(Topic ID: 81081)

CPR PLAYFIELD CLEARANCE - Ebay Auctions Running Now

By KevinCPR

10 years ago


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There are 137 posts in this topic. You are on page 2 of 3.
#51 10 years ago
Quoted from Stu:

Distributors would LOVE to buy all that we can offer, We just can't make any more than what we do.....

Isn't the general theory that you invest in more capacity if you have the ROI on the sales of the increased output and forsee the demand to be sustained?

If the distributors are willing to buy the inventory and are interested in more than you can produce... isn't that saying the manufacturing capacity is the factor holding back the company?

You outlined a great argument about the cost of inventory and the up-front cost... but then say you would have no problem selling it. Kind of answering your own concern. If the problem is manufacturing capacity, and not sunk cost in stale inventory... that leaves the capacity. Sounds like 'you gotta spend money to make money', no?

I can certainly understand if CPR wants to 'right size' their business to their personal desires... but to your 'is this thing on' comments.. it's because the issues you outlined are resolvable.. especially if you have sustained demand for anything you can produce.

#52 10 years ago

Is this the last chance on the WW playfield, or will the rest of the list that wasn't gotten to get a chance on some more 'silver' and 'gold' quality ones?

#53 10 years ago

“The only thing standing between you and your goal is the bulls#%t story you keep telling yourself as to why you can't achieve it.”
― Jordan Belfort
words of encouragement

#54 10 years ago
Quoted from flynnibus:

Isn't the general theory that you invest in more capacity if you have the ROI on the sales of the increased output and forsee the demand to be sustained?
If the distributors are willing to buy the inventory and are interested in more than you can produce... isn't that saying the manufacturing capacity is the factor holding back the company?
You outlined a great argument about the cost of inventory and the up-front cost... but then say you would have no problem selling it. Kind of answering your own concern. If the problem is manufacturing capacity, and not sunk cost in stale inventory... that leaves the capacity. Sounds like 'you gotta spend money to make money', no?
I can certainly understand if CPR wants to 'right size' their business to their personal desires... but to your 'is this thing on' comments.. it's because the issues you outlined are resolvable.. especially if you have sustained demand for anything you can produce.

You're aware they recently moved to a bigger place, right?

#55 10 years ago

Glad to see remakes of any sort! Thanks CPR.
If I win a Silverball Mania, I might just try to un-warp the PF.
I figure if I vise it down on an MDF board for awhile, it might work.

#56 10 years ago

CPR is still a "Hobby" to "us", Not a full time job....That being said we are in our "comfort zone" as far as business size & Not looking to expand. Right now we are at maximum capacity of product for our business size. We still have "other" Full Time Jobs, so CPR is just a side gig for us, people just don't seem to understand that.

Quoted from flynnibus:

I can certainly understand if CPR wants to 'right size' their business to their personal desires... but to your 'is this thing on' comments.. it's because the issues you outlined are resolvable.. especially if you have sustained demand for anything you can produce

#57 10 years ago

I understand Stu.
But places like Bay Area and Marco would love to carry more of your product if you could make it.

It's sickening that Whirlwind playfield sold out so fast and you know there are plenty more people that still want them...and many of the other products y'all have produced in the past.

Just wished there was a way you could ramp up production to produce more so that things aren't sold out.....before they even hit the market.

As I stated earlier. More pins are turning up in warehouses, people's garages and other places. There will still be many Xenon's, Whirlwinds, Silverball Mania's, Space Shuttles, Fathom's, Black Knights, Firepowers, Centaurs, etc. that will need your reproduction parts y'all have reproduced for years to come.

I'm not bitching. I appreciate all y'all have done. Your products are top notch. I just personally wish you could ramp up production so that parts are available for a greater length of time.

#58 10 years ago

We CAN'T Make it...Already Discussed.....

Quoted from hassellcastle:

carry more of your product if you could make it.

