That's prob true but that may not help you.. They said in expo presentation they aren't playing the sell preorder spot games.. If they don't want it, they get their money back. New orders at back of line. Just in case you missed that is all.

I did miss that. I was out of town (and very busy) for a week and started catching up at the airport last night. That makes it very easy then.

One last time for posterity here's what the preorder section of website used to say:

"Get the guaranteed preorder price and become a Dutch Pinball Very Important Pinhead™
When you preorder by October 19, you’ll automatically become a Very Important Pinhead™. You’ll get unprecedented, behind the scenes access to The Dutch Pinball Team as we develop TBL, and you’ll be one of the first to play The Big Lebowski Pinball™.

You'll be one of the first to play The Big Lebowski Pinball™.
You'll get a TRUE-SERIAL™ TBL.*
We'll donate $25 to The Dude's Charity, No Kid Hungry on your behalf .
You'll be the first to get exclusive inside information before it's released to the public via The New Shit Newsletter™ VIP Edition.
You can participate in special contests like our TBLfie Selfie Contest and win awesome prizes, such as a one-of-a-kind pre-production TBL playfield signed and given to you by The Dutch Pinball Team.
You'll get lots of cool swag like t-shirts, and...
You'll get behind the scenes photos, videos and Tours.
You’re invited to our Lebowski Launch Party in The Netherlands, and to our Penthouse VIP event at Pinball Expo in Chicago this October. (Just, be sure to wear your limited edition Dutch-Pinball T-Shirt.).
And of course, you'll get a custom woven, perfectly sized rug… it ties the whole room together.

* TRUE-SERIAL™ numbers are assigned in the order in which the machines are preordered and produced. As this is the ACTUAL number of the machine which comes out of production, we cannot tell you your number until we start building your pinball machine.

Yeah I thought I could send you to Jared's video but looking at his ustream account now I can't find it oh well, yeah I'd wait and see what happens.

Well DP loses too, because I don't preorder, and I'm sure as hell not paying $9k plus shipping and sales tax for a pin.

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/54070739

I gave you a thumbs up although if it is the "best pin ever" I will pay the $9k plus. So, for me now it's a win-win. If they make any mistakes in design or have software issues I'm not in. If it turns out perfect then I can jump in ($500 extra for the "best pin ever" won't hurt me).

Maybe not....DP is building TBL. But DP is also building a Brand. If TBL is all that its expected, DP may become the new standard in High Line Pins.

In the next several years, some may be selling their TBL, to fund another (DP) purchase. You may be able to pick up a routed TBL for less than $9k. But I don't think this will be a reality for while.

Its still not a bad thing for DP. They prove themselves with TBL and that creates interest from existing customers as well as future customers for the next title.

Yeah its a lot. I know why I'm in (dream theme).. I would say everyone who had pre ordered prior to the Netherland launch party is similar to me. I currently can't imagine ever doing this again. I said that after $6800 I think for XMLE.. But there was no lebowski.

People can pay another $5 off the new price and get the smaug edition hobbit if they want.

Luckily there's enough of these coming to california that it should be possible to play it yourself regardless of purchase.

i live in canada but i believe you don't pay tax. if your nib sterns had sales tax then you will pay it, otherwise you don't.

When the early Achievers went in on the first day, we bought into a sheet of paper, showing a pinball machine covered in a rug. We committed to what, a hand out and a promise?

Now guys can make a decision on buying the game after seeing, playing, and experiencing it.

I have to think this is very fair. We stuck our necks out, (well kinda, they did offer a full refund)...and DP rewarded us with a rug, t-shirt, chrome, and a lower price. I am cool with that.

I'm still waiting on my t-shirt

Does anyone have any idea when we'll find out our True-Serial numbers? It would be fun to know where we actually stand in line (and keep track of how the rest of us are moving up the line when the non-believers drop out )

Yeah it might be a lot to keep the list updated as people drop off.. But I would love to hear how many preorders got in before the bell

Anybody else pay at the booth and use their phone to pay? Got a reciept but still no order confirmation or anything yet via email? Just curious

I'm pretty sure they won't tell you the serial number until your machine is ready for production. Because, at that point, if you decline, they'll move to the next person.

That's my understanding, and really the only way a "true-serial" could work.

I used my phone to pay. I was buying during the seminar, as I knew others would be buying right afterwards. In my excitement, I actually ordered 3x, but was able to get that all sorted out. The default country was Algeria. Needless to say, my credit card was frozen after I tried to buy an $8500 pinball machine and ship it to Algeria.

Good point, I guess we'll just have to wait.

heh well i guess it's good to test them now and again

So when do they send out shirts? Does anyone know? Also they didnt ask for a shirt size.

I kept emailing Phil (2 or 3x) using the email they sent to confirm my order. I let them know my address and shirt size.

You could email Phil or jaap. I imagine though they need to sort of catch their breath a bit and catch up on some things and then send out some New Shit Newsletters. Fair warning the T-shirt distribution has been haphazard. Thinking though that all the new orders are going to require them to get a bit better organized with the books anyway.

