Sadly, I have a feeling the refund is not going to help this consumer feel any less "ripped off" by a company. It's not about the refund, it's about a stupid hunk of shitty plastic that HE WANTS NOW NOW NOW NOW

Regardless, all it took was one stupid, unneccessary thread and about 15 screen shots when a simple phone call probably would have sufficed, but the refund he doesn't want is now going to be expedited. It's a good thing too, because I'm sure all the other distributors are going to be super eager to fulfill that topper order for him now.

Vaya con dios, brave topper consumer! May your courageous efforts result in winning the tacky topper of your dreams, and failing that, at least an endorphin-releasing conversation with the manager of toppers!

I laughed harder than I should have at that haha

No I think its more about "I was promised X in this amount of time" and the promise wasn't kept and then the error was compounded by the vendor with poor communication and charging the guys card.

Just been through this recently: Ordered an item or two that was listed "in stock" and my card was billed.. .and then radio silence. The physical credit card bill actually showed up in the mail before a tracking number was provided. A vague e-mail from the company arrived stating the items would be shipped on X and tracking provided. The date came and went.

At this point I'm a touch torqued off to actually be stroking a check for well over a grand for parts "in stock" that have not even been packaged for shipping yet. Are they actually in stock or not?

The owner reached out to me and we discussed it over the phone, he was courteous and apologized and it was taken care of.

Proper communication goes a long way.

On the opposite end of the spectrum when JJ and Game Exchange have them in stock, my last 3 NIB pins were ordered and in my possession in less than 24 hours. Dream today, play tomorrow.

You really never thought to call these guys before you went "full Karen" on them? Do you understand that these pinball vendors are all small businesses trying to stay afloat during difficult times, not Wal-Mart with a million people working for them and Indian call centers eager and willing to respond to every salty email within a 12 hour time window?

Once you receive your refund, will you still feel ripped off by a company? Any chance you'll change the thread title?

It appears you got what you wanted - the opportunity to embarrass a reputable company, the endorphin rush of an expose thread, and your refund, so you should be pleased, not feel ripped off.

Allen Iversen said-

“We talking about toppers. Toppers! I’m just trying to play the game and we talking about toppers!?!?”

I can confirm this is how it is going with other distributors as well. I ordered a couple of toppers several months back with the understanding they would be shipped shortly thereafter (as posted on the website). It did not happen... I emailed the distributor and they said Stern had pushed everything out until October. When October came and went I emailed them again and got the same answer. Nothing devious is going on... it is just the state of the world right now.

If you want to wait until the distributor has a topper-in-hand before purchasing that is fine.... just understand that there is basically a 0% chance you will ever find the one you want in stock at MSRP. The other option is to pay and wait.

This post mirrors my experience with JJ and GameExchange. If you send a note to JJ on his phone he is ridiculously responsive. I won’t say exactly that he responds all day at anytime because I don’t want to set expectations for others, but suffice it to say he responds even outside of traditional office hours, and very quickly.

I ordered an AIQ shooter rod in May, it said clearly November availability when I ordered. I waited until recently to reach out. I called parts, spoke with Jim and got an update. Which was I was 3rd on the list, parts hadn’t arrived yet and he was contacting Stern for an update. Late last week….my AIQ shooter arrived in the mail. When I needed a cabinet node board for my Kiss, Jim had one in stock and set it aside to mail or for me to pick up personally. On the phone or in the store my experience has been great.

People throw the word "promise" around pretty lightly. You're not marrying the distributor, they're selling you a tacky hunk of plastic that goes on top of an already ridiculous toy. If you're can't figure out that "4-6 weeks" is a boilerplate wild-ass guess in the era of covid manufacturing delays, then maybe don't pre-pay for knick-knacks.

I ordered Godzilla as soon as it was announced. Do you know when I'm getting it? Me neither! Haven't asked my distributor about it once. Just gonna play my other games and I'll get it when I get it.

This hobby has never been ideal for impatient people, but right now seems to be both peak delay AND peak Veruca Salt.

Fucking toppers

I love toppers! All my games have one: dust.

The man's card was charged and no product was shipped in the agreed timeframe.

The seller is in default, period.

You can try to gloss it over any way you like but that is the bottom line.

Feel free to loan me $500 to $1000. Maybe I'll pay you back in 3 weeks.. or 6 months if I feel like it.

Loved the Veruca Salt reference! Well played.

JJ at Game Exchange is one of the most reputable distributors in the industry! I would hand JJ a suitcase full of cash and sleep like a baby at night knowing that a year later I could show up at his shop and he would hand it back to me.

As for Stern accessories all distributors are in the same boat, Stern tells them stuff is coming on an approximate date and then because of supply chain issues and back logs the dates keep getting pushed back. Distributors are giving customers the best information they have from Stern. I have a set of Stern side armor that I ordered from a different distributor months ago it is paid for in full, I have two options I can cancel the order and get my money back or I can wait. I want the side armor so I choose to wait. I know eventually I will get it I just don’t know when, first world problems!

It used to be they just looked fucking embarrassing, but whatever its you game yada yada.
Then they became hyper inflated in cost, and now you can't even get them.