We WANT the Playfields Sold Out before they hit the Market (this means we get back our Investment right away and are not leaving Investment $ Sitting on a Shelf for the next Year.....Hence the Reason for the Request Page, we make the amount that people want (to the end of our capacity) (Whirlwind is the Only exception & that has been explained in great detail by Kevin)

Quoted from hassellcastle:

produce more so that things aren't sold out.....before they even hit the market

And we have already said a 100 Times that we are making more, this makes it 101 times....

Quoted from hassellcastle:

It's sickening that Whirlwind playfield sold out so fast and you know there are plenty more people that still want them

We do Re-Runs when the demand is there & when we can get the parts we need....

Quoted from hassellcastle:

...and many of the other products y'all have produced in the past

#59 10 years ago

I like CPR, they are good.

#60 10 years ago

CPR = Good....ObamaCare = BAD

#62 10 years ago
Quoted from Stu:

CPR = Good....ObamaCare = BAD

stick to reproducing pinball parts.

#63 10 years ago

CPR = Only game in town... Politics on Pinside = BAD

#64 10 years ago
Quoted from flynnibus:

Isn't the general theory that you invest in more capacity if you have the ROI on the sales of the increased output and forsee the demand to be sustained?
If the distributors are willing to buy the inventory and are interested in more than you can produce... isn't that saying the manufacturing capacity is the factor holding back the company?
You outlined a great argument about the cost of inventory and the up-front cost... but then say you would have no problem selling it. Kind of answering your own concern. If the problem is manufacturing capacity, and not sunk cost in stale inventory... that leaves the capacity. Sounds like 'you gotta spend money to make money', no?
I can certainly understand if CPR wants to 'right size' their business to their personal desires... but to your 'is this thing on' comments.. it's because the issues you outlined are resolvable.. especially if you have sustained demand for anything you can produce.

This is really well put.

Quoted from Frax:You're aware they recently moved to a bigger place, right?

Meaningless if space is still a concern.

If you don't have the space to store your product, but can sell it like crazy then you simply increase your space to house more product on runs and sell more product. That's called winning.

#65 10 years ago
Quoted from Stu:

CPR = Good....ObamaCare = BAD

This thread went down the Sh@#er...

Stu/Kevin, we get it. Appreciate what you have done for the hobby, and the quality product you put out.
Maybe not always well worded in this thread, I think you hear a very positive theme. Everyone wants more of your product.

#66 10 years ago
Quoted from jrivelli:

This is really well put.

Meaningless if space is still a concern.
If you don't have the space to store your product, but can sell it like crazy then you simply increase your space to house more product on runs and sell more product. That's called winning.

He mentioned several times that they're not looking to grow their business.

#67 10 years ago

Okay Stu, could you perhaps elaborate on why no ES? My understanding was that someone had sent in an NOS PF for reproduction. You've done backglasses and plastics, why no Playfield?

#68 10 years ago
Quoted from jdpilot:

Is this the last chance on the WW playfield, or will the rest of the list that wasn't gotten to get a chance on some more 'silver' and 'gold' quality ones?

Getting BACK on topic, KevinCPR, would you mind answering the above

#69 10 years ago

Sorry, but I have been asked Not to talk about this subject....

CPR Release:

We appreciate your interest in CPR projects, but unfortunately we are unable to give out internal information in any specific form. This includes current status of active projects, future projects, timelines, expected release dates, or confirmation of who is licensed by Bally/Williams to the assignment of different machine titles or components (CPR or otherwise). With so many projects going on, things changing all the time, and with B/W licensing being spread to several vendors, as of Jan 1, 2014 we were bound to keep our planning internal between B/W, ourselves, and our suppliers of components.

We will occasionally make the hobby aware of things close to completion (for planning purposes), or reveal some interests via the source material we sometimes publicly seek. But beyond the 5-6 playfields (on the production floor) we publicly show current status of on our web site, nothing else can be confirmed or denied as a future release if it's not currently on the production floor (ie. a sure thing). Projects can bump other things, be expedited, delayed, or even change hands from CPR and be created by other reproducers at any time.

Quoted from shimoda:

could you perhaps elaborate on why no ES?

#70 10 years ago

Interesting stuff here. Thanks for answering a few of our questions here.

