This, and other posts like it, are so rich with hypocrites. Damn Stern for price increases? Eff most of you. Between rampant flipping of NIB games and even spots to buy games at significant premiums and the ungodly asking prices for used games, why wouldn't manufacturers ask for more? You guys are willingly paying it.

Example: Stranger Things Premium. I want one. And I've been looking for one within distance to pickup for 5 months. The game was going for $9-$9.5K, which is still a hell of a bump from the $7699 MSRP. Now, the last three games have been listed for between $11 and $12 with a new listing for $12.5. And you guys are buying them?!?

So, here's the message to Stern... "Its not okay for you to take rapacious profits. You have to stick to your pricing. However, we can buy your games and sell them at considerable profit while doing nothing more than being a middleman."

That is EXACTLY what Stern is looking at. This is a for-profit venture. People are selling spots for games at a premium. That means there is a profit for a third-party before goods are even delivered. What sane businessman funds third-party profiteering? What do the middlemen bring to the table? They aren't even holding goods now, or if so, for a very short interval; there is no intellectual property being added; there is no material value being added. In short, the market is telling Stern..."YOU SHOULD CHARGE MORE FOR YOUR PINBALL MACHINES".

And frankly, the distributor model is/should be in question at this point. It isn't needed and it's just another party taking a bite from additional profits Stern could have. Why on Earth doesn't Stern (or anyone) just drop ship pinballs? Distributors aren't doing warranty work. They don't have or need physical showrooms. They are even marking up prices from MSRP now. Just another group of dudes making easy money from a rabid group of consumers.

I swear to God, many of you don't even have an inkling of economics.