Quoted from Hawkeyepin:

I think that a routed original will drop significantly below the MMR. The guys that gave theirs a good shop and some mods will also be scrambling to get anywhere near 8k. I suspect high end restorations in most cases, won't be able to move for over 8k.
The price of a brand new MMR plummeting? Unlikely. I would use the example of unboxed (originals) on EBAY that sold for significantly more than their used/routed cousins. exa-unboxed never played NGG sold on ebay for much more than the used version.

Quoted from jgentry:

So what was the crazy post that got removed?

Quoted from frolic:

Here's what I know about it:
-We've seen videos of Gary taking time to tell the factory staff about awards they've won for best games or best manufacturers
-Gary speaks often of the pressure that every decision they make affects hundreds of jobs. That weighs on him, and why they don't just turn everything on a dime or whim of our pinside posts.
-A pinsider bumped into one of the factory ladies out in public, she was wearing a Stern Pinball t-shirt, she was very proud to work there and very excited to talk about it with a customer who appreciated it.
-Stern is the only company producing ~$5k machines and people complain about that price.
-If the wages are low, that speaks about greater issues with american manufacturing and economy, what unskilled workers get, but it's not like they are operating an illegal sweat shop.
The staff there do feel appreciated and morale seems good.