Kevin/Stu I would really like to have a Banzai Run playfield. I sent the email. Beyond that I really have no way of knowing if I should wait, will get one etc. Following that logic, I'm not sure what to do. I can have my game restored with professional playfiled restoration or buy a new one, maybe. I don't need two and both require a playfiled tear down and repopulation. It is frustrating from a customer point of view and I want to be your customer.

#71 10 years ago
Quoted from Stu:

Sorry, but I have been asked Not to talk about this subject....
CPR Release:
We appreciate your interest in CPR projects, but unfortunately we are unable to give out internal information in any specific form. This includes current status of active projects, future projects, timelines, expected release dates, or confirmation of who is licensed by Bally/Williams to the assignment of different machine titles or components (CPR or otherwise). With so many projects going on, things changing all the time, and with B/W licensing being spread to several vendors, as of Jan 1, 2014 we were bound to keep our planning internal between B/W, ourselves, and our suppliers of components.
We will occasionally make the hobby aware of things close to completion (for planning purposes), or reveal some interests via the source material we sometimes publicly seek. But beyond the 5-6 playfields (on the production floor) we publicly show current status of on our web site, nothing else can be confirmed or denied as a future release if it's not currently on the production floor (ie. a sure thing). Projects can bump other things, be expedited, delayed, or even change hands from CPR and be created by other reproducers at any time.

Sounds like you wanted to do it, started to, then rick pulled that PF from your license.

#72 10 years ago
Quoted from lordloss:

Sounds like you wanted to do it, started to, then rick pulled that PF from your license.

If anyone really cares it's on RGP I believe. They're not doing it, so I don't see any point in harassing them or dragging corpses out in the sun.

#73 10 years ago

The whole Whirlwind topic has already been answered by Kevin in another thread 3 Months Ago:
http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/announcement-3-new-cpr-products-just-released

Quoted from jdpilot:

Is this the last chance on the WW playfield, or will the rest of the list that wasn't gotten to get a chance on some more 'silver' and 'gold' quality ones

Quoted from jdpilot:

Getting BACK on topic, KevinCPR, would you mind answering the above

#74 10 years ago
Quoted from chadderack:

He mentioned several times that they're not looking to grow their business.

There has to be another underlying issue. If the demand is there, you are one of the best producers of the product, why not make more to make more money? They said earlier massively low prices just to help people out, then why not make more to help others and heck make a dollar on the side too? Idk, their prerogative of course, but personally if I was limited by space, not demand or competition I'd get a cheap space that was larger for storage, drying etc etc

#75 10 years ago
Quoted from jrivelli:

There has to be another underlying issue. If the demand is there, you are one of the best producers of the product, why not make more to make more money?

Because they have other lives and jobs? It's not just about money.

#76 10 years ago
Quoted from Stu:

The whole Whirlwind topic has already been answered by Kevin in another thread 3 Months Ago:
http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/announcement-3-new-cpr-products-just-released

Just got finished rereading this topic. Kevin seems to clearly state that Stu's opinions are his own and not necessarily those of CPR. With that said, and with all respect, any conversation about production capacity with Stu would seem to be pissing in the wind, as it were.

#77 10 years ago

back on topic.......

wonder how badly these wall arts are bowed/warped??? any idea Stu?

#78 10 years ago
Quoted from Aurich:

Because they have other lives and jobs? It's not just about money.

Hench why I also commented about the second part. I wanted to add to my post too about not knowing their full time jobs, if they had them etc. Seems like this could be an easy full time job with the demand. Different strokes for different folks, but seems like a dream to create your own job from one of your hobbies that can support you full time! The impression I'm getting is a lot of avoidance of the questions and maybe people are just too picky on this, idk.

Why not just say, "We have full time jobs and simply don't have enough time to increase production currently, but we appreciate all the current support!"

