I'd bet that we all know at least one guy that buys LE's to flip and is on a distributors list as a VIP. And in my case, the guy that is buying LE's to flip them absolutely doesn't need the "flipper" money.

I understand that it’s frustrating not getting your game and the current status of games, but can we keep this thread to information of what’s on the line and future information of what’s coming on the line. I’m not knocking anyone venting about not getting their games and about people flipping games but move that to another tread if you want to talk about it. Let’s keep this thread for information purposes on current and upcoming games on the stern’s production line.

Hoping for my Godzilla premium on the West Coast, any day now

I heard the same thing. Excited for my first pin!

Because you are proposing they raise the price for everyone based on the prices that just a few ‘price is no object’ buyers tolerate.

Don’t confuse the minority for the majority

When is last years run of EHOH supposed to be built? I am on the list.

December.

Anyone have any inside scoop on SW premium comic editions? And/or know if they plan to make more premiums in 2023? Or is this upcoming next run the end of it?

Of all the lists for different games I think that this is the hardest one to get on at this point, I hope stern holds to their word (this time) and builds them at the end of this year.

There were rumors of stern running Rush simultaneously with Avengers on the 2nd line. Has anyone heard any info on the Rush pro or premium April run? Wondering if it already started or if it will begin after Avengers.

Pretty sure they’ve been done making comic editions for both pro and premium for a while now. The upcoming runs are for the movie art.

Comic editions are done. No more being made. I'm in on the September run for a SW Premium.

Comic Pro and Premium permanently retired.

Pro/Premium still being made (guaranteed in 2023).

After AIQ. Around the 3/4th week in April.

No. I propose raising MSRP so that wait times are more like USA 2018 and not Trabant wait list, East Germany, circa 1984.

This whole thread is basically for people who are itching for their game. The current situation is apparently that Stern is sold out for months if not years and like it or not, this indicates that their product is too cheap for the demand.

I personally don’t mind waiting but it seems that many here on pinside are antsy for good old USA instant gratification and that won’t work if the product is priced to sell out until 2023 for Godzilla for example.

Do you think it’s due to more demand or less supply than was a few years ago?

or that supply is very constrained.

You don't see volume going up and prices soaring over them... you see people willing to pay for instant gratification and people speculating impacting availability.

Prices are already climbing double digit percentage points... you see far more people spending more than you see new buyers.

Stern is very conservative. They don't approach increasing manufacturing lightly. Then add on top of that covid... and you have a special intersection of things.

I’m not saying that the situation isn’t “special” (though the whole pandemic excuse is getting silly in 2022) and without Stern publishing numbers (to kinda stay on topic), it’s not sure if it’s because they are conservative or if they are cranking them out at record pace. It doesn’t really matter for the argument.

Fact is, if you want a GZ and order it today, it won’t show up until 2023 so this means that supply can’t satisfy demand, hence economy 101 says it’s too cheap.

I find it funny that people here seem to wish for a different economic system. Like some “OMG, if it’s $12999 instead of $8999 I can’t afford it anymore” and that must not be!!!

True for some but this means demand goes down and supply catches up and Stern makes more money and people here won’t obsess what’s “on the line” because they’ll get shipment notification within a few days of ordering, like it used to be.

Not sure if the magic number is $12999 or if it’s $9999 or $19999. For me, it’s $12999. If it’s more, I would be out and someone else gets my spot. As it is, there are too many customers at the $8999 price point for however few games Stern can or wants to produce. Denying this is questioning our economic system.

Bingo.
I suspect prices to stabilize and possibly decline once we permanently get over the covid hump.
The current shutdowns/lockdown in Asia might further affect supply chains for a few more months but that is it maybe

All I know is I ordered the EHOH June '21 and now its pushed to December '22 (18 months) and who knows what they will charge or even if it will be pushed into '23.

It's just become crazy. Seriously think I may be out of this hobby soon as it's not the fun it used to be.

The list for this pin is so dang long, whomever ordered last year is actually dreaming they will get one in the next run.
Not gonna happen.

Maybe they can start selling diy kits and we build it ourselves.?

Only if the distro is taking too many orders and aren't gong to get their full allocation. How big the list is and where you are on that list is what matters.

Also I had seen one distro increase the price by $1000 to $9999 (Granted that is only one, does it foretell that the next run will see a thousand dollar increase? and if so will that reduce the number of peeps on the existing list?).

I'm interested in this game and asked around at a few distributors and none seemed to have any idea what was going on with it beyond a small run in late 22' or early 23'. It sounded like most of them had long waiting lists or already took it down for preorders some time ago.

I'm not optimistic about being able to get it at msrp unless already have been on a list for many months.

Selling my spot to the highest bidder..!