Do we need to start a Real (but unofficial) T-Shirt Request thread?

Thats cool, Ill send them an email. Im still waiting on shirts from another preorder I made, I dont think they are coming though, that was 5 months ago.

TBL is looking so good I was tempted to pre-order to lock in the price and get the extra goodies even though it's not a dream theme to me. Congrats to those that took the plunge.

_{Post edited by Jvspin: Since this is a pre-order list post, I thought posting my reasons for not pre-ordering inappropriate.}

I ordered off their web site on Satuday morning and had an email confirmation and order number within 30 min. I would like my shirt to be XL but I didn't see anywhere to specify.

Yeha that is what happened to my one friend too but did not get any confirmation; other then my one eamil I got probably because I ordered from Phil's phone maybe

I agree. Pre-orders should get more. And, you likely will still have your necks stuck out for another year or more.

They have been less than stellar in delivering the t-shirts, I have "almost gotten" mine 3 times now with Phil telling me it was on it's way after the screw ups of not receiving it and still nothing. I have given up, if this is the biggest thing they screw up through this process then I am one happy camper, just a shirtless happy camper I guess.

Legally, in the U.S., if you live in a state that has sales tax, you are required to pay "use tax" on the purchase of a pin, even if you purchase it from out of state.

The vast majority of people don't pay the tax voluntarily like they are supposed to. But a lot of local tax agencies have got smart, and they require copies of shipping documents to be sent to them. They then contact the person on those shipping docs to request a copy of the invoice and ask when they can expect to receive payment of the Use Tax.

I was originally contacted via email about a NIB Stern that I bought. When I didn't respond within 3 days, they called me on my cell phone! They got the info off the shipping docs.

The same thing has happened to Rarehero in terms of being contacted by the local tax collector, asking for payment of the use tax.

So yeah, I gotta pay tax. $750.00 in my case, on top of shipping and the $9k price of the pin.

Anyone holding out hope for custom callouts from any of the actors?

What do you mean custom callouts? Lines that were not actually said in the movie?

Custom callouts pertaining to pinball "jackpot!" "multiball!"

I am a bit torn on that.. the movie is so perfect, quotes plentiful. nothing good happens to these characters. . so a callouts like "Jackpot!" breaks character a bit.

Yeah, what he said.

With you on that.

I would rather not have the traditional callouts and such, and I'm not holding my breathe that there will be any, either.

I would love some Sam Elliott pinball narration. Maybe in attract mode or at game start.

wow, thanks for sharing.

Yeah if they use the Sam Elliot sound-alike voice actor from the original promotional video to narrate a couple things, that's fine. He's the only one where it is appropriate to break "the third wall" so to speak

I just dropped in,To see what Condition my Condition was in.

Heard a conversation regarding various call outs to the game. A suggestion about The Stranger seemed to get good vibes from the people hanging in the conversation...but you never know.

I'll take that bet...

It's just a California thing Rob, as if the Cali state income tax isn't enough, a F ing self reporting "use tax" that is actually being audited. WOW is all i can say, I feel sorry for you guys!

I'm gonna watch the Dude tonight again, its been awhile. After Sons of Anarchy of course!

I'm pretty sure Rob is right on for every state. You're responsible to pay your resident state sales tax on goods purchased online.

My wife's the CPA, I'll ask her later for clarity. I know it's required in WI, but will confirm on other states.

Me neither. And this pin is as good as it gets as far as I'm concerned. Maybe, just maybe and announcement of Elvira number 3 could get me to do it. At the very least I'd be on the fence for quite a while.

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All Jungled out!,As JB put it.All the dancing girls in the movie were told by JB's wife that he was going to take pictures when he floated under them.So all the girls stuffed hair in their panties!.This is in the Extras on the Blu ray.Classic

Re: tax

I typically don't deal with sales tax, but from what I do know, you are supposed to pay state sales tax on anything you buy, whether online or out of state, that you didn't pay sales tax on. So if it is shipped to you and no sales tax was paid, then you report it on your income tax return to pay sales tax as a reduction to your refund. For out of state purchases where you did pay sales tax, then you don't have to pay sales tax (states won't "double dip"), but if you didn't pay sales tax, they want you to pay them.

So, if you pick it up and the seller charges you sales tax, then you are fine. But if you don't pay sales tax, it is my understanding you would still pay your state's sales tax on it. You wouldn't have to figure out a way to pay sales tax to the other state on your own. I believe most states follow the same suit.

Yeah, and some states (mine) pursues getting those taxes more than others. What I am wondering is, given the payment plan spread out over 2014 and 2015.. is it likely to trigger the tax man noticing (i.e., spread out $1500 payments vs a single $9k payment). I guess I don't understand how CA learns of the transaction.. who's selling me out?

I do know PayPal has the option to provide your SSN number to them... no way in hell am I giving them that