I agree that as a buyer, I would be disappointed with that insert.
Still guys, everyone seems to be reacting as though this is the new standard, and all play fields are being sent out like this.

I had a WOZ arrive with issues so bad, it was returned and refunded.
Same thing with Full Throttle.

You have to take some of these issues as one-offs, until proven otherwise.

What's perfectly clear here is that SOMEONE at Stern is responsible and needs to pay dearly!
This could never have happened in transit or anytime after the game left the factory.
(Yes, I'm being sarcastic)

Oh Pinside; will there ever be a rainbow?

So is the sky falling, or there's 4 guys on the face of the Earth who can't see their inserts perfectly?
And also, could someone post a photo of these ghosting inserts, lit?

I'm the first guy to say that I want a machine that's as close to perfect as possible, but my ACDC lightning bolts are only about 50% functioning and it must have taken me months to notice -and I'm not replacing them.
Why?
Because they still do the job.

For those guys who REALLY need to have an absolutely flawless pin, you may be better off buying used, after you've seen it in person.
Until I see much more evidence of issues, (and not just posts from randoms, complaining about Stern quality) I'm not likely to reconsider a GB Premium purchase. Especially given that sometimes companies change the way they do things, and find wrinkles to iron out.
IF more than a few people are experiencing ghosting issues and the like, that's not yo say that this is the new norm, so likely no need to panic.
-unless you're feeling insecure about the size of your Hobbit (Skyemont)

So again:

Can someone please post a picture of the ghosting inserts, when lit?

How serious is this issue, and can it even be seen when you're actually playing the game?

People seem to be going off the deep-end on this thread, but after 16 pages, it seems to me that it's the same-old "I hate Stern" Pinsiders, with a few customers who got a pin that's not to their standard.
This isn't a thread full of angry buyers, with new ones posting photos day after day, adding to the thread.

One thing to keep in mind (whether we like it or not) is to consider the cost of replacing a pin. I can understand why Stern doesn't want to get into the habit of replacing a pin like this, over some insert issues, when it might cost them $1000 to ship the machine back and forth to the customer.

The bottom line is that Stern is still producing COMMERCIAL GRADE machines. If those machines are able to accept money, play games, and function as they were intended, then peeling stickers on the cabinet, dimples on the play field, and ghosting inserts aren't factors that Stern likely deems "important". You may disagree, and you may stop buying NIB -that's up to you.
It does not mean that Stern doesn't care about customers, or doesn't support their products.

Still no pics of the inserts when lit.

Anyone?

How bad is it?

There is a slight difference, but I think this is why Stern may not consider replacing a playfield and/or shipping out a replacement pin.

To me, the problem has been GROSSLY exaggerated and blown way out of proportion.

Can we get some other owners to post the very worst-possible pics of these ghosting inserts, when lit, please?

Good luck! As you can see in the following video, nothing's bullet-proof.

http://www.pinballrevolution.com/threads/top-tier-on-tour-full-throttle-pinball-unboxing-hd.4914/#post-42600

I have also heard through the rumour vine that Stern has corrected their play field issues.
This message seems to have been spread to various individuals separately so personally, I am putting weight in it.

So here goes:

If anyone can find issues with any pins made after say Sept 7, ... BRING ON THE EVIDENCE.

This video shouldn't scare you away from buying a Heighway machine. Their level of customer support (from my experience) has been fantastic.
I just linked the video to help demonstrate that all pinball manufacturers have issues from time to time.

Apparently making pinball machines is hard.

Agreed that the safe play is to wait a lot longer to see how others make out.
I'm just saying that I have complete faith that the issues have been resolved.
I'll be picking up a Ghostbusters Premium in the near future. Happy to share pics/details as to the build quality etc.

I'll state it again: Playfield problems are solved.
Officially we have to wait for a few weeks/months before everyone is going to agree, but new Premiums are being received without complaints.
To each their own; if you feel better waiting, there's nothing wrong with that strategy.

You are all welcome to doubt me, and just as welcome to sit back and wait for the rest of us to buy pins so you can see if we have problems.
I'm telling you: problems are fixed. The new Premiums that have arrived appear to be problem free.
Go ahead and give me thumbs down, or whine and complain all you want -but I challenge anyone to ACTUALLY FIND A PROBLEM PLAYFIELD ON A GB PREMIUM MANUFACTURED IN THE PAST 2 WEEKS OR NEWER.

