Found it.

http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/stern-screwing-regular-customers

JJ has been solid for me and others I know for NIBs. Definitely one of the good guys in pinball IMO. I appreciate him following through with things when issues arise which he always has. Not to mention providing fair pricing on them.

What happened sucks for everyone. Just roll with it and enjoy a premium.stern is making changes so be patient.

WTB- gtb Spring Break
I had a Roy Clark the entertainer, but had to sell, b/c I don't know who the f#ck Roy Clark is!

Lol I think I actually have one

BIG +2 on that!

I have the invoice. From 4/11. From my distributors email whose name I won't mention. It's the same as the invoice for XMen. Same as the invoice for AC/DC. How is a customer supposed to know there is some code, something else that needs to be done? I was assured there were no problems, my order was secure, that there were no issues. Where was the followup?

I asked for another copy of the original invoice on 5/28. But then I found the original from 4/11 so no longer needed another copy. I have the original from 4/11. It's got the date right on it. It has an order # on it.

Where was the client service? The "let me check with Dad to make sure everything is OK". I think the ball was dropped on the distributors end. Some lack of communication and certainly zero follow up on my order.

But I can't do anything about it. Just sucks. There was ample opportunity to inform me of any issues from 4/11 to anytime before I paid for the machine.

I bought three machines from this vendor - over $19,000.

Like I said I can't do anything except vent and move on. There ya have it

Did you send a deposit?

.

shit-hitting-the-fan.gif

crazy!

Nope.. and He Didn't have an Invoice, or anything with his name on it. He simply thought he had an order but had never committed to the game until long after. Sadly.

that's because Teekee is probably sitting on 3 LE's. If it's a bomb, he loses out, so has to be hyped up.

hey JJ,
did you get my PM?

nice!

I agree nice vid, I have his(Vince's) autograph somewhere.

PS I do feel like I should have caught the Issue earlier and asked him what his order number was because I didn't see it in the computer.. I offered to make him a HELL of a deal on a Prem or Pro (was going to loose money on it but that was ok with me) But he didn't even respond to my offer. If I had another game just to have kept him happy I would have given it to him.. But Sadly I didn't.

Sorry Rommy I can't give you anymore then Ive offered to do, As you said you were a good customer, and I'm sad to see you go. Trent is a good guy as well so you are in good hands.

JJ

That just proves it, business owners can never go on vacation. You know it's sad but true!

Cause some people who own a real estate business think that they will never face a crisis and will be able to buy whatever they want forever.

I'd side with you any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

Agreed, but Rommy has been extremely solid on pinside as far as I know. This is a very unfortunate situation for all parties. I think Stern screwed the pooch on this title. They best shape up for StarTrek.

This is the truest statement anyone can ever make. If you own a small business you can never go on a vacation because no one will be able to do what you do regardless of how well you train them or how much experience they have.

gotta admit, i freaked when I could not reach JJ

I asked to be emailed an invoice on 4/11. The fact that what my distributor sent he now CLAIMS is not an invoice is just silly. I asked for an invoice...I got a form via email which I forwarded to accounting for payment. It looks just like what I got for AC/DC and XM. When I got those I paid as well.. My distributor should have caught this issue. Zero attention was paid to my order. Now I get left out because my distributor screwed the pooch. My distributor knows he screwed up and has apologized several times.

The thing I would take from this if you are going to keep using my old distributor is orders should go to the Dad not the son as the Dad is the final arbiter. I ordered from the son and look what happened. He assured me repeatedly everything was cool. Only let me know of an issue AFTER I paid. I think the Dad might not have let that happen.

Then there is order cancellation. My distributor tried to cancel other order to fill mine. His Dad stopped him from going that route. I would have stopped him from going that route once I found out. I did not want the Karma of having another guy's order cancelled. This is bad business, cancelling one guys order to fill another guys order. If they had not oversold it would not be an issue.

If my distributor comes on here and disputes this I am going to post his private emails wherein he outlines his attempt to cancel some other poor sap's order to get me mine.

Otherwise - I am done and moving on.

I should not be surprised. My old distributor does not play pinball. Hell, he does not even like it. In the end all I was to him was $$$. So typical.

Someone asked this - I have never had to make a deposit with him. Our arrangement was he would let me know when to pay and the check would go out. Usually one week or so prior to shipping. No deposits needed from me. Ever. I am sure he does this for others, those he considers his "highline" clients, or however you want to put it.

What surprises me most is that my distributor seems mad at me for not getting my order filled. How does that work? OR that he is surprised I am pissed. I mean shit, I ordered, we talked in April May and June, and then BAM, NO SOUP FOR YOU.

