Spooky gets my vote

Stern stands behind their product far more than 60 days no matter what their warranty says.

Sorry but that is just not good enough. It they stand behind their games they should put it in writing. This is near and dear to me and a clear written warranty on basics like boards would make me MUCH happier buying from them.

Well if it's not good enough for you then by all means don't buy their product. It's good enough for me though and I believe that they stand behind their products pretty well and I will continue to buy from them as long as they treat me fairly.

Fair enough glad you have the confidence and good experience with them. My only warranty thing with them, bad dmd, didn't go well and I have been sceptical since.

You won't find a single person that has been told by Stern they are at 61 days and won't be supported.

The "real" Stern warranty is more like 1 to 2 years.

End thread.

it should be 60 days after the completion of code

If you don't like it then don't buy it....

You show Star Wars and Spider Man Vault in your collection. What's up with that?

In my experience the actual warranty is more like 6 months and sometimes longer depending on the item. It seems to be entirely up to the mood of the tech on the phone. Usually the answer is yes when asking for some type of reasonable concession, but I have heard no enough to point it out on this thread.

Your thread title is completely different than your poll.

Warranty and customer service are different.

I asked a question in the node thread. Has anyone had to pay for a node board yet? No one has. So which is better Sterns warranty or their customer service?

Then a lifetime warranty on some Games?

Anyone who posts a "wavy finger guy" emoji gets an instant thumbs down regardless of other content.

I tend to think that Stern put this warranty in place for operators. I have not seen one example of anyone being denied warranty service on day 61. Hell, I haven't seen anyone denied service on day 366 either. What is more important is the actions Stern takes when a customer calls.

There are at least 200 threads in recent months relating to the service/quality control issue of pinball companies.

We all love great pinball, CLEARLY we all understand and live through every companies issues and things that they get WRONG.

The people like me that buy pins from all of them know what's up issue wise from A to Z and buy what we like. Period.

I get the OP's point. The written warranty is 60 days, which means STERN has the right to deny any claim after that point. It's all well and good that STERN has made good after the fact for so many, but WHAT IF that practice came to a halt as another cost cutting procedure? The uproar would just as much, or if not more than the ghosting is normal clauses in the manuals.

The fact is it's a 60 day written warranty, they are under zero obligation for anything else.

Please update the Pinside map of where all these new games are on display being operated in our area, I'd love to know

Their 60 days is a safety net so that if they make a real stinker and it falls apart they have some shielding from going bankrupt tying to send new playfields to everyone. They most likely will cover the issue but if its en mass they will refuse and save themselves by hiding behind their warranty. Just like how they defined ghosting/sinking inserts as normal and expected to happen, where that would have been unthinkable just a year ago.

I had stern give me support and send me parts for my xmle 5 years after I bought it. I think stern stands behind their products, but this sounds like something a lawyer would have written up to protect stern. At the end of the day it's a pinball machine and stuff breaks. If it's normal wear and tear I could see stern saying that's how these work. If it's a design issue they should take care of it and in my experience they have.

Oh your right, you never know when you call them what they will say, like someone said earlier that its up to the mood of the tech taking your call (what it will feel like thats for sure). I'm sure its really more the company stance/policy and the state of how things are going. If its a slow quarter for issues and they are doing great with sales, your probably set, but if there is some new playfield warping issue that has made a new release virtually unplayable, I don't think your getting much help after 60 days.

In years past, absolutely! Incredible warranty & customer service, & a great product. But, the OP has a reason for concern. Everything Stern has done over the past 2 years is to make a cheaper stripped down product to increase profit margins, all while raising prices to the consumer. Now, you have the new play field ghosting is normal disclosure on all Stern products, plus your new & improved incredibly short 60 day warranty.

I feel your pain, and can empathize.

Really most all posts are accurate....
As Consumers, we want and expect a degree of perfection, and we wage war on social media.

All I can say, is the degree with which everyone can be made happy.

I just roughly calculated I have retailed, around 7 million pieces, over my career, and I know I have a couple dozen
people I have failed.

My son just complained why all products arent made like the precision of Apple.

All this doesnt negate what you want, its just a bit more tricky when it comes to balance sheets, and who's making the
decisions. (Owners, Shareholders, Lawyers, etc)

Cappi is correct that sometimes warranty can be based solely on communication.

Profit is a dirty word today, and now retired, a blessing not to have to battle for pennies on a dollar to stay afloat.

