Yeah there was an issue with those decals from the factory in order for that to happen at any point.

Re: KISS cabinet art... That is one of the reasons, I'm not buying any more Stern NIB. I've purchased 7 Stern's NIB, in the past. I'll wait and inspect a HUO, "if" I decide quality & code are acceptable.

So sorry for the owners of these games.

Agree 100%. I appreciate having new releases and I'll drop dollars in them to support my local location but no NIB for me after Ive watched how their operation has been run and those impacted over the last few titles.

KISS has the worst quality decals I have ever seen on a game. Most games have some wrinkles.

I probably put 300 or so games on it before selling. The playfield still looked amazing.

Unless you're talking about dirt, I find it hilarious we are talking about playfield condition after just 300 plays. I help route 25 year old games from 4 manufacturers and most of them look better than some of the recent Stern playfields after just a couple of months! These machines have seen several hundred thousand plays over their lifetimes of being turned on either all day or 24/7 depending on location. What happened to quality??

Well, compared to my first go around, it was a huge difference. From the first couple of days my original playfield had issues with ghosting, chipping, and crazing. At least the replacement didn't have any worrisome signs. You could also tell that it just had a much nicer quality finish to it.

Just when you thought it was safe to return to go back in to the water,...

I have masked the names/faces , since I did not get their permission for their stories....

Good thing he posted his story, as I was preparing to order another NIB. That won't happen now.

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Stern's quality control is still beyond piss poor. I think that ghosting is hardly an issue at this point, but they'll never be 100% perfect on that. As long as they take care of his playfield, it's all good.

But yeah, the quality control is abysmal. Games go out without proper testing or checks all the time. Stern is shipping stuff out that should easily be caught by a final inspection. It's obvious that these inspections are getting skipped on some games, and when they are doing them, the inspection isn't as thorough as it should be.

Yeah whatever.

wtf was ghosting issue never resolved? Stern QC on GB courtesy of Jody Dankberg beginning at 11:03 mark.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=UR2WflOczwU

I found this to be true on my brand new Spider-Man Home edition. The upper right Venom rollover was stuck closed. The opening wasn't sanded down correctly, and once the switch was closed, it would not reopen. I had to take a file and sand down the ridges in the opening. Now the switch works correctly. The other issue was the Rescue MJ 2 switch. I'll be damned if I know what this switch is for, but it did not make contact. I kept getting notified about this switch, so I went into switch test and this switch wasn't registering when I closed it. I had to push it down past the top of the playfield in order for it to register, something the ball lading on it or rolling over it could not accomplish. I had to remove the switch from under the playfield and try to bend the armature just right to get it to work.

And then, there's a plate on the inside front of the cabinet that holds a screw that goes through the playfield to hold it in place. The screw must be removed in order to lift the playfield. When I removed the screw, I heard a clunk inside the cabinet. The plate and retaining screws had fallen off and the wood was stripped and would not hold the 2 screws to keep the bracket in place inside the front of the cabinet. There's quality for ya!

I like how the QC machine wasn't even plugged in.....WOW!

Quality, a thing of the past.

Can you imagine what these things would cost with proper quality control??????

Unfortunately, this applies to most everything these days.

um, I don't see a year in that thread.....How do we know this isn't a year old, back when there were problems? Seems like you are trolling

agree.

CHEAPER! Here is why

Lets say you have one employee per a thousand machines checking for issues and you pay him 20 dollars and hour and for sake of argument he only checks 20 machines in a work day (8hr=WD) this formula equates to $8,000 per 1,000 machines. ($8 per machine)

Cost guestamite breakdown for loss of QC averaged from small tiny missing nuts and bolts to entire play field replacement.

1. Shipping costs to and from for replacement parts ($35)
2. Replacement parts cost ($20)
3. Paying hourly costs to support staff to diagnose issues ($10)
4. Paying hourly costs to receivers and runner to package replacement parts ($5)
5. Packaging material cost ($5)
6. Bad press=loss of business ($25)
7. Loss of repeat business ($20)

TOTAL $120 per machine and only 1-10 machines needs QC work thats $12,000 with a net loss of $4,000 per 1,000 machines.

I understand that not every machine will have issues That is why I am using the 1-10 scale and lets be honest its WAAAAAAAAAY more than that. I have bought four NIB from Stern in past, ALL, needing multiple warranty work.

