Covid is making us all a bit grumpy but sheesh, op needs to be reminded that PBR is Steve’s own business and he can run it however he wants. If he insisted on hand-delivery in cash he could do that of he wants - his fn business. Doesn’t owe you a thing just like you can take your business anywhere and if this is the conclusion you already came to why rant like this and embarass yourself to the pinball world.

PBR also has so many parts that you can’t find anywhere else - I’m still relatively a newb compared to old guard here and even know that. And not smart to burn bridges in any hobby - “bad move human”.

Have some respect for those that have been doing this since before you were born or at least shut it.

Fortunately he doesn’t have anything I need, but I did order twice from him. I’d gladly pay 5% for simpler service, but that’s why things like Amazon prime exist. As a former operator, he should understand time is money, and my time to invest in his order system and the requisite drama wasn’t worth it for me. I know he has some unobtainum parts that I’m very happy he can provide those that need them, but I can’t imagine in the absence of that we’d even be talking about him today.

I was having problems with a score motor and thought I knew what I needed to fix it. Called Steve and gave him the low down. He said I didn’t need to spend the $35 I was planning on, I only needed $10 in parts. Then he gave me some tips on how to make the repair. What a jerk.

I emailed an order in for some stickers for a beat up spinner. They said they actually had a nice NOS spinner available for a great price. What an outdated way of doing business.

Try getting service like that from one of the other sites out there. I’ve only been into pinball for a couple of years, but so far PBR has been great. Typing the email with part numbers and quantities can be a bit of a pain, but it’s really not that big of a deal.

I have spent thousands of dollars with Steve over the years. I first met him at Expo 1998 when he still did the show circuit. I have evolved to a using a simple excel spreadsheet of the typical Bally parts with part number and price I need when I shop a new game. I then add in specific items like lane guides, targets or pop caps. The spreadsheet shows my running total so I know to add more to make the $ 100 minimum and 10% discount.

I attach the file to my email order, get a confirmation email from Jimmy and the parts on on my doorstep 2 days later. Mail a check the next day.

FOOKIN EASY.

I never ordered that much from PBR but I thought it was pretty cool that he would send your order and THEN you pay for it. I never had to call but I have excellent grumpy guy whisperer skills so I think I would've been alright.

The juice is always worth the squeeze on PBR. Tons of stuff no one else has. Always my first go to when doing a full restoration.

I’m ok with this, not everything in life is about saving a buck.

This whole thread is a perfect example of that fisherman story, where a businessman sees a fisherman sleeping on the dock and says if he really worked hard he could end up sleeping on the dock.

Pretty sure Steve is happy with the state of his business as it is.

1991? This thread is the result of pent-up anger from 1991? Dude, you got to let it go.

One of many ordering phone calls with Steve:
Me: Ok Steve, I believe that’s all I need. Thanks so much
Steve: Ok
Me: Oh hey Steve you still there?
Steve: Yes
Me: Hey you wouldn’t happen to have the metal bar that resets the drops on a classic
Stern Flight 2000 would you? Mine is broken.
Steve: That’s for the bank of 5 drop targets? Hang on...(30 sec. later) yeah I got that.

Sure glad I love talking to Steve on the phone!

Some people are petty and small.

Had a similar conversation a few months ago, my Alien Star had a 7 digit display out and I called Steve.

Me: Hey Steve; I know the website states out of stock but any chance you have a Gottlieb 7 digit display glass kicking around?
Steve: (rattling box noises) Sure, have 4 NOS left.
Me: Ship it.

My ex's father is not in the hobby, but has a Wico Big Top home machine that he bought new in the 70s. It had some problems and he just wanted to get it working again for the great-grandchildren. He found PBR's number on the web and gave them a call. Steve answered the call and took the time to help him troubleshoot the exact issues, and then sent him the parts needed. That sounds like a pretty successful business model to me.

When you do business with Steve you know someone will answer the phone.

Something a lot of these new internet businesses do not seem to be able to do is answer the phone. All they want to do is set up a website and have you clicking like a lab rat making your purchases. And if you run into a problem? Get ready for the virtual assistant with its canned answers. And no phone number to be found.

Right now I am stuck in virtual assistant purgatory with PayPal. PayPal used to have a phone number posted but I can no longer find it.

I'll also give kudos to Marco and Pinball Life. Those guys will answer the phone.

I have ordered from steve a few times over the years. Always over email, been great experience... has always helped if I had a question or made suggestions.

Is it as convenient, not entirely, but his call in how he runs his shop.

Has anyone interviewed him on a podcast? I would think he must have a ton of stories.

A rule of the thumb for small business and profit is "Keep it small and keep it all".

https://foramusementonly.libsyn.com/episode-376-interview-with-steve-young-8-7-16

Steve is fantastic. I would also suggest reading the Pinball Collector's Quarterly, which is still a great read today, and can be purchased from the Pinball Resource.