( I cant tell you how many communications, in the 3 businesses I ran include...I know you are making a lot.....
I need cheaper, the best in the world, the best warranty, and the lowest price)

Perhaps if you have a specific issue in hand, a second chance might help.

....I hope.....

Unless the manufacturer makes a commitment in writing, it's not a warranty. Whatever they do for you is good will.

While it's great that the Techs at Stern, in general, are very willing to help out, and sometimes even beyond expectations, Stern's actual warranty on such an expensive, brand new product is pathetic.

Almost nothing is warranted, and the warranty starts the day the pin is shipped from the factory to the distributor - NOT WHEN YOU PURCHASE IT.

"Printed circuit boards (game logic): 2 months
Dot Matrix Display boards: 9 months
No other parts of seller's product are warranted.

Warranty periods are effective from the initial date of shipment from the seller to its authorized distributors."

Based on the good will service provided by Stern's techs, they obviously can and should provide a much more comprehensive and committed warranty. IMO.

Stern should make their "real" warranty real.

Stern Warranty (resized).jpg

Good luck with that, what are you populating them with?

I would think a SW pro, given the cost, would be a big earner on location like it is for other route ops and the ROI would be excellent.

As for the stated warranty from Stern I'm sure the distros who have to implement the program and make it work and deal with us customers aren't concerned about the stated warranty.

I have zero concern that Stern, through its distros won't keep providing awesome service like I've gotten on all of my games. Thankfully, i have purchased only 1 Stern pin, a BM66LE, that needed any actual "customer service".

At the end of the day, you F your end consumer your business goes to shit, that isn't going to happen.

As an attorney, I can see why Stern did what they did, there groups of people that you will never make happy no matter what and I'm sure that is where that "60 day warranty" is aimed at.

"Profit" as you know Art, is what keeps people employed with jobs and pinball machines coming off the line.

The consumer does NOT get to decide how much profit a company should or shouldn't make.

If we the consumer don't like the end product coming off the line then we get to vote with our wallets. Period end of story.

I'm sick of the crybaby "money grab", "too much profit" whiners. Just don't buy if you don't like it. You aren't ENTITLED to jack shit when it comes to pricing or how much profit you think is right or wrong.

And, if you don't like the quality, the warranty and/or the pricing its really simple, JUST DON'T BUY!

Past loyal customers like Zamp have had enough. Others don't see it that way yet.

So, the warranty starts from when Stern shipped it to the dist?

84523c2424ba7176c7f6645ad66d3629bdef53d6 (resized).jpg

That's what it says.

Of course if they went with the letter of the warranty, you'd hear a lot more bitching about Stern on Pinside. They've clearly decided as a corporate policy to provide goodwill coverage far beyond what it says on the page.

Obviously it's an individual decision whether you're comfortable relying on Stern's history of service vs the meager coverage the written warranty promises.

I gotta say I am impressed with Stern. They answer my emails in a timely fashion and come up with a solution. I am happy with them!

Yeah Ted, that obviously won't hold up in litigation. Promissory Estoppel, unjust enrichment etc...breach of implied warranties including "fit for a particular purpose" etc.

It's not just the EXPRESS WARRANTIES they make or don't make, there are promises and IMPLIED WARRANTIES we as consumers can rely on.

And that would be an issue if I were the distributor I'd be picking up the phone right now because their ass is certainly on the hook as well.

Yeah...it could sit with the dist for 6 months!

My point is simply the changes in Retail that the Internet has brought.
The references would be Big Box stores, Amazon, Mergers, etc.
The internet allows instant consumer shopping for the lowest price.
Take electronics. A few years ago people went to the stores to look at the products, than low price them on the
net. Many companies did not adapt fast enough.

Stern is still old school....its easy to see when one tours the factory.
We know with perhaps QC issues, or this thread.
We vote by buying the games we like, from the manufacturers we like.
We all want the lowest price. We saw Stern rail that in with MSRP controls, but yet there are discounts.

My overall point is Profits are needed, and consumers want the best at the lowest Price.
If these are both true, than the competitiveness, where there isnt a monopoly, is often in warranty, service, or hidden cost cutting.

If this graphic is true, its an endless cycle. If its a unique themed pin, which they all are, or an Iphone...the graphic has different but still applicable issues.

we are in agreement, Ice, just different perspectives based on being either the consumer or manufacturer, in position.

Products (resized).png

I bought a GOT Prem, I was second owner, and well outside of the 60 days a light on one of the LED boards went out. Stern treated it as "under warranty" and replaced it free of charge.