The mathmatics of quality control do not lie. It amazes me that Stern is willing to piss away profits like this. I work in software and I know it's not the exactly the same business but the math is the same. The cost of fixing an issue goes up logarithmically over time and QA is some of you lowest cost. It makes no sense not to invest in quality control.

They could be paying someone already for this and that is the true problem.

Keep in mind, having someone to find mistakes, will in turn, mean costs to fix these mistakes too.

You think making 1000's of pinball machines is easy?

I've had great success with Stern pins

The idea that JJP quality is better is a BIG F ing joke.

Look at all the PF chipping problems and BS they are having

The idea of "field testing" is the biggest lie

Why just now are we talking Cliffys for DI when Stern drops them in on most scoops

Go through the warranty process if there is an issue

Buying pinball machines for HUO just isn't for some people

You think making 1000's of pinball machines is easy?

I've had great success with Stern pins

The idea that JJP quality is better is a BIG F ing joke.

Look at all the PF chipping problems and BS they are having

The idea of "field testing" is the biggest lie

Why just now are we talking Cliffys for DI when Stern drops them in on most scoops

Go through the warranty process if there is an issue

Buying pinball machines for HUO just isn't for some people

Doublemint, Doublemint Gum

images (resized).jpeg

No offense to the Iceman, but him on a (daydrunk?) roll x2 ≠ wholesomely foxy twins bearing refreshing candy.

This might be more on point:

fat twins (resized).jpg

The cost savings comes when you find the mistake early and it's cheap to fix as compared to trying to fix issues out in the wild. You still have to fix the mistakes it just costs more and has the added bonus of ruining your reputation and future sales when your product is in your consumers hands.

Oh, I agree 100%. Im just saying that Stern would rather 'spite their nose to save the face' kinda thing. Only, it doesnt work that way forever.

Ok I'll bite-

You think someone paying $6,000 to $9,000 for pinball machine should have to put up with wrinkled stickers or ghosting inserts?

It doesn't matter if making thousands of pinballs is easy or not- they have a multi-million dollar business that I'm sure many of us would love to deal with the problems associated with running such a business. They also have people with decades of experience in the industry that should make for a better product.

Now I was a Chevy guy for a long time- but there's no way I can defend some of the stupid things they've done over the years. I don't understand the need to defend Stern here.

I am that Facebook guy and have no problem with you sharing my story! Here is my extended story. I´m very disappointed by Stern. Ghostbusters was my first Stern and my first NIB game. I always was sceptical about Stern. Didn't´like her licenses, didn't agree with her quality. I always liked WMS and never really cared about Stern. Funhouse was my all time favorite, I had one completely restored for about 6 years... Suddenly Stern came up with Ghostbusters last year. And I "wow doesn't this beauty look nice" as soon as I found one near my location, i played it and it blew my mind. It felt so good. I mean it is a fast and sometimes unforgiving game. But I had so much fun playing it. I knew sometime in the future i´ve got to get one. Several month later on May 2nd 2017 I´ve made a decision and sold my beloved Funhouse to can afford a NIB Ghostbusters. After some delays I could pick it up 10 weeks later. I opened the box and that new game smell was awesome. I set it up and flipped the power switch the first time. The Stern Pinball logo came up and I was very happy. 5 seconds later that feeling was gone. Some weird noise came out of the backbox and the game went out. At that time I was scared. After some research the 5 amp fuse has blown. After replacing the fuse I prepared for another try. But this time the entire room went dark. At that time I was really mad. After excessive research I found the problem. On the right side of the power supply is a little red switch, were you can change between 115v and 230v. It was set to 115v wich is wrong, since we are using 230v in Germany. I wonder how this could have happened?! The game is labeled Germany and there is even a big sticker on the power supply wich says 230v. How did my game pass through QC? They should have noticed this at the factory. Anyway after setting it to 230v and changing the 5amp fuse again. The game startet finally up... I heard complains about the fan noise but my fan wasn't spinning at that time. Since it is my first Stern and Spike game I didn't know when the fan should kick on. I knew it is temperature controlled so I thought it would be normal. Some friends came over and we played the game for the rest of the evening. The fan was quite the whole evening I was worried so i opened the Backbox and touched the power supply it was barely warm. So I still thought this would be normal. The next day I called my distro to tell him about all the issues is had. He apologized and told me he will send me some accessories and a new power supply. The fan should be spinning at a low speed after power up. While we were talking on the phone I looked at my game and noticed ghosting on the "super jackpot" insert.(After only 1 evening) He was upset and apologized again. He told me to take photos and send them to him. So I did. The ghosting is getting worse from day to day. Meanwhile there are 7 inserts total wich have ghosting...
That should be enough. Now I have to wait. Depending what Sterns say. This will be my first and last Stern game... As I said i always was sceptic about their games and I was right. At least they had a chance...