#79 10 years ago
Quoted from jrivelli:

There has to be another underlying issue. If the demand is there, you are one of the best producers of the product, why not make more to make more money? They said earlier massively low prices just to help people out, then why not make more to help others and heck make a dollar on the side too? Idk, their prerogative of course, but personally if I was limited by space, not demand or competition I'd get a cheap space that was larger for storage, drying etc etc

Its a side job for them, They have other things to do, they do not want to do this full time. They are happy with what they make now, get it through your head.

#80 10 years ago
Quoted from jrivelli:

Why not just say, "We have full time jobs and simply don't have enough time to increase production currently, but we appreciate all the current support!"

Actually Stu basically did say just that.

#81 10 years ago
Quoted from Stu:

The whole Whirlwind topic has already been answered by Kevin in another thread 3 Months Ago:
http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/announcement-3-new-cpr-products-just-released

Thanks. Just making sure the plans didnt change since these were up on eBay.

#82 10 years ago
Quoted from calvin12:

Its a side job for them, They have other things to do, they do not want to do this full time. They are happy with what they make now, get it through your head.

See, the CPr supporters saying things like this are what really turns me off. I like CPR's products and the guys that run it do pretty damn well considering they have full time jobs, thats a ton of work. But why the rude factor man?

There always has been and I guess always will be that "cool kids club" in pinball .If you've been doing it a while or know some of the manufacturers then no one else is worthy, sheesh. I saw a boatload of dumb questions asked in this thread, but was just wanting more info and curious.

So, that being said. I apologize to the pinball gods and will continue to bow down to all products and feel just worthy if I am allowed the opportunity to throw my cash at them.

#83 10 years ago
Quoted from jrivelli:

See, the CPr supporters saying things like this are what really turns me off. I like CPR's products and the guys that run it do pretty damn well considering they have full time jobs, thats a ton of work. But why the rude factor man?
There always has been and I guess always will be that "cool kids club" in pinball .If you've been doing it a while or know some of the manufacturers then no one else is worthy, sheesh.

Well, when you repeatedly say they need to make more, there must be a reason they dont, why wont they do more, etc. after they have already said why, sometimes the obvious, rather than the nice, needs to be stated.

#84 10 years ago
Quoted from calvin12:

Well, when you repeatedly say they need to make more, there must be a reason they dont, why wont they do more, etc. after they have already said why, sometimes the obvious, rather than the nice, needs to be stated.

Fair point I suppose. Definitely a huge turn off, but I get it.

#85 10 years ago
Quoted from jrivelli:

See, the CPr supporters saying things like this are what really turns me off. I like CPR's products and the guys that run it do pretty damn well considering they have full time jobs, thats a ton of work. But why the rude factor man?

So, that being said. I apologize to the pinball gods and will continue to bow down to all products and feel just worthy if I am allowed the opportunity to throw my cash at them.

How can you complain about the rude factor when you put something like the above??

#86 10 years ago

.....and with that said, I'm outta here.......

Quoted from Piparoo:

any conversation about production capacity with Stu would seem to be pissing in the wind, as it were

#87 10 years ago
Quoted from Aurich:

If anyone really cares it's on RGP I believe. They're not doing it, so I don't see any point in harassing them or dragging corpses out in the sun.

Can't seem to find it. Would just like to know that it would get done but sounds like it won't by anyone. Not trying to drag corpses.

As far as things sitting for a year, people come into the hobby, find a machine, then find out after the fact, it happens.

#88 10 years ago
Quoted from Stu:

.....and with that said, I'm outta here.......

Not sure it was meant as a stab Stu, the metaphor of futility makes some sense. You've already made clear what the parameters are so it was perhaps an unfortunate or unfortunately taken figure of speech.

#89 10 years ago
Quoted from dsuperbee:

How can you complain about the rude factor when you put something like the above??

Huh? I directed that at no one. Just constantly getting that feeling of not being worthy in this hobby when in certain topics.

#90 10 years ago
Quoted from Frax:

You're aware they recently moved to a bigger place, right?

Doesn't seem relevant since they are saying they are still at capacity.

Quoted from Stu:

CPR is still a "Hobby" to "us", Not a full time job....That being said we are in our "comfort zone" as far as business size & Not looking to expand. Right now we are at maximum capacity of product for our business size. We still have "other" Full Time Jobs, so CPR is just a side gig for us, people just don't seem to understand that.

