I would expect 9 ghosting issues would qualify for a return, no?
Or are you talking about tiny slivers? Either way, I don't think anyone's going to suggest that 9 is acceptable.
Have you followed up with your distrib, or Stern?

There's nothing to prove that Stern cares less about customers. They included a clause in their warranty about ghosting playfields but the warranty already stated that play fields weren't covered at all. In my opinion, it's something their lawyer suggested, so that the next time a customer decides to be an asshole, Stern can simply tell them where to go.
GuerillaBiscuit just had a StarWars playfield replaced, because he had ghosted inserts, so they definitely have not simply decided to turn their backs on the customer.
To summarize this thread so far, 1 customer had a crappy shooter lane on his Metallica that maybe should have been replaced. The operator in Vegas appears to have numerous ghosted inserts on various machines. And there's a TWD on route, somewhere with a playfield that's sketchy. Maybe a problem, maybe not. Seems undetermined.
There are other problems that Pinsiders have reported, make no mistake. But when a thread like this is created and there are so few confirmations of current existing unresolved issues, I'm feeling pretty safe with my pin-dollars being spent at Stern.
You're welcome to your own opinion of course.

So then your argument is that many pinball machines produced by Stern are flawed, but not owned by Pinsiders, and THAT'S your argument?

Give me a break.

Again, you are entitled to whatever opinion you want. Buy or don't buy. But if you're going to make statements that Stern warrants bashing, MAYBE you could provide some evidence?
I read about your KISS playfield being replaced, and it's unfortunate that your drop target has the wrong stickers on them.
It's not what I would consider bash-worthy.
Nor is the dusty playfield comment that you complained about.

For what it's worth, GuerillaBiscuit received a replacement StarWars playfield from Stern, replacing the one he had with ghosting inserts. That speaks volumes to me and provides an indication of where they stand on customer service, despite the added paragraph. Lastly, the playfield was never warrantied in the first place.

So what we need to find is an owner (or owners) who have ghosted inserts, that Stern won't replace.
Then determine what their replacement threshold is. THEN determine if that's acceptable or not.

Until then, you're just stirring the drama pot.

Seriously? You're trying to say that you're not CONSTANTLY bashing Stern? You're one of the worst ones on Pinside for that.
And thank you for putting words in my mouth, but I've never said that Stern can do no wrong. What I've said that nearly always, they step up and fix their mistakes. We've seen them replace GuerillaBiscuit's playfield.
It's what I was hoping would continue to happen even after reading the new paragraph that you started this thread about.
I am hopeful that will continue but no, nobody knows if that will happen or not.

For rehashing the Ghostbusters playfield thread: you're pathetic.
Go back and re-read that thread. If you think I was picking a date out of thin air, just hoping that I was right, you're even more of a piece-of-work than I think you are. If you'll notice, there were approximately 2 (give or take) more ghostbuster playfield issues after the date I drew in the sand. Lucky? If you say so.

Regarding your comments about the $100 donation: you appear to have been a little too excited when typing that out. Not sure what you're trying to say. If you're trying to one-up me, just because you're donating to a good cause, be my guest. Donations are good. You're still a Stern-bashing troll, offering little evidence, and not even acknowledging Sterns good effort of replacing the ghosted playfield.

Either way, let's all hope that they continue to keep up this practice.

Thanks for being a dick!
I don't want anything from Stern, with the exception of a fully operational pin when I pay for one.
I have found some issues from time to time, but Stern has always backed me 100%.

Yeah, I agree whole-heartedly with you on that. Poor customer service.
I think that your email chain is helpful to Pinsiders. It shows that if you're not getting a reply in a timely manner, it's time to change channels and get someone else involved.
I never saw pics of your Met, so hard for me to agree that it was worthy of a playfield replacement, but the lack of follow up on Sterns part was not cool.

I can see why you're not supportive of them or their customer service. That said, it's one of the very few examples of Stern dropping the ball that I have heard of.

Your comments are completely warranted in my opinion, and serve to help educate potential buyers on what they might be getting into. Having said that, there are dozens of Pinsiders who are screaming bloody murder, without any issues, making Stern appear far worse then they ought to be.

In the grand scheme of things, if people were clear about why they are complaining, I think Pinside would be a better place. Complaining about a new paragraph in the warranty section is ridiculous. Seeing how Stern reacts to future ghosting play fields is what's important.

And if that's the case, it is what it is. But then let's see what the issues are. That's good info for other Pinsiders with similar issues, or potential buyers to consider.
The problem I have, is that there are so many people complaining about stuff they really aren't suffering from.

I don't defend ghosting inserts, saying they're no big deal. I'm saying that although some have gone out, Stern seems to be replacing them, as they did before that extra paragraph was included. If they stop doing that, I'll be out as well, depending on whether the ghosting is minute, or what I consider a big deal on a pin in my collection.