That's the test. Not whether some guy presently working at the Stern factory in Kabul says so. Especially since many of these guys have been ripping into Stern non-stop for days.

Pinsiders who often seem to have accurate info announced a couple weeks ago that they heard things were better and so far, that appears to be the case.

So PUT UP, OR SHUT UP. FIND A RECENTLY MANUFACTURED PROBLEM PLAYFIELD OR CUT YOUR WHINING.

In fact, please prove me wrong. I have a Premium GB on order, scheduled to arrive sometime in October. If someone can find a problem playfield, I'll put my order on hold for the time being.

So... "Anyone?"

Stern never admitted there was an issue so don't hold your breath waiting for them to release an official statement of any kind.
I also am not an insider so yes, if you're unsure, hold off. It won't cost anything to wait a little longer.

What do we know? We know that the Premiums were delayed, and have now been released. Perhaps the delay was caused from figuring out the issues and they've now been corrected.
Further evidence that issues are resolved is that NONE of the recent, received Premiums have been reported to have any play field issues. With the LEs, many buyers reported problems within a very few games, or after just a day or two.

So take for that what you will. But it's completely unfounded to state that play field issues have not been corrected, since issues do not appear to be ongoing.

Again, I have ordered a Premium and expect it anytime. It would actually benefit me to hear of another issue so that I would have reason to delay my order. Currently, I see no reason to do that.

Careful. That kinda news can get a guy lynched around here.

Appreciate the update.

And there's the problem with Pinside. More Stern-haters on here, than pinball enthusiasts.
Some of these guys want to hear bad news just so they can continue throwing stones.

August 26th playfields appear to be the last ones reported with problems.
Has anyone seen anything more recent?

It's fun hurling insults back and forth but not really why I made my original post, and doesn't really achieve anything.

So any evidence of more recent issues? Let's try to find the last buggy batch, and draw a line as to when errors stopped being reported. Of course, it may take time for ghosting to show up, but some buyers did report problems after very few plays. If we don't have anyone complaining about recently purchased pins, that's at least a step in the right direction.

So... Evidence, or just more name calling and insults?

I'm still standing by my statement that I BELIEVE the problems are fixed. (Still ZERO evidence to the contrary!) I've also ordered a GB Premium and am waiting for it to show up, anytime. -If you're still worried, it doesn't hurt to wait a little longer before buying. I don't think that's necessary, BUT I understand some people who are on the fence want to see more evidence, before spending $ on a NIB, given the recent QC issues. There's nothing wrong with that, either.

Straight enough for ya?

Keep chirping me all you want. Until you can provide evidence otherwise, I'm standing here with a smile on my face.

From the "Could Ghostbusters end up being Stern Best Pin Ever" thread: (CaptainNeo seems to agree that we're in the clear)

That they're right twice a day -and that's twice more than you.

Still smiling.
: )

You should read the warranty (below) -the playfield isn't covered. At all.
That puts both Stern and the buyer in an interesting situation. Stern can legally tell buyers to pound sand, but then people stop buying future products. Then again, at what point is a full exchange warranted? 1 slightly ghosting insert? 1 fully ghosting insert? 3? 4?
Another good point you made is: do ghosting inserts indicate future issues are more likely to pop up? THAT'S what would concern me.
Zero ghosting today, chipped playfield 6 months from now? Hope not.

6.2 WARRANTY
500-55H6-01
Stern Pinball machines are assembled in Elk Grove Village, Illinois, USA; each pinball machine has unique characteristics that make it a one-of-a-kind Amer- ican-made product. Each machine will have variations in appearance resulting from differences in the machine’s particular wood parts, individual silk screened art and mechanical assemblies. Stern Pinball has inspected each game element to insure it meets stringent quality and playability standards.
STERN PINBALL INC LIMITED WARRANTY
Stern Pinball Inc (‘SELLER’) warrants only to the initial purchaser of its products that the items listed below are free from defects in material and workmanship under normal use and service for the warranty period specified:
• Printed circuit boards (game logic): 2 months
• Dot Matrix Display boards: 9 months
No other parts of seller’s product are warranted.
Warranty periods are effective from the initial date of shipment from seller to its authorized distributors.
Seller’s sole liability shall be, at its option, to repair or replace products which are returned to seller during the warranty peri- ods specified, provided:
1. Seller is notified promptly upon discovery by purchaser that stated products are defective.
2. Such products are properly packaged and then re-
turned freight prepaid, to seller’s plant.
This warranty does not apply to any parts damaged during shipment and/or due to improper handling, or due to improper installation or usage, or alteration. In no event shall the seller be liable for any anticipated profits, loss of profits, loss of use, accidental or consequential damages, or any other losses incurred by the customer in connection with the purchase of a Stern Pinball Inc Product.
WARRANTY DISCLAIMER
Except as specifically provided in a written contract between seller and pur- chaser, there are no other warranties, express or implied, including any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

Any chance you could find out the playfield production dates?

