Hey there everyone - I'm just about to receive my POTC CE from ASOA - should be shipping next week, and I've selected the following mods to be installed... but I'd like feedback on these and their pricing and whether they seem like great mods. Would also like feedback on what mods would be awesome for the pin? I ordered this and Wonka CE from ASOA, and have waited a bit longer than I'd like, but am hoping that it will all be worth it in the end. Here's a link to the mods I'm getting...

http://tinyurl.com/s3qy9or

Much appreciated everyone... thank you! Now I just need to sell my Bride of Pinbot, Road Show, Woz 75th and Hobbit Smaug Gold Edition to help pay for these two pins!

Finally - on the 'drain topic' button, what does that exactly do.... does that catch me up on the topic? I wish the hover text was a bit more descriptive.

Thanks!

POTC MODS ASOA (resized).png

Yes... that just complicates things tremendously. There should be riders in the contract that state that "for the purpose of ______" insert (video games, pinball machines, gambling machines, casual clothing, streetwear clothing, high fashion, automobile collabs, airlines, trains, public transit, private schools, public schools, fast food, frozen foods, meat products, vegan products, fresh uncut fruits and vegetables at grocers (I've seen this!), etc., etc.), "I agree to ______" (insert fee structure here, or terms and conditions - some actors will not support certain countries, certain foods ie meat/dairy, gambling, etc) so that these processes can be streamlined, legal fees reduced, and things made a bit more automatic. Someone may demand a LOT more for a video game than a pinball machine... someone may demand $0 for fruits/veg/vegan foods because it's something they're passionate about... someone may have zero support for having their likeness and work attached to a certain political party, politician, or country. I've read through a few contracts for a musician, but they're rather daunting and you're just doing a deal with the devil to get into the biz.

What? I'm just trying to get through the last 50 pages of posts on here now that my CE seems more and more likely that it's going to go through and be delivered next week or the week after. I'm having some mods put on it... including a starfield background mod... but I'm guessing my mod will cancel out this feature of the pin? Thoughts? See my mods attached here:

POTC MODS ASOA (resized).png

I know! I have friends in Melbourne and Sydney and flying from the US can be as low as $600 round trip a lot of the time... if you have a high loyalty status you may be able to have it transported for free. Years ago I used miles to fly First Class on Korean Airlines and flew LAX to INC to SYD to MEL with a first-version model of a Segway... I was 'bringing' it into the country for a 60 year old women who'd suffered from polio as a child. It was a large and heavy box and I wasn't charged. When I got to the airport customs was all over it. I told them I needed it for a physical disability, partly true. They needed my assurance that it would not be left in Australia, I told them I was bringing it back. Otherwise, they wanted USD $5000 in taxes to be paid on the spot! I went to the airport Hilton, showed her how to use it and was on my way. Called two weeks later before leaving the country and she was crying on the phone - first time in the life she'd been able to move more than 20 meters without someone else... she'd been to the park, stores, cafes, museums, etc., etc... after 55 years of never being able to do anything. We cried together, it was such a great feeling... then went on my way to Vanuatu and New Zealand and home.

Sorry, just had to tell that story. Shipping is expensive, taxes are crazy on imports I think, and not sure how to get around all that. I'm surprised all pins aren't sold as compatible with all power sources. Maybe they need to switch to gaming laptops inside, they already have LEDs, the screens take almost no power... then they could get the pins a bit thinner on the cabinets and the back, and move to two boxes... one box as cabinet and the other as the back and legs... it'd be fantastic to finally get pins into 2 or 3 x 50 pound boxes instead of one 250 pound pin. I think it's possible and inevitable as people have less and less space in their homes. Doing this opens up more markets for sale, more customers for purchase, and a little bit less space required in homes means more buyers, and current buyers may be able to squeeze just one more pin into their homes.

I like the Tesla approach - offer frequent upgrades, even if just changing something small it really helps with consumer evangelism. I'd love updates to sound, graphics, light patterns, etc... just mixing things up a bit and keeping it fresh makes for happy people. I grinned when I read your price range... my CE just cost me $16,500, plus $500 for shipping, plus another $1k+ for some mods. I think I'll probably limit myself at $20K with some more mods and be done with spending on it... I hope.

I agree... either find a different dealer or buy direct. I'm of the 'buy direct' camp for new pins... and if that dealer does repairs/service they should absolutely love selling pins that further support their income. I've run into several dealers who also will not sell JJP... it's strange to me because JJP just has beautiful machines that check every box for me. They just need to push more updates, perhaps have more distinct differences in their versions being sold, heck why not have $7.5k, $10k, $12.5k, $15k and $20k versions of pins? People will pay it, there are people out there who think that $20k is pocket lint and just want that ship in a bottle or golden egg or whatever and let their pins sit and collect dust. They're the same people who pay $2500/sqft for that extra 400 sqft room ($1M) in their home in SF, NY, Aspen, etc to have room for pins. I'm not at that level, money still means something for me... but I can be swayed to spend an extra $5-12K on a pin with different features and my sick, twisted, and demented mind will find a way to rationalize my addiction to this 'playable art' - see I just did it.

