That sucks, hopefully you noted the damage with the shipping company before they left. In a situation like that you should NOT sign off on accepting delivery and make them take it back.

Your distributor should fix that and make it right.

Man i hate that. Id be pissed. Definitely need to be on thephone with distro and/or stern.

I made the mistake on my first NIB, a Lotr Le, 3 years ago, in accepting delivery when I saw a hole in the box. What had happened was a pallet jack went right through the box and into the bottom of the cab. No other damage.

But Automated picked up the damaged box/pin and sent me another one and they dealt with the shipping company.

What an F ing bummer on your first NIB, or any NIB for that matter.

WOW, That is all sorts of wrong. I wouldn't go any further and tell the distributor I am refusing the shipment and if they do not send someone to come and get it immediately and refund me my money. There is just WAY too much damage to even begin to think that repairs will make it back to NIB status.

Let them know that if they do not refund your money you will file a chargeback with your credit card company.

That really sucks - what a bummer, especially for a first NIB.

If the distributor is reputable they will get all the damage taken care of for you on the shipping company's dime - that thing was definitely dropped at some point. I wouldn't have signed for it. Good luck and keep us posted.

Oh wow that sucks man. Seeing the box open is a huge red flag.

I'm sure others can chime in, but every NIB I've seen has been strapped to the pallet.

Yeah, box open is a huge red flag, distributor better take care of it!

Take as many pictures as you can and document the story, the fact that you have a pic of the box coming off the truck with the top open is a good thing.

And yes, ones I have received are strapped to the pallet.

If distributor won't fix it, tell us who it is, so we'll know never to buy from that guy. Last resort, report it to the credit card company and challenge the charge.

Unfortunately, the shipment was already accepted. The time to refuse it is before the driver leaves and prior to signing for delivery. By signing, you're saying everything is ok. The fault is not stern or the distributor. It's the shipper. But because signature already occurred, you may or may not get anything out of the shipper.

I would be so mad. This is not right and I would demand a new machine be sent out to replace this one. Good luck!

That's the worst case scenario for the shipping company, so that's why they're saying they won't cover it. If I were you, I would counter with a NIB Met Pro and refraining from slashing the tires on all their trucks. But seriously, your distributor should go to bat for you.

I'm going to come forward, I'm the Distro, and will do everything I can. As Markmon said, its VERY hard once its signed for clear, Its not like at this point he can just refuse the shipment and send it back. Once he signs for it clear the bill of lading states hes signing for it undamaged and taking ownership of the item.

Freight Claims are the Worst, and are even worse when its a hidden damage claim like this.

JJ

Ouch man. So sorry. Looks like that box fell over and flopped around in the back of an empty trailer.

That doesn't sound right. The other big clue is that it's not on a Stern pallet. That game was unboxed and moved to another pallet. No reason that should've happened.

Also, the balls should've been in a bag secured in the coin box. If there was a ball on the playfield, that suggests to me that the game was played. If it was a restrapped showroom model, this is all on the distributor. You didn't get a NIB game.

That is some deceptive shit. What is the transport company?

The shipper does not take shipments that are open boxed and not strapped to a pallet. So you know it wasnt this way at stern. Or the shipper would have refused pick up. A

s for unboxing the game, you won't be allowed to do that. But you know there are possible issues when the box is opened and not strapped to the pallet. In this case, you tell them you can't accept because its open box and not strapped to the pallet. If they want to let you inspect the contents then you could accept otherwise you simply refuse shipment. At the very least, having the driver sign something indicating the box was opened and the item was not strapped to the pallet would give you something.

I only accept shipments that are sealed, strapped, and have no damage. If there's anything questionable, it's refused unless the shipper wants to allow inspection of the contents on the spot before accepting.

I've been fortunate enough to buy 4 NIB games and I never unboxed in front of a driver. However, the games should always be strapped to a pallet the exact same dimensions as the box. That is how they leave Stern. Your game had its flaps open as I can see from the lift gate pic. Being your first NIB, you may have thought nothing of it.

When I got my ac/dc the box was damaged I told the driver I wanted to open the game to inspect it... he told me he didn't have time to wait around and was in a hurry... I told him fine I'm not signing for it... He went and called his dispatch and all of the sudden he had time to wait around...I inspected the game it was undamaged so I signed for it.

In your case for me seeing the bands holding the game onto the pallet were gone I would insist on inspecting the game as I would assume that the game could have fallen off the pallet ect... When the game left the factory it was banded to the pallet so a full inspection before signing would be in order.

Estes

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I think the photo above will suffice.

Nice. Here's the plan: if they don't provide for a new Met Pro, we all schedule fictitious freight pick-ups until they do.

I'm trying to figure out how two legs are missing, the top is open and somehow it finds itself unstrapped and on to another pallet. Even when it was dropped it would still be attached to the pallet?

Why would they fish two legs out of there?

That sure does suck big time.

I've bought 2 NIB machines from Stern in the past couple of years and they were most definitely strapped to the pallet (see picture of Xmen below, I've cut one of the straps but you can still see the other one on the box). I'd be shocked if a machine left Stern without being strapped to the pallet.