For all your complaining about Steve being antiquated and stubborn... wtf did you send a check instead of just paying it online via your bank?

You don't get it.. It's not a 'refusal to change' -- It's a rejection of WHAT HE DOESN'T WANT FOR HIS BUSINESS

He doesn't want the volume
He doesn't want to spend money on those kinds of things
They want the interaction not the machine transaction

It's just like complaining why isn't Spooky growing as much as they could? BECAUSE THEY DON'T WANT IT for their direction of the business.

If people just freaking LISTENED to the man how he's explained this over and over.. but there are always the folks that come around and feel they need to dictate to the guy how he should run his business and refuse to listen to the source.

I remember back in the day when I Bought my first pin and started to learn my way around,everybody said dealing with Steve is like busting your cherry,i was told to have all part numbers ready and he does not like newbies and they were right,I was so excited to have my first game I was trying to buy extra boards for spares ect and I still have some of those ball trough. boards ,it has been so long since I bought from Steve I almost forgot about that store.i was actually scared to call him!
Does he still just send you the parts and the invoice is included ,that was pretty cool.

I placed an order w Steve yesterday, and got my tracking number last night. The parts were literally half the price of our other favorite suppliers, too.

I have't ordered from Marco in years. Way too overpriced. They had a part I was having trouble finding and I paid through the nose for it.

Steve claims on his site that he has millions of parts. Probably not an exaggeration. How many man hours do you think it would take to catalog what is probably tens of thousands of part numbers and then be a slave to the computer while processing orders from now until the end of time? Since he manufactures many of his parts, that means two different SAP (or similar) systems to "help" him do what he seems to do well on his own.

Steve is the decoder ring. If you can find what you need on his website or in your manual, then great. If not, call or e-mail for help.

Steve is the decoder ring, I like that!

You just need to handle the decoder ring with kid gloves, so it doesn't shock you if you use it wrong!

Because you had all the other e-commerce pinball retailer alternatives to pick from in 1990? Lol

30 years later you still have a bug up your ass about it? Man just walk away if you ’t like his business model. Certainly isnt going to be bitching on pinside that will change his mind...

I think this thread is heading toward ‘immaculate’ status. Pinside is great!

Love PBR and thankful Steve does what he does for the hobby

Last time I looked for a part from Marco i got 10 pages of shit to navigate though.

It's your money, throw it away if you want.

NEXT!

You go stud!!

You have achieved your revenge. Won’t you now have mercy and stop this onslaught before you drive Steve out of business? Yes, he deserved to be hurt for the pain he caused you, but surely bankruptcy is not the answer?!

If not for steve, think of his employees. Consider the economy in Poughkeepsie.

The way IBM keeps cutting jobs there, The Pinball Resource may become the largest employer in the area within a few years.

I called for the first time after buying my 3rd game, a 1964 Bally Safari. I knew nothing about EMs and didn't know the names of the parts I wanted to buy. I called up PBR and spoke to Steve for about 20 minutes. He gave me the history on my game, which he called "The game that didn't exist". Apparently Safari was a game that was given to or only sold to the best operators Bally had at the time.

Anyway, I was fumbling over part names not knowing what to call things. He spent time explaining to me exactly what part was which and helped me determine what I needed.

I had no issues at all with him. As for the website, yeah, it's outdated, but maybe he just doesn't give a shit.

Either way, I'm glad you got your rant off your chest and hope you feel better.

Theres so many pinball websites that look like they are straight out of geocities. Its rediculous. Too many boomers in pinball

Without these "boomers" as you call them, we would be without a ton of games . Think of all the Gottlieb parts Steve has manufactured.!

IBM isn't the only company there, though it is the big kahuna of the bunch. NXP, Samsung, Hynix, Kyocera, and a few other big names all have facilities in the area.

You people! I lob you a softball and nothing.

Rings and gloves don't mix!

To wreck the joke with over-examination, okay, simple bands will fit in a glove, but not a clunky decoder ring!
<slap!> We're not talking about real gloves or rings anyway!

I've been buying from PBR for 20 years, and have easily spent 10K. He is my go to supplier. Steve used to do the Allentown show when it was The Pinball Wizards and I like picking up heavy items like Gottlieb EM legs and saving the shipping.

Just email your order (with part numbers) and stuff shows up quick. I once ordered a 1" pinball for the captive ball in Space Invaders and immediately got a return email that that was a bingo ball size and my order was all Bally pinball parts. Explained the use and it was fine.

Steve is a jewel, if you don't like the website, pay more elsewhere.

Correct. And like the OP, be sure to post about your non-PBR transaction in excruciating detail, in almost sexual terms, from the moment you logged on until the moment of victory when the receipt hit your inbox. We need to know!!!

