Quoted from PanzerFreak:

I have to completely disagree for the reasons below. I think the review by SDTM for both pins is fair and who knows both may change over time.
1. At today's NIB prices flow is overrated when it results in less toys and features. Iron Maiden premium / LE has far less features then POTC. There's no comparison in my opinion, even after the Pirates changes. At $9k+ I want interactive features such as those offered by Pirates.
2. Pirates destroys Iron Maiden in the software, rules, animations and audio department. Code plays a big part in a games perceived value for myself and many other buyers. POTC easily has 5x the amount of code that Iron Maiden does and much of it, such as the animations, are on a different level.
3. Theme: A majority of Iron Maidens music is about death and depressing topics. A lot of buyers want a fun story based theme, especially when their friends and family play the games with them. I choose fun.
I'm not a big fan of Iron Maidens music so that doesn't help with my opinion of the pin, lol. For those that are I can see why they really love the pin. It's also nice to see Stern going with more of a unique design with the pin as well.

Quoted from jeffspinballpalace:

I can account for one lost sale. While I like the game, with current art it is worth $4.5k to me. Don't think I will ever find that, so my only hope is to pay near full price. Unless there is a killer art package, I won't pay that premium.
Reactors are cool, and I just want some kind of dark, foreboding artwork. Even a Judge Dredd style package of man vs catastrophe would work. Guess it is too pop for my tastes.

Quoted from jgentry:

Yes, they are always respectful and overall pretty positive. And Yes, stern or JJP would absolutely be pissed when Zach rates their newest game a C and doesn't sell very many of them and would absolutely put him on their shit list. The business world is not all rainbows and butterflies and pinball in general is niche and extremely cut throat. You are asking Zach to literally screw himself for your own entertainment. He's not a beat reporter that has to report the truth at all costs, he is just a hobbyist that has a great show and podcast and has turned his hobby into a side business. You can easily read between the lines and know what Zach thinks without him damaging relationships that he relies for his business.