How about all of the packaging and straps inside the box, was everything there (see a couple pictures of our Xmen and what it looked like)? I can see those grey packing blocks in one of your pictures. As soon as you opened that box you should have seen a bunch of other packing stuff as well.

Sure looks like that machine took a tumble somewhere, definitely unfortunate. Hopefully you get everything sorted out.

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If it came from Chicago that way, the pic above proves something happened along the way. A ball on the playfield might get by QA, but no way that pallet came from the factory. Way too big and not new.

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That photo will help. A statement from the driver as well. Unfortunately, shipment is accepted though. If this was refused it would not be a problem I think.

Tb0ne: how bad is the back of the cabinet? Can the wood just be glued back together and touched up with black paint? The plastic can be replaced by stern. The side wall damage covered with mirror blades, which are about $80 and look very awesome anyway. The side brackets can be bought at pinballlife for $50 a pair. Worst case, assuming the cabinet isn't too bad, you're our $150 and have some shiny mirror blades. I wouldn't care a out the back of the cabinet at all, personally. Oops forgot about the missing legs. Add another $50 for those.

You're in good hands, JJ's the man and you can bet he'll do everything in his power to make it right.

100-500 calls to Rob Estes might help.

All the games we ship are covered for damage. Some people ship without coverage or little coverage just to keep shipping cheap, not the way to go!!!!. The freight co. should pay for this, but it depends on what carrier your distributor shipped with, what insurance they asked for when they got the quote on the game and the distributors relationship with the shipper. I take pics of all my games, every side before it ships. I now document the packing process, foam insulation between the head, shrink, card board, etc, etc. I had two used games damaged, both extremely packed well and banded to a pallet. We filed both claims on each machine for shipping cost, and cost of damage to repair. Both were paid promptly and in full with well documented back up for the claim. Took 4 weeks to get a check back from the insurance co.

Talk to your distributor, he should contact the freight co to see what can be done. He should file a claim and talk to his representative. It is not your distributors fault it was damaged, I now tell my customers to send the game back to me, I will file the claim repair the game and ship it back out. That is if I contracted the shipping.

I had a NIB Stern shipped by NAVL, Game was accepted. Unpacked a day later to find it was damaged. We filed a claim and was awarded money back for the damages.

There is hope, but you or your distributor need to take action right away.

By the way, that is not the pallet style Stern ships their games on. Also they use a heavy green plastic banding to band the pallet to the game, That machine was dropped.

That game will never play right without a new cab. Pics 3, 4 and 5 confirm that.

You bought a NIB, it didn't come off the truck NIB, you have a picture that clearly shows you didn't get what you paid for. The shipping company needs to pay for that "concealed damage". Case closed. Have JJ raise hell with them based on that picture.

Lots of wonderful people to talk to at Estes soon:

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Considering the cost of games these days, it's worth every bit of one's time to raise hell about this. I hope to see you come out on top and you have mine and everyone's full support.

The pic of it coming off the truck opened up may save you on this one. Best of luck. That really sucks.

So do you open box right when they take it off the truck even if sealed and no damage to box?

ouch...that really sucks...I hope it all works out for you...with JJ on your side chances are it will be taken care of properly

This scares me as I'am about to get my first NIB soon, and was wondering if the box is fine but the pin inside is damaged that's on Stern or the Distributor. I know if the box is opened or damaged on mine I don't think I'am signing nothing. So let me ask if the box is damaged do you guys sign for it still or refuse? I really don't think anyone unboxes and setup to inspect with the driver right there. I don't know, man you see we get excited for delivery and anxious, and then you see what your photos show, you hate to not sign and have to wait another week or 2 for another to arrive. I have never taken delivery on a NIB, but from being on pinside awhile and seeing peoples deliveries I know if it comes with the wrong pallet and box open I would not have signed. I think guys at the freight company set this machine up and played a few games, that's why there was a pinball on the playfield, the broken plastic probably happened by the ball being loose in there. Those balls are secure in the coinbox when they are shipped. Hope you get a new pin out of this, you should as with the sreen print scuffed off the back like that, if you were to sell it down the road it will effect value! Sounds like your in good hands, and goona get taken care of! Good luck man!

Utter nonsense. There is not enough data in those pictures to make flat out determinations. I know you love to contradict everything, but there's simply not enough data here to make those types of statements.

Sucks even worse if you gave the driver a tip.

This happend to me with a samsung tv, the box was perfect no damage so I signed for it but when I opened it the glass screen was shattered. I called samsung and the shipping company, they went back and forth, it waS finally determined that it left samsungs whare house that way so it was there fault. Long story short after 8month of this bullshit they finally sent me a new samsung tv. Can you believe it I went 8 month without the walking dead and ps3. So pissed!! Hang in there man it might take awhile but they will eventually get you a new pin. I would absolutely not accept anything other than a nib pin like you paid for. I'm pissed for you. Ahaaaaaaaaaaa so pissed it brings back bad memory's. Good luck