I don't see you as a broken record as much as I see you as a fool.

Dude give this a rest. First off buying 3 sets of legs and 3 coin doors even in 2004 wasn't close to $5 in shipping. Try $40 plus. Obviously you have enough cash that saving money on discretionary things like pinball parts doesn't mean crap to you. To the rest of us, free delivery on parts on a game we're trying to restore, that we'll end up selling someday for a couple bucks ahead of what we had in it matters. When you're selling a $800 EM, saving money bringing it back to life and passing that game to a newbie that brings another into our hobby means something to me.

Quit bitching about PBR and keep buying where you feel comfortable. I'm gonna keep giving Steve every dollar on pin parts unless he doesn't have it.

Dropping the mic.

Yeah you do. For pissing the rest of us off.

I should announce a drain... but what would be the point.
OP clearly has some issues he can't quite come to terms with.

I’m with the op. I don’t think someone should be commended for refusing to improve. That’s not a good quality to have.

But I also know that we’re in the very small minority, for some reason people think that if PBR stays exactly the same that they will last forever.

Time is an equal opportunity asset. I try to spend my time working for a better future. But hey, some people think this is the best that will ever be and they don’t need to improve or put in more effort.

Funny how people who don't understand another way of thinking like to believe they are somehow more enlightened, rather than just accepting our differences. With a little tolerance and empathy you might realize that you are in the minority because what you would call "improving" would actually just be change for the sake of change and conformance. Never a good thing. Lots of customers love this service via phone and email, the great prices, massive amount of Gottlieb parts available and would not change a thing. PBR is really well thought out, very simple and a perfectly balanced system - the result of a commitment to improvement and excellence.

As I mentioned before, Steve makes hoards of Gottlieb parts available to Marco to sell on his site. People have a choice of two different styles to buy from. Make your choice and can we please close this thread?

Real quick now:

1) I send you something and you send me a check. I add the check to me daily deposits. Done deal.

2) I send you something and you give me a your credit card number. I have 16 digits to write down and then verify with you that they are the correct 16 digits. But for that to happen, I have to spend a bunch of money with the credit companies to buy the machines to read the cards. I have to pay someone to come out and install the credit card readers. And then at the end of the month I have to send the transactions off to the credit card company to get my money because you actually sent your money to the CC company and not to me.

Oh, and I will have to raise my prices to cover for the 5% the credit card companies charge for using their convenience cards.

If you paid me at the first of the billing cycle I will have to wait 30 days for the CC company to send me my money. And then you could tell your CC company that I stiffed you and the CC company will claw the money back and I will be out my parts and money while you are sitting fat with my parts on your machine.

Its my business. I'll run it into the ground if I want.

I have been here selling pin parts for 50 years. I know pinball machines and have operated arcades.

50 years in and sales are as strong as they have ever been. I must be doing something right.

I’m going to assume most of your business is handled through remote transactions, and that you don’t have a lot of foot traffic into a storefront

You absolutely do not want to deal with storing a persons 16 digit credit card number. The security and liability involved is to high for the average small business To deal with. You pay a $25 monthly fee to have a professional company handle transactions. Online payments should not be written down and processed manually in 2020

It’s closer to 1%-3%. You don’t want to raise your prices by 5% to support an online Marketplace, but you will sell wholesale to other retailers who add more then 5% and still stay in business. If you’re leaving enough money on the table that the competition can buy from you, sell at a profit, pay all these exorbitant fees, and still stay in business; then you could sell to your retail customers at a retail price and also cover those fees. If you prefer to sell at wholesale prices to everyone and not get that extra profit that’s ok too (I guess).

Think about auto parts suppliers they sell to a garage for less then they sell to the general public, not only so the garage can resell it for a profit, but also to pay for the parts suppliers store. Not everyone pays garage cost, that’s no way to run a business, retail markup exists for a reason a lot of people are ok with it, and every sale your competitors make from one of your products is less direct profit for you.

Run it to the ground if you want, but get off your high horse and have a look at the landscape. There’s virtually no other industry or retailer that hasn’t improved their business practices in 50 years. (I can’t think of one) Don’t think for a moment your sales are the strongest now because of something amazing you’ve done, it’s the pinball industry as a whole that’s improving. All those beaters and barn finds are coming out of the woodwork and they need parts. You just happen to be the place they need to go.

There’s a reason I don’t buy Gottlieb anymore. They’re enough other games that are good, where I don’t need to add extra steps in purchasing.

If we want pinball to not feel like an old boys club then we need to get rid of these silly initiation rituals and rights of passage for new members of the community

It may be your business to run into the ground, but pinball will be around a lot longer then you will be, and I just hope there’s something prepared for the next generation.

You realize that cottonm4 isn’t Steve and has nothing to do with PBR, right?