Quoted from kpg:

Thanks for this man. I hate it when people say this stuff too. I regret posting the pic of my garage, easy for people to make assumptions.
I grew up with nothing. I dropped out of high school at 17 and got my GED to start my career and life early because I wanted to move out and live on my own. I kicked ass with blood sweat and tears to get to where I am now. I don't care how much my cars cost, my home, whatever- $8,000 is a lot of money for a pinball machine, then top that off with $5,000 for a playfield advance is kind of lame. I know what it's like to make a dollar. Nothing changes that- why? I wasn't handed anything in my life. This is hard earned money I'm talking about here, so of course I'm upset at the situation like we should ALL be.
Look, it's just a game.
Sure, I probably shouldn't have posted on here about it right away but I thought I should mention because many of you are following my situation on this thread.
I'm going to work with Gary on this and probably not update details from this point on until things get resolved.
I know this will get worked out. Putting it lightly, I think my issues may just be with the middle man/dealer side at this point so I'll just utilize Gary at this point, I'm sure he's going to make this right.. he definitely seemed like a pretty cool guy.

Quoted from MikeS:

If you're worried about it you can always sign up for a 0% introductory card and use it for this very purpose.

Quoted from 27dnast:

One thing is for sure: Stern gets an "F-" for how they've handled this so far... No matter what their warranty is. The notion that they've reached out directly to some customers while completely stonewalling others (like the OP) of this thread is really quite shocking, especially considering the amount of cash paying customers have forked over for a product.
I guess I've been lucky with my own dealings with both Stern and JJP customer service... But this entire period of silence by Stern (and how they've exclusively communicated way more with some customers than others) is like a amateur hour at its finest. No way, no how will I purchase another NIB game from them until I watch their solution rollout - along with how distributors act - in its entirety... And read that new NIB owners are satisfy with post ghost-gate games.
Sterns choice to issue distributors a price floor for sales really rubbed me the wrong way... But this whole recent issue is head turning and quite surprising.

Quoted from dmbjunky:

I wonder if that will cause problems at Expo. It would be embarrassing to have someone bring a playfield to Expo or ask loud questions about clearcoat problems. It's risky to wait till after Expo.

Quoted from extraballingtmc:

...

Quoted from extraballingtmc:

Just call them and ask like I did.
I was really surprised Gary called me back personally, figured my vm would go nowhere.
Was really impressed actually that he would take the time to call me. After talking to him I felt a lot more confident about my upcoming premium and that if problems did develop with the playfield they would be taken care of and there was a plan in place.

Quoted from 27dnast:

Why so secretive? Who said it? Much easier to understand what's going on if you reveal what the source is.

Quoted from extraballingtmc:

Pretty sure post 3923 was clear...

Quoted from extraballingtmc:

We get it.
Go buy an older game then if nib problems are too much stress for you.

Quoted from AlexSMendes:

So, bottom line is: despite the allegedly call from gary, we still got no concrete info from stern!

Quoted from TaylorVA:

I asked specifically if Pros would get the same consideration as LEs and it did not seem as though they would. This was a conversation with an official Stern distributor.

Quoted from RipleYYY:

guys,

my distro exposed his points of view, i exposed mine, we we're not agree but talks remain polite & correct...
and finally, starting from something i was not agreeing, i got : or a 1 VS 1 swap with a new GB, or a full refund
i've gone for another GB
now, this is MY personal story, not something heard somewhere from somebody...
than, i dont know how this could go for each of us, i dont know how others distros will react, and i even more dont know how my distro will react if in X time the 2nd GB is getting inserts/clearcoat probs again !?
for now, my distro lose his money commission on mine GB (which was resold lower to an operator who didnt care of ghosting)
but in the other way, he makes me happy & satisfied, and than keep a futur customer on his side...
end of story (for now)...

