far, but they Aren’t perfect. They had insert issues with MM, but since then they seem to have been solid. But odds are they will have issues down the road to deal with just like JJP and stern. We shall see how they handle them.

Duh. Haha

I think the big question is, why cant Stern make a good quality playfield anymore like they used to?

They can. I have one in Stranger Things. They obviously had an issue with one of their processes. Maybe they found a cheaper way to make them and it didn’t work out? Maybe one of the art/clear vendors they are using started to cheapen their process and it didn’t work out? Who knows.

Yeah but does your Stranger things have the thin clearcoat on it or are they back to using the thicker clear? I'm not a fan of the thin clear coated playfields either.

Way thicker. Had the pro at my house for a week and the clear coat was really thin.

The LE has a much thicker clear coat.

Neither game has playfield issues. But these are the only two I’ve seen up close at home