Delivery disaster.

I finally pulled the plug and bought a Beatles gold and was delivered a perfectly intact box on a pristine pallet. My buddy and I had an unboxing party (whoo! hoo!) which is pretty rare these days.

So we cut the box and straps, installed the beautiful sparkly powder coat legs, lifted the head and secured it and removed the protective blue plastic wrap. My buddy was at the front staring at the playfield.

"Uh oh, Houston, we have a problem. We are not to going to play Beatles tonight."

The photos tell the story. Somebody dropped the unit quite cleverly, ripping out one of the playfield tab anchors and bending the other. The apron screws were snapped, but the playfield glass and cabinet remained totally intact!

Fortunately my dealer stepped up and took care of me. We swapped out mine for another (took a month in today's world of delayed transportation and supply).

So now I am enjoying a fun retro game and had quite a unique pinball experience to boot.

Apparently this situation is pretty rare, but makes me think twice about ordering a NIB game from an individual who asks the buyer to accept all risks.

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Great post.

I love having a Beatles in my small collection. The game seems simple on the surface, but once you plunge the first ball there is nowhere to hide, and no breaks...no scoops, no locks, no break in the action at all. It's a very good addition to a modern collection. My non-pinball-fanatic friends that come over like it better then the very complicated JP and TSPP.
Also it is, IMO, one of the most beautiful machines Stern has ever made.
buy one, your investment likely won't lose much value if any.

You played one on location Halloween? I will be honest, if you played it and don’t really like it I would pass. If you played Beatles and like the simplicity, speed, short ball times and can chuckle and smile after a bad game and want to hit start again it is for you.
Folks who tell me “I played Beatles and didn’t really get into it. Can you show me on yours what I am missing?” I just tell them “no I don’t think I can. It’s probably just not for you.”
I love me some sterns and CGC and own them but love playing my friends EM’s and SS games. You should play some. I say Beatles is like a EM or Early 80’s SS on steroids.
Just my opinion.

Both of these assessments are spot on. I had a pinball party of 8 very seasoned players and they could not stay away from The Beatles, which I have now owned for a couple of weeks. These salivating sandbaggers were all gunning for my pathetic 6 M GC - a task at which they failed miserably. Beatles definitely has that one more game addictive attraction. In today’s market the key is availability- you can bitch all day about price, but then you won’t get a machine. Like most of you I do fret about dollars and good deals- now a good deal is when I can actually get my hands on a machine. My early adulthood was in the late 70’s and early 80’s and I well remember double digit inflation…not fun.