Well distributor is a personal preference, but you may want to get to know your local distributor if they have a good reputation. That way you have some close support in case you need something. I'm not sure who else is close to you but Hemi at Pinball Refinery is a really good guy, in MI and not to far from you. They can trick your machine out to
www.pinballrefinery.com

I would contact JJ at Game Exchange...greta pricing and customer service...ask him your questions....be ready for issues with the machine since it has just come out....will take some time to get all the code updated and the machanical issues worked out...they are still working on them for Metallica

GL

Another recommendation for JJ, unless you have a local distributor. I'm a big proponent of establishing a relationship with a local dealer, when possible/ practical, especially if you are relatively new to the hobby or aren't comfortable with tweaking a NIB machine.

Michael Pupo @ Flipper Fidelity
JJ @ GEX of Colorado
Chris Marquette @ Cointaker
Trent @ tilt amusements
Gio @ pinball refinery

Those 5 distributors are well known and give good pricing. Ive personally dealth with 3 of them (Michael pupo, JJ, and Chris) - highly recommend.

Get a price shipped to your door - give them your zip code. Unpacking is fun, awesome, and simple. I wouldn't be too concerned about warranty, stern usually replaces parts of their NIBs even past the warranty phase; especially if your sole owner of the machine.

SKB

I got mine from pinballpro.com and I was very happy with the service and communication. Best price too for me.

Please call us at cointaker we will take excellent care of you

Chris and Mellisa at cointaker are awesome as well. That said I don't buy a pin I really want worrying about depreciation it's for enjoyment and I play them. GLWP

Get the LE

Sound advice. Especially if there is a warranty issue.

Don't worry about deprecation. Buy it to play and enjoy.

I got mine from Troy @topscoregamerooms and it was a really easy process. Game arrived quickly without drama. Setup was easy size the game is shipped vertically. Just attach the front legs, gently bring it forward and rest the back on a chair to get the legs on. Then just move it like you would any other game.

Got mine from Trent @ tiltamusements this side of Columbus. Just hop on 70 to 275. Seemless transaction. Took about twenty minutes to set up. Piece of cake.

Call Trent 740-803-2276. That is where many in Michigan get their games and he is very good at customer service. You can have it shipped or pick it up in Ohio (2.5 hour drive). Tell him Parker sent you and he may (or may not ha ha) give you a discount.

Parker

Generally speaking; a used machine is much harder to fix and keep maintained than a new one.

Trent at Tilt is great to deal with, plus he's close.

Setting up is easy. They ship with flippers at the top. Attach the top two legs, lower the machine down onto them. Lift the back of the machine and rest it on something sturdy, or have somebody hold up the back end to add the back legs. Don't release the back box until the legs are all on.

It comes with unpacking directions. Plus I think the directions are available on PDF at sterns website.

Hi Nosro,

I would be happy to help you out anyway I can and also if you want any custom work done on the machine, we can also do that for you as well....New machine are very easy to unbox and set up, Stern provides all of the directions to do this, but I can help you out if you need it...

Steve
Pinball Refinery
231-740-8575

If you really are worried about depreciation, then don't buy the newest games. It is a gamble to see what games are going to keep their value, and which ones will lose. And the book on what will happen with Star Trek isn't written yet. If Stern comes out with some fantastic code for it, that will help. But if all the owners are upset at the lack of code 6 months from now, it won't usually hold its value.

I think it also comes down to which titles Stern re-runs. Tron was getting updates as they were getting ready to run a bunch more games. Having an update helps sell more machines. But if they are not actively trying to sell them, they kind of leave the user base hanging.

If Stern ST is going to be release in waves (like I read somewhere)...Pro, then LE, then Premium, then Pro again; there should be a lot of time to work out issues with rules programing.

Is that the plan, roll them out in waves?

I'm considering a Premium and I guess they won't be available until after Christmas.

Thanks.

Robert

Another vote for Trent. He's an excellent distributor.

Worth the drive to see his set up.

It really does depend what you want out of it. The market is hard to understand these days. Did anyone think that TronLE would be up over 10k? It's not a rational price, it's an emotional price; people want that pin and they are paying for it. As for ST, I bought it because I really wanted a SR pin, and I liked the theme. It was a bit of a gamble, but I really, really like it, and I know it will stick around for a long time. I'm not a flipper, so, if it depreciates, I consider that the rental cost for the time I enjoyed it. Everyone is different, but there is something to be said about new pins, and a manufacturer that is still in business with very easy to obtain parts and warranty service.

Until you aren't concerned at all about depreciation, don't buy a new pin (or a used one for that matter). Consider a pin as an amusement device, an interactive TV if you will. Assume it WILL depreciate to zero, just as a TV does. Anything else is a bonus.

Best advice yet.

I have been working with Gio of the Pinball Refinery crew to get a friend a pin and have to say great to work with and very fair. I've also met Steve very cool pinhead. They have some great customizations/mods that they can add to the pin as well. Give them a call.

Shameless plug for ourselves. Haha.
We have a LOT of references.
www.topscoregamerooms.com

Maybe I've been lucky but I've never lost more than a couple hundred to depreciation. I understand your concern but play then hell out of it and never look back. It's a lot of fun getting a brand new game.