Yeah, I'd move on. Nothing good comes of posting private msgs or emails, ever, never ever! He offered to make it up to you with a Premium at cost, a very nice gesture so I'd take that offer!

Distributors did not want to cancel anyone's order, that's the opposite of how they make money! LOTS of people got their orders cancelled after putting down a deposit and getting an invoice/order#/whatever. And I'd be willing to guess most weren't offered a Premium at cost as consolation!

There seems to have been a perfect storm of problems with the MOPLE release.... fan club orders not anticipated, Euro/AU orders higher than expected, and catching one of the larger distributors off-guard and on vacation. Hopefully, a learning experience for all!

I think Stern could have produced 1000 LE's instead of 500 and a lot of people would have been happier. Maybe they should make a second run of LE's with Ride the Lightning art that several people want to see.

Neo, Wipe your mouth there is sour grape juice on it.

Where do you get your info? Your normally wrong so just curious if you just make stuff up or what?

Every one produced could have been an LE and the pro would be the 9k pin

He has 5 get your shiznit right.

your getting warmer!

It's 8...ding...ding...ding...ding...I'm the winner! (not sure of what...but the winner, nonetheless)

You win a FREE teekee autograph (normally $25) Next time we meet I'll sign your forehead...

I think the same of AV haters. Whatever. Don't take it personally.

Mople's will forever have the residue of greed and BS attached to them. sad but true, for a hot looking game!

_{Post edited by TheFamilyArcade : Not accusing anyone of anything in this thread by the way....just a comment on the general state of MopLE}

teekee...I know you catch a lot of crap from time to time here on the Pinside Forum...here's your chance to prove to those people that you're not a bad guy... if you were to sell rommy one of your eight at cost (plus maybe a little more for your trouble, shipping, etc.), those people could no longer perceive you as the greedy opportunist that they do. This could be a win, win, win situation for everyone. You become a Pinside hero, rommy gets an LE, and JJ gets some relief from the tough spot he is in...

That's funny!!!

To be honest... those guys that don't know me and have never dealt with me can think whatever they want to think about me. I could care less about that. Now if you really believe I have 8 then... well, not sure what to think about that one.

I have 6 on the way, so when I read in another thread where you stated you had purchased 8, that didn't seem unrealistic to me. So what you are saying now is that what you post, isn't always true? Say it ain't so!

It is so... sorry.

LMAO

I don't think anyone who has dealt with Teekee thinks he is a bad guy. Teekee has said many times to "make hay while the sun shines" and I think everyone on here who owns a business agrees with him.

It is just Teekee's ferocious unrelenting reverse-price policing that irritate people.

Sooooo, I irritate people... now how am I any different from 99% of the guys here?

Ha Below cost, I was going to loose money on the deal to just make sure he didn't feel screwed. I guess you win some and loose some.. Rommy Ive been around this business longer then almost anyone on this board.. Ive played more games New then most people have played in there life. So you can question my dedication to pinball all you want.

and so goes another day in limited edition affliction getting a premium at/below cost is a no brainer!

i say this because the same thing happened to me, different distro. was offered a premium at cost and took it.

from now on i am a premium guy, never to enter the greasy limited edition hype pit again. it's quite liberating actually

Rommy,

You're making a muck of this thread and losing credibility fast. Remember, you can't take your toys with you and if you fall on hard times I'm very certain the bankruptcy courts would be more than happy to take all of your pins.

Just PM the OP and get this thread closed. The sooner the better.

Wait...Did I read that right? Some dude wants me to go bankrupt and lose all my pins? or is predicting that is going to happen? What's up with that? I don't even know dude. Crazy world sometimes.

This morning a pinsider offered to sell me his MOP LE at cost. I was floored by his generosity, tripped out actually. What an offer! So I guess the death wishes are balanced out by generous fellow pinheads in the end. Pinside rocks.

I am amazed at the frenzy over this pin. Wonder if it will continue for Stern like this? If it does we are going to be seeing a lot more threads titled "One more left..." And people not "in the club" with their distros are going to miss out or have to pay a little extra from third parties later. Either that or what? Make deposits on multiple pins far in advance? Years even?

Smith and Wesson has a custom shop. So you can buy a NIB gun and have it sent to the custom shop (sort of) and have a more refined weapon. Looks like we have a third party doing that now for NIB pins. For S&W the results are really good. If the third parties do a good job on these new Stern's...I would consider that route for sure.

Don't go starting a Holy War Rommy. Re-read what I said. I never hope you go out of business, declare bankruptcy, or get cancer.

However, I do hope you gain some humility at some point in the future.

So this whole mess has a happy ending.

Thank you unknown pinsider for helping out !

LTG : )