Read my post brother. I said "two weeks", 3 days ago.
That puts the fix mid-month. This play field was made Sep 8th.

Once again, 6 days ago, CaptainNeo spoke with someone (source was not named) who also stated that issues were fixed.

If you're going to quote me, please be accurate.

No, I have stated that playfield issues are fixed. Mid-month. We hadn't seen any issues from any September made play fields, so I challenged anyone to bring one forward. They did. So now we know that play fields were still suffering issues on Sept 7th.

I'm not going to rant back at you. It won't do me any good. Only time will prove my point.

Keep up the hate though. Looks good on you.

Seems as though you can't see through the anger. Allow me to clarify, at which point I'm signing off and ending the back and forth. Rest assured: if a Pinsider comes forward with a newly built playfield, Ill come back to own up to my error and publicly apologize. Otherwise, I'll just watch this thread from afar. I posted some info a while back and now it's become a personal attack, back and forth with insults. From my experience, nothing is farther from pinball than this keyboard warrior arguing.

At any rate, to your quote: I posted on Sept 10th, stating that I had heard through the rumour mill that things were fixed. I'm not going back to find the Pinside posts from others, but I had read more than one. It was my statement though, so I'm owning this 100%.
I more recently came back and stated that problems were definitely fixed, and guesstimated from a couple weeks prior. That put things mid month.
Neo also (7 days ago now, I believe) stated that he talked to someone on the phone. My posts on here were not based on his call. Nothing to do with it. It just so happened that after I posted, I saw his post and relayed that info as well.

I do hope that's clear now cause I'm not coming back to defend each and every post I've made. Especially the way you've dissected many of them, trying to make things look as one-sided as possible. I re-read the full posts and actually laughed at your criticism.

Anyway, take a deep breath (after you down vote this post) and let's see what develops in the next few days. See you then!

Just for the record: nobody has yet provided evidence of a faulty playfield AFTER I made my posts.

Is there any argument that I first posted on Sept 10th? Feel free to double check and get back to me.
You're incorrect as the most recent playfield issue was before then.

Just thought I'd pop in to get caught up. Lots of back and forth, but no new issues reported by anyone.
No news is good news!

Another chipped playfield with ghosting inserts from 8 Sep. -Titan Pinball just got it too.

Keep it up fellas. Sept 22nd is the most recent playfield date we've seen. And no complaints from those so far. I wonder how few of them there are though. Tough to really say "no more issues" if like, they only made 4 that day and luckily they're all ok. Then again, I would have expected at least ONE of them to show up with ghosting or cracking. ESPECIALLY since Titanpinball's issues developed within about a day of them getting theirs. The Sep 22nd play fields were received about a week and a half (?) ago now.

Hey MinusWorlds: serious question for you. You're apparently getting yours within the next day or two I believe. Are you buying now, thinking that issues are not resolved, because you have faith in Sterns return policy?

I have one on order, arriving anytime -but I firmly believe that the issues have been resolved.

Well I hope you get one of the good ones. What's the PF date?

I didn't intend to be so abrasive when I posted the info. But then I got comments from others with ZERO information, absolutely certain I was wrong.

Whole thing went downhill from there.

Go call Stern at some point today, and ask them when the bulletin is being released, regarding the play field issues.
Let me know how that goes for ya.
Nate said it on the C2C podcast and others have stated it as well. Nobody is expecting Stern to say anything.
If that's what you're waiting for, good luck to you.
The next best indicator might be if someone seems pretty adamant that issues are fixed, and the issues actually do seem fixed, moving forward.
Some people still can't see the forest for all the damn trees in the way.

Just another day without new issues reported.
Fingers remain crossed.

Read the description and thought: "Oh no!", then scrolled through the pics.
You got me.
Well played.

