Hey, ScottAM2000, I think you've got quite a bit of good advice here.
I personally feel that if at all possible, you should establish a relationship with a local dealer who would get you your machine, unbox it, fix it, set it up for you to play to make sure you love the machine before you buy it, then bring it to you, get the machine up the flight of stairs (there's always a flight of stairs...), level and install your machine, talk you through operation and ownership of a pinball, and answer any questions you have. Somebody who would extend Stern's (quite limited) warranty to 'bumper-to-bumper' for a year, and offer service after the warranty period at a reasonable price.
I don't sell for retail, I sell higher than retail, but that's what I do for my customers in Charlotte.
However, I placed orders for Elvira and have been waiting quite a while. I wouldn't have had the machine you wanted. All of my 'allocations' were promised to people a long time ago.
Stern is positioning themselves as a 'lifestyle brand'. I think of them like Honda (Cargument...). Honda wants to sell you a 2023 Honda Civic. If you go to Honda and say "I want that machine you made in 2021", they aren't going to produce it for you... they've moved on.
That's where Stern wants to be. Releasing 3 or more new machines a year, with big social-media pushes to get people excited about what's new.
If older machines are scarce? So much the better. A thriving resale market where older machines sell for 'more-than-you-bought-it-for' prices is a pretty good thing for them.
As a dealer, it sucks to not be able to get people the machine they want. (Shrugs) It's just a fact of life.
Once upon a time...
Pinballs were made at a manufacturer.
The 'distributor' would place a large order for them. Fifty, a hundred, a couple hundred.
The machines would arrive at the distributor, and be unboxed, fixed, and power tested for 24 hours before a video game 'operator' would get the machine.
The distributor would generally extend the warranty, and provide parts and service semi-locally. The manufacturer would only deal with the distributors.
(Another Cargument) You, as a buyer, never see cars in the condition they are shipped to the dealers. The dealers make sure a LOT of things are checked over before they let a potential buyer see the car.
But in pinball, a complex machine with likely over 3000 parts in it's Bill of Materials will be shipped to home owners in a box. A 280lb box on their curb.
(shakes head)
Pinballs break. They break a lot. They usually break in simple ways that are easy to fix. They frequently break in ways that require specialty or hard-to-obtain parts. Rarely, but often enough that you should take note, they break in a way that requires a technician to fix.
I would tell anybody to make sure they have a path to getting their machine fixed... before they buy the machine. Do you know a local pinball technician?
Make sure you've got a path to getting your machine fixed if it has serious problems straight out of the box.
Every Elvira I've sold hasn't worked right out of the box. Adjustments are tricky on this machine.
Good luck with your purchase, and I do hope you have no problems, and that you get years of enjoyment out of your machine.
Let us know how it goes!