There is literally nothing good aboot them from start to completion.

Cool, here goes. I think everyone's missing where the buyer apparently refused his escape hatch:

Ooh, that damn FOMO got me again! Sure, the seller didn't handle it 100% perfectly, and they admitted as much. But does it warrant a full-blown victim thread? I say no, your mileage may vary.

OP really should've started the initial post with "I don't normally write reviews like this... ", just to bulletproof his credibility as usually good-willed, but with his back against the wall.

Fair enough, but the title "Feeling Ripped Off by a Company" is a bit extreme don't you think?
Putting the word "feeling" at the beginning of it does not disregard the op suggesting he go ripped off, when in fact he's lost nothing.
He's insinuating that he got cheated when he was (and still is) being offered a full refund (on multiple occasions).
Yeah the situations sucks for him that he didn't get what he wanted, but do you really need to start a thread about it that will undoubtedly cost the vendor business.
Seems like a childish was to vent about frustrations.

Fuck it, I'm going to go order something from Game Exchange right now.

The seller stated it would be there and defaulted again. A refund should have been issued then.

Were talking a 6 month timeframe on a "4 to 6 week" estimate no? I think the OP was patient enough.

This thread is reminding me of the PinballLife complaint thread that went up a few days ago. Good lord, not everyone is Amazon.com. Get this resolved like an adult, get your refund, stop complaining. It's not Games Exchange's fault that Stern can't keep to their timelines (not even really Stern's fault since it's so hard to get tons of things right now)

Your first mistake was buying a topper

Yes, I agree it should be worded different.

If you got the money back, nothing was ripped off but some time.

I'm disappointed with "X" for "poor customer service" might be more appropriate.

Take a chill pill my dude the whole planet is dealing with the same problem.

Per buyer, seller said it "may be available in six weeks." Can you default on a maybe? If you're gonna go full devil's advocate, you gotta read the fine print. So yeah, on October 24th when he finally agreed to a refund, he should've gotten it. I hope he's been able to buy groceries these last three weeks.

Dang dude, I just hope you can come back from this. Stay strong.

this

Wildly overpriced, but you don't have to wait 6 months so....

This is a case of stern not meeting deadlines with their products. It's been pretty common since covid started. So you either keep waiting and get your topper when they are produced or get a refund and live without one. I would like to introduce you to JPOP, SKIT B, Andrew Heighway, etc if you really have a desire to feel ripped off.

Just buy this one problem solved ebay.com link: itm

All companies do this, so if these distros can't float the money maybe they need to close up shop. I have orders with my business still open from this summer and I have not asked the customer for one cent and will not until the product delivers and the customer is happy. Not sure why everyone thinks pinball companies should be immune to basic business practices.

Just placed an order with Game Exchange on some shit I don't really need.
I feel like it's important to support vendors, so I bought a couple bags of mixed pinball rubbers.
I couldn't figure out how to use this sophisticated method of blacking out critical information like my credit card number and billing address, so I just used my hand.

They aren’t immune to anything. Pinball companies just operate differently. Don’t like it, don’t buy. It’s pretty easy.

JJ specifically said that Stern told them 4 weeks. Why wouldn't they sell them, and collect the money? They can only go based on what the manufacturer says, not speculate what the time frame might be.

BTW I have a Mando Prem ordered and paid in full since June. My distro isn't happy that he's had to change the expected delivery date 3 times, but his hands are tied. He told me I have the freedom to cancel anytime. I sure as hell didn't go on Pinside and complain about him ripping me off, just because I was REALLY looking forward to getting it when I expected to. Totally childish and bratty.

No, many don’t understand this.

And thats my left hand.
You think that's some shit, you should see my right.
Good eyes by the way, but I suppose you can spot your own.

There is no “fee” you could pay me to make it worth “handling” a customer like yourself. Unlike some of these folks I don’t depend on my business to pay the rent or feed my family and it’s just not worth the trouble dealing with some people just to make a few bucks. I do feel bad for the people who really have no choice, as it’s a full time job and dealing with this nonsense is part of the cost of doing business.

Good luck with your topper. I’m sure you will have vendors bending over backwards to help you out now that the entire community is familiar with your patience and understanding, and the reasonable way you deal with any hiccups during a transaction.

I am guessing that many of these distributors are charging the full amount because the market has gotten pretty insidious. People will order from multiple distributors with the intent of canceling orders or just flipping them if the market is still hot. A 10% non-refundable deposit on a $500 topper isn’t enough to curb the activity. Like others have said… these guys aren’t Amazon… crediting orders with deposits and then handling potential cancellations has a real cost. It might make sense on an $8000 game, but not $200 rails or a $500 topper.

wow! all that, over a pinball topper.

I sure hope for your sake that it has a unique mode specific to the topper, that if you achieve and complete it, it makes the internet forget that you just wrote that.

This is the most 50-50 split post ever. Only Levi could get so much love and hate in 1 post.

Wow, this went downhill.

What's a topper?

1 more person added to the "do not sell to" list

bingo! yes! this! any questions?

Somebody is about to get booted from their own thread. Classic Pinside!

Any sympathy I had for the OP has vanished.