Remember the movie "I Come In Peace". That spinning record is perfect. Make sure you catch it with the speaker magnet.

.

What EM game are you speaking of? Seawitch is an early SS pin.

I like the Gold, I think I’m taking the plunge!

looks like they are about 5% of the way to sell out???

Sell out (resized).JPG

Why not hold off buying that gold and join a pool of 9 others to buy a lot of 10 games? Seems like a fun and easy way to buy a game and maybe get a free model upgrade. If you are spending the money, do it wisely.

That's from the reviewjournal article. It specifically says:

"The machines will sell for less than $10,000, Kaminkov said, declining to provide specifics."

I took that to mean "you'll be able to get one for less than 10k", meaning the cheap one would be less than 10K - not really talking about the other 2 editions. But I could be wrong.

Well I’d be interested in that, do you know of 9 others that are interested? I sure as hell don’t. I like your idea though.

Well if Stern sells blocks of ten games for $70k, then all are less than $10k for the initial sale. Golds have a minimum price of 7.6k and most distributors are planning to mark them within a few hundred of this number. Since distributors will be establishing resell pricing of the two top models, that is beyond KaPow’s control.

Start a signup list thread maybe. There are 36 people voting yes they will buy one, Shirley that may fill out the first lottery. By starting a thread to solicit names or private pm’s, you may wrangle enough domestic orders. This approach may have tax / importing complications for overseas sales. Good luck.

There seems to be confusion b/w minimum advertised price (“MAP”) and minimum retail price (i.e. you can’t sell below $X if you want to keep distributing our goods). Both practices were once illegal price fixing, both now totally legal (at least under federal law) today:

https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/competition-guidance/guide-antitrust-laws/dealings-supply-chain/manufacturer-imposed

From the posts here, it sounds like Stern either has both MAP and MRP and people are just negotiating down from MAP, or Stern has a firm MRP policy but some distributors are willing to flaunt it. Which is also legal, they just cannot complain if Stern stops doing business with them as a result.

Only issue I see with this is wouldn’t one of the ten need to be a distro or have a tie to a distro who would be willing to acquire the lot on behalf of the 10?

Yes that’s the step you have to figure out. One approach is talk to Stern about a direct purchase or in becoming a distributor yourself. Stern is motivated to sell you a block of games.

Another approach is to solicit a distributor to make the purchase and offer them $1k-$2k. That adds 100-200 to price for everyone. Worst case is distributor demands $6k, so that each pin would sell for $7.6k. But you’d still enjoy the 30% chance of winning a free model upgrade. Side benefits include making 9 new friends on Pinside and becoming part of Pinside folklore. If you streamed the lottery part and showed who won the upgraded pins, we’d watch and cheer from around the world.

Step one is collecting names of real buyers - those who have the money and are ready to part with it. That is simple to start with a post, but may take the most time. Since no money is changing hands until the plan is hashed out, odds are high that someone in the group can broker the buy (should you welcome the assist). Don’t worry about having all the answers or the deal unraveling, someone in your team can figure it out.

Shirley? Thanks for giving me the best morning laugh I have had in a long time

If you believe that the entire world of pinball votes in a poll on Pinside, then your math is correct.

Some Stern distros seem to operate out of their garage, so it's not like Stern checks if you have a commercial storefront

I know of a pinball club that is a distro for their members. Does Stern know? Probably.

Form a DBA for $25, get everyone's cash from your league, figure out any speedbumps for your local, order a block of Beatles pins + some Iron Maidens.

Opportunity favors the clever.

I’d rather have an Airplane pin.

92B1F7FD-4F17-4416-919D-2BA986232E35 (resized).jpeg

I dont, but Pinside is obviously a very good indicator.

That's my thought. You have to be a huge fan of the Beatles, like retro more simple pins, and have very deep pockets. It's a very niche segment in an already niche industry. If Stern can sell every one of these then good on them. I will be impressed if they do and even more impressed if these start trading hands for even more money.

It's not. The entire premise of Vid's - and others' argument - is that there's an entire market out there beyond Pinside. That's been said for what seems like weeks now.

Obviously, if you don't agree with that premise, you'll say it's obvious that the pinside list is the only obvious indicator.

but obviously, others will disagree with you.

Obviously, we are all going to have to wait and see.

If the polls were accurate, we would have had a different Prez.

That’s the right way to take it.

Remember he is pitching... not educating. Must always consider what they say that is open ended... verse definitive

Several people have said they like the pin but not at the price points being talked about. But AFAIK, every price I have read on here is BS (feel free to correct me if I am wrong).