Well, I just paid $16,500 plus $500 shipping, so $17K. I've heard of one person paying $13K, another $15K, another $20K, another $22K. I just got sick of trying to find one... it's a hard pin to find. At least it was for me. My mistake was in wiring money immediately and being told I'd receive it quickly - my wire was end of october, beginning of november... I still don't have my pin... should have it end of next week or the week after. I'm pretty confident of this, and I want to maintain a healthy relationship with the seller as I've also ordered a Wonka CE from them, and they seem to be nice but have had a series of things pop up. I hope to have a great relationship with them in the long run, maybe they'll even sell me a specific pin that I've got my eyes on. I hope that they go above and beyond to exceed my expectations so that they have glowing reviews from me and my future business. They can still salvage this for sure... I'm easy-going until I'm not.

Right... it's probably there just by chance. Here's my opinion - if a pin helps to keep a movie/franchise/brand strong/alive/fresh then definitely ease the licensing and show that having a pin is one of the best ways to demonstrate that your brand is alive and kicking and relevant after many, many years. I tell ya... if there was an amazing pin for the Japanese Shinkansen bullet trains, they'd sell 50,000 units in Japan alone... it's part of the brand of the nation! If
'Dialed In' was 'Shinkansen!' with all sorts of Japanese cultural references, JJP owners/staff would be billionaires.

Back to the licensing... pins should be some of the easiest (should be!) licensing deals. It 'should be' an 'honor' to have a pin created for your movie, music, etc. It should reinforce and add value to your movie, music, etc. It should make people want to keep watching those movies, listening to that music. Sadly, it just isn't this way.

That's unfortunate, and for a business owner this forum should be vital to continue to participate in, no matter the attacks. They're also from New Jersey, they should have tough skin but it's likely difficult to keep biting their tongue and not want to tell everyone off... I get it. Frankly I'd just spend the money on someone to be their 'voice', a mid-20s social media student who can take notes, speak with the key staff, get back to the public in the correct, positive, upbeat, re-assuring tone. Spending $5K a month on someone like this would result in quite the return... even to the point if the company sought additional investment that it would result in stronger valuation. They've got to have an exit plan at JJP - everyone's always supposed to have an exit plan.

Sorry for all the posts today, I just felt more comfortable about my CE being a reality after not being so sure for a while... so I was getting caught up on the last 50 pages of POTC posts.

I don't think so, I think they've had it from the get-go... unless they had sent me pics that weren't in their warehouse. That could definitely explain a lot. I'm hoping there will be a way to trace the serial number on this to see how many hops it had before getting to me.

Finally got my NIB (then modded, then shipped) POTC CE #138 yesterday - after paying $16,500 for it and wiring $29K to someone (also a Wonka Ce) on 11/13/2019 - I've been unpacking things, putting them together, reading up, and finally booted it last night and played two games. Here's a link to the photo album: https://photos.app.goo.gl/BqyW3VBw25A3tCnCA

So far - and forgive me for not knowing all the lingo, I'm clueless...

* my left lane wire ramp isn't lined up, trying to loosen nuts but still doesn't want to move...
* my starfield (the JJP one) and starfield mod aren't working, the mod has a few lights illuminate, the JJP one has the green light on but no testing shows the lights...
* the screen was dropped and backglass paint is scratched - I opened the backbox and tried adjusting but it won't sit at the right level, argh...
* ball got stuck somewhere in the back need to investigate that...
* when sliding the playfield back in it doesn't want to go all the way back to sit nicely, it seems to barely fit, and in doing that when I dropped it in one of the orange plastic pieces on the left lane flew into the air, guess I need a new one of those...

Really wish someone in Phoenix with great knowledge of this game would come over and check it out and let me know what's working/not working as it should. This is my 7th.. went from Bride of Pinbot, added Whitewater, Simpsons Pinball Party, Woz 75th Ruby Red, Road Show, Hobbit Smaug, now POTC CE, and 8th pin - Wonka CE - arrives on Thursday... since then I've sold Whitewater, TSPP... really do miss that Whitewater. I'm addicted, love them, but really need to start knowing more and caring more and understanding more!

Thanks everyone!
Ben

It was out, I appreciate the note, I'll move my issues to the other thread, I thought this was the right place.... thanks everyone!

He won't work on JJP machines the last I talked to him... I've used Firebird for my Bride of Pinbot, Whitewater, Simpsons Pinball Party, Road Show and he's bee awesome, but unless he's changed his mind he doesn't really like JJP. I think with them having more and more pins being released he's going to have to finally start servicing them.

Thanks for everything, the dangling ethernet cable was correct - did not see the all black ethernet port back there!

Monitor is still an issue, I'll work on that...