Quoted from capguntrooper:

I have purchased 3 NIB Stern last year. A TWD pro, Kiss Le and GOT LE and anyone who has read my threads knows the insane amount of issues right out of box I have had to endure. Luckily I have had only one clear issue on the mini play field of the GOTLE that was replaced. That being said If I bought second hand saving myself a thousand or two I would be deeper in the Hole paying for out of warranty replacement parts. Thankfully I have an amazing distributor, JJ at Game Exchange who takes care of me. Now that I am deployed my pins will sit for a year untouched, and I am hoping and praying that the clear does not have issues and that they turn back on for that matter. I was two seconds away from ordering a GBLE but decided to wait and see after hearing of the SMVE issues with play fields and low and behold GB's were turning up with same issues. It seems like Sterns extremely short Warranty covers their arses enough to get over on these clear issues as they will no doubt arise shortly after warranties start ending. It saddens me to say but I may just have to wait on any more NIB Stern products for the foreseeable future and if I do so will have to make sure I am available to troubleshoot Stern products well in advance of my deployments so that I can utilize their very short warranty. My hats off too all you pinside members who have bought NIB from Stern and have wasted countless hours and days getting multiple warranty work done on something that should have been obviously caught in house at Stern. Best of luck to all those buying NIB from Stern.

Quoted from smokedog:

Sold a new pin to the distributor at a reduced cost to replace the damaged one, so he isn't out thousands when he replaced Ripleyyy's machine.
As a business, you wouldn't have any distributors if you made them eat the cost of your (or your suppliers) mistakes.
I have a Pro with ghosting. I am on a 'list' with my distributor. I'm pretty confident my distributor and Stern will make sure I am satisfied.
The hearsay and speculation in this thread about how terrible Stern is with replacing damaged goods is laughable, since all evidence from previous miss steps says otherwise.
Oh, Pinside!

Quoted from smokedog:

I'm basing my assumption

Quoted from AlexSMendes:

Does Ghosbusters have its game-code all done yet, or just like the majority of Stern latest releases, the code will never be finished?

Quoted from extraballingtmc:

They send you a new populated playfield. Talked to Gary myself.

Quoted from extraballingtmc:

then called stern and received a call back from Gary himself.

Quoted from extraballingtmc:You can (leave) anytime. Txs. Go find another thread to be a negative bitch in.

Quoted from Phbooms:

I talked to Stern today and im in the program for replacement with 4 ghosted inserts, shooter lane and drain hole clearcoat lifting. I didnt find anything out except im on the list. Im a GB Pro owner

Quoted from TaylorVA:

so what's the magic insert number?

Quoted from Pinballlew:

I don't see any ghosting on that insert..just reflections

Quoted from Crash:

Or the clear over that insert has not been applied evenly. Should absolutely not see edges around inserts on a brand new game. Maybe a 20 year old game with hundreds of thousands of plays, but not a new one.

Quoted from rubberducks:

It's based on them using cheap unaged wood ... it's in plain sight.
Even if you choose to ignore the clearly younger, lower grade of wood, what do you think is causing the warping and movement? It's not changes in lunar / solar cycle, I can tell you that much.

Quoted from Air_Pinball:

He has no inside information. He is speculating out his ass.
He is also a Heighway acolyte. He comes in Stern threads and spread FUD.
He has zero credibility.
It is more than fair to call into question his statements.

Quoted from Air_Pinball:

But do you know that as a fact is causing the ghosting and chipping issues?
If you're speculating.....say it's your guess.
Don't post it as fact.

Quoted from Air_Pinball:

That's not what I'm arguing.
It's posting that this switch has in fact occurred....AND it's causing the ghosting and chipping problem.
If we're speculating, I'd say a switch to a new water-based clear-coat is the culprit, as it has completely different drying requirements.
But that's just speculation on my part. I wonder never go around stating it as fact.

Quoted from rubberducks:

It's not just that it's softer, per se (i.e. lower index of hardness), but it's way more prone to movement and warping.

Quoted from Manic:

But the thread is only 3 months old.
It sure FEELS like it's been 10 months of this though...

Quoted from Chambahz:

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

Quoted from flashinstinct:

I got mine second week of september with a playfield of July 16th.

Quoted from Pinballlew:

I will hazard a guess...September 8th is the date of the newest playfields Stern has on hand. The issues are not fixed yet.

