Quoted from MapleSyrup:

I think what Stern is trying to say with this clause is, "if your playfield is fu@%ed, we're going to take care of you, but can we please stop the nitpicky minutia of searching for imperfections, and demanding museum quality production??!". It's simply not attainable.
That's me reading between the lines. I think they've been inundated with super minor complaints, and simply CAN NOT afford to replace populated playfields over hairline insert ghosting that has zero effect on the machine. They need to bring expectations back down to reality somehow. This is a shot across the bow. Again... it's just a guess.
I'm getting an Aerosmith and and AC/DC VE. You can take me at my word that if either of these machines have ghosting inserts, I will document the cosmetic issue, and alert Stern and my Distro.
I will say something like, "I've noticed a few cosmetic imperfections. As long as they don't progress, or cause premature failure in the clear, I have no issue. Looking forward to enjoying these amazing games!". Beyond that... I will not care. I won't give it another thought as I play the crap out of my incredible new pins.
Pinball production is a massively complicated venture. The machines are incredibly complex in their construction. Production must be a crazy unicycle juggling act, taking place on a tightrope.
I think this is Stern asking people to be reasonable.
People will make the same arguments... "For what they're charging, we DEMAND perfection", "They're charging a Premium price, I demand a Premium Product!", "Theyre selling us "LE" models for stupid price increases, They created this problem!!"
At the end of the day, you're buying a super complicated mechanical amusement device. No matter how much you pay, or how limited the edition, or what steps are taken during production, and distribution... you can't change the fact that you're buying a PINBALL MACHINE. The nature of the product didn't change just because people got more demanding.
Rage on folks, but I'm going to go enjoy my pinball machines both old and new, and the MOMENT Stern announces another pinball machine that I want to own... I'll be buying it. Along with thousands of other people, who's expectations of a pinball machine are "Enjoyment" or "Revenue" or some combination of both.
Happy Flipping everybody

Quoted from flashinstinct:

There was an article not too long ago that jody boasted that profits were up 40% from 2015. Its in a thread on here somewhere in black white from a scan of the article

Quoted from smokedog:

Am I the only one who remembers the light ink on MMr play fields? The sling shots chewing into the playfield? Or the side rails that shredded the flesh from my thumbs?
I'm not saying there are any issues with AFMr by the way, but no manufacturer is immune to issues. None.

Quoted from Trekkie1978:

I'm 3 for 3 in getting approvals for playfield replacements.
As of now, I've only swapped 1 playfield. At least the next 2 are SPIKE games...will be a hell of a lot easier.

Quoted from Trekkie1978:

2 playfields ghosted and 1 playfield warped.
This is on 3 different machines.