Glad to hear preliminary reports are good for your new pin.

Stern hasn't. No playfield issues have been reported on Pinside since Sep 8th.

Classic Pinside.
The only guy with any real information is shouted down by the masses.

Approximately one month ago (Sep 10), I stated that playfield issues had been resolved.
I'm certain that every word I write is going to be scrutinized, so I'll clarify that I later challenged people to find issues from Sept 7, onward. We've seen a couple issues from Sept 8th (2 days before my post) and nothing since. Sorry for being slightly optimistic.

Apparently by sharing information, I'm now seen as a Stern schill.
See, THAT'S what makes you and your thumb-giving buddies "Stern-hating-whiner-babies".

(Shout-out to Maken. He's been abnormally quiet recently. I hope you're doing ok, buddy! I understand you're probably quite embarrassed for being so vocal when it's becoming quite obvious you were wrong the whole time.)

You guys have ZERO info and I CALLED IT, near to the day.

While I love your opinions ("It's soft-wood! You can see it!") and all other useless posts, supporting each other, the truth is: YOU'VE ALL BEEN WRONG.

My last post was simple: information only. I stated that the last issues were reported Sep 8th. Even that was apparently too truthful for some of you.

See, this thread isn't just for you and your buddies who like to thumb each other; it's an important thread for potential buyers, checking to see if it's safe to buy a new pin without having to worry about the playfield-swap program.

So for anyone concerned: the last playfield manufacturing date that showed ghosting/chipping was... September 8th.

Now I don't want to offend you guys any more than I already have, but in other news:
THE EARTH IS ROUND.

Sent from my iPad

I'm still watching, but what can I say? I had info stating that things were fixed on, or around Sept 10th.
Obviously things did change, as we have seen WAY fewer ghosting issues since. If anyone wants to dispute that, be my guest.
Unfortunately, we've seen some play fields with issues since then so clearly Stern still doesn't have things 100% yet.
In hindsight, I should have stated that things had "changed" and not been "fixed 100%" but whatever. I shared the info I had at the time.

I'm not in agreement with many of the posts on here still. In my opinion, Stern is still trying first and foremost, to keep the lines rolling.
Depending on the defect rate, it likely makes much more sense to keep the play fields shipping out (provided it's a low defect rate) and then replace the crappy ones. If the alternative is shutting down the lines, sending workers home, and then having to hire and re-train new workers? I expect if any of us operated that company, we'd be forced to make the same decisions. The alternatives are just too expensive.
In my opinion, this doesn't make Stern "Greedy" or "anti-pinball". I also seriously disagree with one of the posters above, stating that they don't care about pinball, and its ONLY about money. I expect that's true for some of the people at Stern, but many of the employees have made pinball their lifes ambition. If any of you know the designers, programmers, then I expect you would agree that this is the case. THAT'S where the passion lies. That's where the love for pinball is. It's the heart of the company. Anyway, I digress.

The issue for Stern now, is how they handle the customer returns. Previously, they've been awesome with replacing defective parts and handing issues (yomv but from what I've experienced, they take care of clients) so I'm hopeful that this will continue to be the case.

I'm a Stern fan, clearly. My favourite games have been ACDC, Metallica, & the Walking Dead. I've owned a WoZ, and a Full Throttle, and they just didn't do it for me. That being said, I don't think that makes me a "shill". I still expect my games to work the way they were designed to, given the money I pay for them.
Many of you would argue. Some who don't have any Stern titles listed in their collection, and others who have made numerous anti-Stern posts, (guessing at the issues surrounding the playfield debacle) while making it perfectly clear that they are very tight with another manufacturer. I would have thought THAT would qualify as a "shill", but whatever.

Best news is the OP has been contacted to get a replacement. Also, that many of us have perfect looking/playing new pins.
So the question is, how many defects will continue turning up, and will Stern take care of the buyers?

I truly believe they will make things right for most buyers. Time will tell.

image (resized).jpeg

Paid!

image (resized).png

Batman is "cheap"?
Serious poor choice of words, my friend.
: )

Have there been any recent play field issues?
Even shooter lane chipping?
I skimmed through the last three or so pages and didn't see any new issues, with the exception of the SMVE, which may have been built months ago.

Anyone?

Have you spoken to anyone at Stern, directly?
I would be all over that. Sounds like you may have been forgotten about.
At the very least, they should give you an ETA on when you can expect your replacement.