Quoted from Chambahz:

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.

Quoted from Jvspin:

He may be right but I don't understand why he would claim the playfield problems were fixed in such a forceful and abrasive manner. I don't think Stern needs people hoping they fail just to prove him wrong.

Quoted from Chambahz:

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

Quoted from iceman44:

Best PF i ever had was my LOTR LE, it looked the same 5 years later, very minor dimpling

Quoted from SilverballNut:

There's another 9/8 playfield with ghosting and cracked clear in the shooter lane now after 104 plays. So that's two of the US premiums confirmed to have issues since they started shipping again.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/ghostbusters-premium-share-your-info/page/15#post-3381643

Quoted from OLDPINGUY:

Oh Shit! Stern Box Recall! Damn Ghosts!
Who you gonna call?

Quoted from hank527:

Who is making the pf's

Quoted from zene10:

Warning. This post contains factual, first-hand information.
I spoke to Stern technical support today regarding two of my pins with documented playfield issues (pictures/serials, etc. previously sent to distro & Stern). I had been leaving messages for about three weeks and received a call-back today. In today's message I mentioned I'd like to talk to them before I arrive this week for the factory tour. Received a call-back within an hour.
Oct 2016 - Jan 2017 GB (all flavors) playfield issues will be dealt with.
Jan 2017 onward SMVE (one of my machines) and others will be handled.
If you have issues with your pin(s) purchased NIB make sure both Stern & your distro has all the relevant information on file.
Hopefully I'll have more specifics after this week's visit.

Quoted from kapsreiter:

is this already ghosting?
brand new latest produced GB Prem

Quoted from kapsreiter:

Date is Not important
Nothing is fixed at stern

Quoted from rubberducks:

It isn't ... we established long ago that these aren't errant batches. It's a systematic problem ... and as he correctly states, nothing's fixed.

Quoted from golfingdad1:

That pen scribble is the PF date.
The trend of pen written dates vs stamped dates on the pf and having ghosting issues seems to be a connection.
My guess and only a guess is that stern has at least 2 different manufacturers of the playfields. One uses a pen and one uses a date stamp.
Does anyone with a written date on the playfield have no issues ???

Quoted from kapsreiter:

the only nr i can find is 823 with a pen
its realy hard to notice
will watch it the next weeks
all others are perfect

Quoted from jeffspinballpalace:

Playfields have not been fixed, this according to Stern three weeks ago, and they haven't announced a resolution since. If you don't wish to gamble $6k / $8k /$10k / $12k / $15k on a new Stern with possible clearcoat issues, put your money away in the sock drawer and walk away until the end of 2016 to ionsure all ghosts have been busted.
I'd be more concerned about excessive bubbles occurring on some inserts, making them look crappy. That may have been a few bad batches of inserts or it may be still be a valid concern, but you don't want that, and Stern won't acknowledge it is even an issue. Anyways you asked for a status on Stern's manufacturing and opinion on buying new today, and now you have it.

Quoted from NeilMcRae:

so via Martin at Pinball News he posted a picture that I thought was interesting. Churchill are indeed now making play fields for stern again, when they are assembled into machines who knows but apparently Stern used a company called Fun and thats when the problems started. Here is a picture Martin took at Churchill with a well known play field Lets hope this is the beginning of the end of this shit.
So we know there are atleast two suppliers now.

Quoted from sohchx:

So can you guys educate me on this playfield manufacture date thing I keep seeing. I guess I am asking, between when and when did these questionable fields get produced? And, is there a time frame that existed where the quality was good without issue? I plan to check the date as soon as I open the box and I just want to know if I'm safe in terms of whatever the date is on my field.

Quoted from JoeyItaliano:

HERE HERE!
I have held back ALL Stern purchases! I refuse to let emotion get the best of me. Look at the MMR remake and now Attack from Mars, give other company's a chance to gain a chunk of the market and offer some healthy competition, the three versions have noticeable upgrades. Chicago Gaming is putting quality products out there---they also used to make things for Stern but not anymore. Keep your money in your pocket!!