Greetings from Germany
Max

Sad to hear. I can't believe that a machine that is build 2017 has the ghosting problem. I thought this problem was been sorted out.
I hope you have enough patience. They never give me a decision on my Smve which has also ghosting. The gb premium I had have from august 22 had also ghosting and I didn't hear back from them. That is real disappointing, because they already knew that they have a problem, but they do as this is something new. The only words from them, we have to look at it..., and nothing after that.
I hope your distributor can do something for you. I had no good experience with stern, so good luck !

Sorry to hear this!

When was your playfield made (I think there's supposed to be a date stamp on the playfield?)

Also, don't you have strong consumer protections in the EU that allow you to return the machine to your distrulibutor in cases like this? Hopefully bringing that up would get you some prompt action on a replacement populated playfield!

He has no date stamp on it, is that normal on the newer Stern Playfields?

we just got in a huo kiss pro. not quite as bad around the flipper buttons, but there is wrinkling there and around all 3 bolts on both sides.
The decals look like they shrunk. there's about 1/4" gap from the edge that has adhesive on it. Head AND body. Seen other kiss pros that look like this, too.

not cool at all and no way a 2-3 year old machine should look like that.

For some reason, there is no date stamp on my playfield. I looked at every edge. The only thing I found is a sticker in front of the drain hole wich says 830-51H5-00 Ghostbusters. And a hand written sticker near the node board wich says Harold pro...

Greetings
Max

Probably less because they would need to stock less parts, eliminate an entire playfield replacement program, and staff less people to take support calls.

I´ve made a discovery. I can't tell when my playfield was made due to the lack of a date stamp. But... My playfield DOES have the "Light Negative Reinforcment" typo. So this means I simply got an old playfield. That typo was solved late 2016 wasn't it? It makes my think, why did I get an old playfield? It even has all the factory upgrades(captive ball metal guide, upgraded spot lights...) Are they trying to get rid of their junk playfield... "Those stupid germans won't even notice" I´m not stupid Stern! I've noticed it!!!

Greetings
Max

Yep, the typo is a dead giveaway. You got an original playfield from early/mid 2016.

That sucks! Why did I get an old playfield in a machine build on May 22nd 2017. They are really trying to get rid of their junk...

Products made on Mondays always suck...

Greetings
Max

It's not about "putting up" with anything.

If you buy a pinball machine, of any stripe, including JJP, hop over to that unboxing thread and see what kind of issues there are, there are always going to be tweaks and things to fix/adjust and sometimes replace.

I'll say it again, I've now purchased 6 NIB Stern pins, 1 of which had a turn table mech issue that was easily replaced and fixed, the rest are near perfect.

Option A - Buy a pinball machine and "put up" with issues possibly.

Option B - Don't buy a NIB pinball machine. Close your wallets and speak that way.

Option C- Wait and buy from someone else who took the risk.

Not that hard.

I'm finally replacing my Addams Family ramp... after 25 years on route!

So if I'm in the market for a used gb premium, is there anything I should look for to prevent future problems? Or is it just luck of the draw? And I'm assuming being a second owner if ghosting or dimpling does show up, I'm on my own. I won't have a distributor to report to, correct?

Later build date is better. November 2016 is probably the earliest date I would be confident in buying unless the playfield has been replaced.

Looks like that ghosting thing is taken care of

20280395_10209083051782876_8939530058786959685_o (resized).jpg

LMAO.

Yikes. I guess this is just going to be the way it is from now on. That's too bad.

Lol i just posted this in sw thread.... don't forget less than 50 plays. Not a big deal imo but some may care

So.... every single Stern game since SMVE has had some examples of ghosting now?

I don't really see what's so funny about?

You need to run back over to the JJP fan club and defend all that PF chipping, lack of "field testing" and the other multitude of out of the box issues.