Cool - I think you should have just said that from the start vs lay out all the production capacity stuff. Just say the existing company output is at 100% and Kevin isn't looking to expand further at this point for your own reasons - not that the business couldn't.

#91 10 years ago
Quoted from flynnibus:

Doesn't seem relevant since they are saying they are still at capacity.

Cool - I think you should have just said that from the start vs lay out all the production capacity stuff. Just say the existing company output is at 100% and Kevin isn't looking to expand further at this point for your own reasons - not that the business couldn't.

Nice find on that quote, I never ran across it earlier. Double the thumbs up for running this on the "side". One hell of a side gig, keep on rockin!

#92 10 years ago
Quoted from jrivelli:

Nice find on that quote, I never ran across it earlier. Double the thumbs up for running this on the "side". One hell of a side gig, keep on rockin!

I found the quote the first time I read the thread.

#93 10 years ago
Quoted from chadderack:

I found the quote the first time I read the thread.

Congrats to you? I didn't see it, my apologies. Why still going at it?

#94 10 years ago
Quoted from jrivelli:

Congrats to you? I didn't see it, my apologies. Why still going at it?

It would have saved a lot of typing.

No need to get all upset. Seems like these threads facilitate that though.

#95 10 years ago
Quoted from chadderack:

Seems like these threads facilitate that though.

Man, no shit. CPR does all this awesome stuff, and frankly we, as a collective – not pointing fingers, act so childish and greedy instead of grateful that it's a wonder they want to keep doing it if it's supposed to be a side hobby.

Every CPR thread is "can you make this for me next?" "where is this?" etc. I'm guilty too I guess, I expressed excitement about EATPM because it's next up, but no need to take away from the good stuff they've already done that's available right now.

#96 10 years ago
Quoted from TaylorVA:

stick to reproducing pinball parts.

He's right

#97 10 years ago

Guys;

Sorry, I'm coming late to the party but I have another job as well and as such just miss too much of the stuff that goes takes place here on Pinside.

I think most things have been covered over and over again but I'd like to highlight a few things.

1. Stu is a valued member of and a partner in CPR. Stu's talent is in artwork and his passion is pinball but Stu is also his own person and as we all know, when someone is passionate about something they sometimes don't always consider the full implications of what we say before we hit "send". That is the reason that reason we have stated in the past that Stu's posts don't ALWAYS represent the full opinions of CPR. His opinions are... well....his opinions and rather than trying to stifle Stu, which I assure you is a lost cause Kevin and I would rather have Stu tell it like it is. There are some topics we have asked him to be careful around, like licensing etc. Don't be fooled though by Stu's casualness on Pinside, he is a partner in the company and he does have more power than he lets on. Stu's opinions are highly valued and we have several times changed production schedules to meet Stu's desires. Like, does anyone think Sexy Girl and Miss World were high on Kevin's or my priority lists Stu has the ability to not only change the production priorities but to also get projects made that he and only he himself view as important. That being said all of our ArtTeam have some power in this as well.. albeit to a lessor degree than Stu.