So, what happens if the cheaper Gold edition comes in at a price that is below what is being floated around here? Will there be a stampede to buy? My experience is that those who bitch the loudest about how overpriced a product is are the ones who want it the most and can't afford it.

Let me add this thought while everybody is whining about the price (supposed price). Prices can always be lowered and rebates offered to the early buyers for compensation. But if a company hits the market with a price that is too low, it will be flooded with demand it cannot keep up with. People will be whining about how the company should have known it was not producing enough product to satisfy demand (witness Coleco and the Cabbage Patch Kids in the 80s).

I was surprised to see Batman 66 Premium is going for $7600. Was that always the street price? For some reason I thought it was initially around $8500.

No? I know exactly where I was on 11-8-16. I chased a pin in El Paso and stopped in some one-horse town in New Mexico and got a room for the night. I like to go to sleep with the T.V. on. When I nodded off Hillary was slated to win. When I woke up early the next morning it was a complete upset.

You may not like what I said but that don't make it not so.

It's a terrible indicator.

People who don't even play pinball, but collect Beatles crap are going to buy it

Senior centers are going to buy it (not surprisingly 2 of the WOF I service are in senior living centers).

Out of my 100s of regular pinball clients, maybe 3 regularly look at pinside (and probably don't have an account to vote).

-

If you have a hard time thinking outside of your box, consider this:

MILLIONS of people own Ford Mustangs, yet only 33,000 belong to the Mustang forum.

I don't understand why people think polls and pinside lists are an "obvious" indicator of anything, besides what people who participate in polls and lists on pinside are doing or want people to think they are doing.

I would guess the majority of registered pinsiders participate in neither (I don't), and beyond that, all of the stuff Vid said.

While I'd love to have one of these machines, no chance I'll get even the lowest model NIB. I wonder how the used market will be down the road?

Keep an eye on Estate Sales.

It won't be long, yeah yeah yeah yeah, it won't be long whoooooo

I Want You (She’s So Heavy) is still an awesome riff for that time period...deep and grungy. That song had better be in the game.

It's not.

Great song but wouldn't fit the era they are pushing with this game. Even Drive My Car is kind of anachronistic to be in this game.

Looking at the photos of all trim levels going around, the platinum will have different translite art than the diamond from what I’m hearing.

All of this news and input...this game just keeps getting better and better. It’s driving me mad...it’s driving me mad.

Well one disti did say that the MAP for the Gold edition is $7995, so not all BS as far as that goes.

Stern themselfes confirmes that if you read the article a bit above...

Edit:
Here it is: https://www.bizjournals.com/chicago/news/2018/10/29/the-beatles-are-honored-in-new-stern-pinball.html
"A spokeswoman for Stern said the Gold Edition has a suggested retail price of $7,999. A typical Stern pinball machine starts at around $5,999."

oooo.. MAP is a whole $4 below MSRP! that doesn't leave a lot of leeway or the distributors, does it

It’s getting better all the time.

Sgt. Peppers theme would have been stellar. Stern’s next pin?

1900DFCC-A648-4BDC-847B-533CEC7D7836 (resized).jpeg

No wonder Paul used to beat his women and keep them away from loved ones.

No, it was $5,999, dippy.

And yes, it was what everyone else paid, because we know not to pay full price, unlike you.

You're digging yourself a hole.....

Wasn't that John? Or maybe they both did ...

Was that MAP or minimum retail price? If the later, you bargaining $500 off is some whysnow-level wheeling and dealing. If the former, less exciting.

Also the things that they loved.

He was a monster!

YAWN

Come back with something better.

Lol, I've never paid MSRP for a game. We are paying the same price so I have no clue what you are arguing about. Maybe myself or you is just using the incorrect term. But your not getting some kind of deal dippy. You are paying what all of use do.

All those famous faces were just a signature away back then.

Now every one of them would demand payment.

Lennon wanted Hitler, but everyone else said no. Could have used his image for free today.

What we're arguing about is the distro's ability to sell bellow any Stern enforced minimum.

It you can provide proof that there was a $5,400 hard limit, why just produce a screenshot of an official Stern release stating this.

You could probably get sonny Liston cheap.

You know good and well that stern doesn't advertise that publicly. All of the distro's know exactly what it is. Ask any of them what stern set the floor at on a game and they will tell you. Floor on GOTG was $5400, $5500 for IMDN, $5600 for DP. Seems like AS was the first game when stern really started pushing this but I may be off a release. Unless you are a new customer or are just foolish all of us are pretty much paying the exact same price. Sure some people that buy every release from the same distro may get a favor here or there but it's pretty much the same all across the board. It's not very hard to figure out that it's because stern is trying to control the distro's from under cutting each other, but stern tries to control everything the distros do.