Cardboard+Pinball (resized).jpg

I ordered GZ in February and got it a few days ago. You just need to be willing to dig through distributors and see who has them and when…

Thanks for the update. I guess the rumors of it being on the line now, aren’t true.

I can't say FOR SURE Rush isn't on the line, but they also had to fill-in the GZ units they ran out of parts on earlier in the month after the AIQ run is done, which will take a short bit also, so I think Rush being on the line right now is really unlikely, but it'd be great if they FINALLY were running their CURRENT game for everyone that's been waiting.

Are they going to run GZ again later on this year? I want to get in on one but can't preorder right now. It would have to be for one expected late this year/early next.

Yes, but I think most distributors are taking orders now for next year on GZ Premiums. No real FOMO. Stern will be making it for a long time, I think.

Hahaha! That’s probably what a lot of them would end up like!

Why not put a $1 deposit down at Cointaker? Or find a distributor that will just put you on their list for no charge?

Stern’s BOM is not what it used to be…

Lol

Sure it does - because we are talking Stern's business model. Stern is not some new upstart where we don't know which way they lean... Stern go through the lean times of the 2000s by being frugal, conservative, and then even cutting every ounce of meat from their frame. Gary is an accountant.. he hasn't forgotten what got him to this point. When JJP showed them people would pay for a premium, Stern was slow to follow. When others showed Stern people would buy sight unseen and set production targets... Stern stayed on the sidelines. When demand soared... Stern didn't pivot and ramp their production up through the ceiling.. they played the slow and steady game, opting for diversity in their channel instead of swinging for the fences with some all in gamble or building games until the market pushed back. They again kept on their strategy of releasing games on a cadence, and trying to keep a range of products in the channel. They haven't radically shifted their production, instead stayed on their incremental price escalation path. They've saved their 'sky high' price experimentation to the KaPow collaborations and worked to keep those a 'special' bucket instead of applying that same thinking to the cornerstone games.

TLDR - Stern has played the slow roll, don't over extend yourself strategy through thick and thin. They rely on their ability to consistently produce titles and avoiding risk.

And successful long running businesses don't come from blindly following macro-economics like it were a 9th grade graph. 'Supply and Demand' doesn't pay your overhead, or manage your per unit costs, or instantly recover your spending just because the curve magically shifts. Timing your moves and your investments, and commitment to long term isn't mastered with simple economics 101 bullet points.

Stern has been heavily investing in growth - they were just really slow to make the move.. and the current world situation is going to not be perpetual. Stern is still playing the long game.

The big negative changes with Stern in parts cost cutting and BOM reduction happened after the investment company came when Stern almost went out of business around the economic crash of 2008. Higher prices for less game started right after that point, and clearly has the investment group's fingerprints all over it.

Speaking of highs and lows, I *highly* recommend watching the Tony Hawk:Until the Wheels Fall Off documentary on HBOMAX. It's excellent. Having seen it, I would love to see sk8ball do not just a Tony Hawk pin, but a Legends of Skateboarding type pin with the Bone Brigade and all those guys you see in the documentary. Rodney Mullen spitting Nietzsche callouts in his zen way would be fantastic.

Is anyone making mods for this yet?

You obviously skipped Economics 101 or else you would know the above is null and void during a period of record inflation. There is more descretionary income in consumers hands than ever before. What you're suggesting only lends to even more rapid inflation, followed by Fed rate increases
to slow down the economy, followed by an inevitable recession (coming later this year or in 2023).

Inflation is already up a ridiculous 8% year-over-year and you're proposing to accelerate it up to 40% in this industry?

Believe it or not, there's more to our economy than the basic supply/demand theory you learned in 9th grade.

double post

double post

Yeah, when they announced those 6 month adjusting US bonds that are giving 7.25% currently, I was like, "WOW" - pretty crazy inflation for that to happen.

Well, in all fairness, a pin being on the line meant that those with orders were going to most likely be getting their game. Now that is really not the case. And I was one that thought I was going to be a March delivery GZ Prem (ordered day one), but now I have no clue. So the "off topic" is for a reason and somewhat justified IMO.

Just because a game is on the line doesn't mean anyone here is necessarily getting one.

And if we're talking production line, I really wish Stern would shock us with a Tron Vault.. would that be too much to ask?

Also, I was actually serious. Anyone with a skill set, I think would entertain the idea…
Stern could get a few more out faster and essentially have free labor “customers”. It could be a (win/win) in some respect? Not sure what the cost cut would be to customers, but it could possibly help out both parties. Flippers would be eliminated completely

so who'd you order from?

Same here. Ready for my first NIB pin!

Tron vault. Yeeeees.
This and Spiderman (or new spidy) please!

Man I hope my distro emails me for our AIQ premium. Fingers crossed its this week.

Or possibly that Stern is supply chain constrained on certain parts on specific machines. That maybe they are scheduling runs as parts for a given game become available...