I also had a faulty DMD in my MET Pro and Stern sent me a new one free of any charges (including shipping). I've also received several other parts free of charges. Stern's QA isn't great (to be polite, but their product support makes up for it. The distributer shouldn't be charging you anything. You should deny the credit card charge…period. At most, a modest shipping charge might be reasonable.

For good or bad, these machines are now being targeted at pinball fanatics/hobbyists (who don't mind dealing with all the NIB "speed bumps"). When I started in 2004, I didn't even want to remove the glass and lift a PF…now I'm restoring machines and doing all my own maintenance and repairs.

There is no need to go through your distributor to get a replacement part. All you need to do is contact Stern with your serial number and they will send it to your home. They know who your distributor is based on the serial number.

The problem with the Stern business model is distributors rarely earn their money when selling a pinball machine. Most distributors are remote and can't possibly do much to support you. Local distributors that do free "house calls" when supporting a NIB purchase are an exception.

While it would be great to have Stern reps "chime in" on Pinside, it wouldn't solve your problem.

Interesting. I guess they want the distributors to pre-screen to help take the load off? Some of us have been buying Stern NIB pins for quite awhile, so maybe they deal directly with folks they've already established a relationship with. If they've adopted a new policy, they are likely to implement it with new customers.