2. Production numbers - We moved recently as most of you know and while it didn't really increase our production ability to a great extent it moved most of the printing and laser cutting of CPR out of Kevin's house. This meant that, while he spends his days surrounded by inks, paints and the smell of laser cutting PETG he no longer has to sleep with them. It also means that his house can now become a house and not a just a shop with attached sleeping quarters. The major issue with increasing production is still the parts needed to make the PFs. Stu did a fairly accurate analysis of two components, wood and inserts but there are many, in fact, many more as well. The main issue with increasing production comes from mainly the inserts as I cannot just order more and have them arrive next week. It takes as much as 9 months to get these from my main supplier. We also HAVE to order inserts for several titles at once to get the numbers high enough that the cost per PF drops to something affordable. So when I last ordered inserts we set the numbers at about 125 per each PF title some a little more, some a little less (50 for BadCats). That doesn't mean we make 125 at a time but it means we'll have enough parts to make 125 in the end, be it all at once or with a smaller rerun later on to use up the inserts. Kevin, Stu and I decided several months ago that we would foot the bill and order inserts in higher numbers than we have been which means our insert orders are about to get much more expensive. But the catch is...... all the PFs we have been making or are making right now are from an insert order I placed almost 2 yrs ago!! It took nine months to get the order, a further 5 or so months to get the missing parts, wrong colors/shades, incorrect molds etc ironed out and since then we are using up those inserts. There was simply no way to increase production on ANY PF made in the last year or so because we just don't have the parts. When I place the next order I'll order enough parts for immediate reruns if required and that should take some of the pressure off Kevin when we don't have enough PFs to go around. We still have Strikes and Spare and two very small filler runs to use up inserts of Xenon and Fathom in the queue to be printed as well as the Fishtales mini PF. We have inserts for ToTAN and Corvette, Medusa, Star Trek, and a few others and I hope I ordered enough ToTAN for everyone. Bally Star Trek is ready to start cutting but we are limited to the parts I bought almost 2 yrs ago and I suspect we simply don't have enough. CBS was very clear about the number we were allowed to make with the permission they granted and I ordered that exact number of inserts. Its not a large number. In general, It would be great to increase production but it gets terrifyingly expensive very quickly when the numbers go up. Every time I order wood and my wife sees the bill show up on our line of credit she just about has a coronary! The insert orders used to kill her too but I think I may have her conditioned to those costs now If I can only get her past the wood orders I'll be OK.

3. Working us harder - Stu is a "machine"... He eats, sleeps and ..... well..... if you checked out his john I suspect there'd be evidence of pinball in there too. Stu is the exception though, he's called me at ungodly hours because he has a pinball question and just thought that everyone was up at 3am working on pinball.. Stu.... we're not. .. Kevin and all the guys work full time now on getting parts made but there are only so many hours in the day. Kevin is a very hands on guy and yes it would be great if he answered every email within minutes of it arriving, but he just can't as and I hope you guys understand it's more important for him to actually make the parts that to sit around typing or talking about them. We really work as hard as we can. I am usually doing CPR stuff until well after midnight each day and several hours per day on the weekend. There are simply no more hours we have to give and no more space to do it within. Could we contract it out? ..... maybe? but then we'd be removing our critical eye from the process and we have always wanted CPR to be about "Pinheads making parts for other pinheads" and we still think that the most discerning eye is that of a real pinhead examining each and every part and looking for ways to make it better because the finished product just might wind up in one of his own games! I know its naive in many ways but that's the way we think and the way we have always run CPR and I don't think its something we are willing to compromise on.

Mike

#98 10 years ago

No reason to beat a dead horse about the ES but I am VERY curious as to why it was pulled. If Rick put the boot to it that may mean that that he will put the boot to other W/B titles. I hope not. I was looking forward to the PF coming out. Maybe we should petition Rick about getting them done.

#99 10 years ago
Quoted from CPR:

ike, does anyone think Sexy Girl and Miss World were high on Kevin's or my priority lists

Good post, thanks Mike.

#100 10 years ago
Quoted from Frax:

You're aware they recently moved to a bigger place, right?

Which explains why there are more products available at any given time. Now there's always about 3 or 4 items I'd love to buy from them, but I only have so much disposable cash and I can't go around dropping $2k on a couple of playfields, a backglass and some plastics all the time. So I have to make a choice. Do I buy the item that will sell out quickly and hope the one I really want will still be available when I have the funds? Or do I buy what I really want and forget about the other altogether? I missed out on EBD playfields because I bought something else that I needed at the time. And EBD is a title that, seems to me, you could sell forever since there's so many of them out there that were played to death.

I don't know the cost involved to retool and make another run of an item, but why wouldn't you if the first run sold out quickly and there's still demand? I try to be proactive and buy for games that I know I will own in the future, but I can't tell you how many times I've bought games or my friends have bought games and we've said, "Wish I would have gotten this game 6 months ago, I could have bought a new playfield."

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