When any company gets greedy with their offerings, sales always stagnate. Stern products will be no different. A reasonable price increase of smaller increments on LEs would have been acceptable, but the jump from GZ of $10,5k to Bond at $13k is staggering and will come back to bite Stern on most all future titles. For example, titles like Venom, MOTU, Foofigthers, Jaws, etc, will not sell.

I thought Zach said international pros this week, domestic location pros next week, LEs the weeks after, then Premium. And then possible next runs of pros in Jan and Premiums in Feb.

Nevermind, heard from a few people that it does start next week.

pros are now for export, hopefully next week for domestic. LE's are not next week, they are next month

The buzz surrounding this game feels like it’s faded into almost nothing with how long its taken

We are still keen and looking forward to flipping one soon!

Which model of Bond did you end up getting?

I’m very excited for this game.

I was really exited too until I saw the $10k price tag. Any excitement i had left after that has been rapidly diminishing and will continue to evaporate during the 3 months until I get to "hopefully" find one in the wild to try before I buy.

I'll probably just pick one up on the secondary market for a discount next summer..... if they're available by then.

LOL! So that is why they keep delaying it.

Finally got my shipment notification for my TMNT Pro order. Should be arriving Tuesday!

Mando toppers on the line...

https://www.instagram.com/p/Ck1H80tDaNz/?hl=en

LE. I like Gomez design and Lonnie code. So far game looks pretty good.
Hopefully games start shipping soon.

I’m with you on Bond LE. Awesome looking/playing game. Code will get there, George will see to that and so will Lonnie. Both have had lots of experience to learn from and with Mike on rules, should be epic. 6 major toys on that game, takes a top prize, imo. (Seven or eight if we count the drops and simulated underwater jet pop/scoop.) Game is loaded.

Congrats on your LE! Game is expensive in Australia so we sold our MandoLE to fund Bond.

I am on this thread so I can see when the games start shipping, hopefully soon. The early code does not bother me, I enjoy watching the code develop. I can see why coin droppers want finished code.

Same with me, enjoy code progression. Stern’s team won’t let us down, at least that’s what I’m hoping. How much in Australia?

WOW!!!! You’re kidding right? Astronomically high price, even with exchange rate factored. And that price spread of $9,000.00 between a pro and an LE: super WOW!!!!!!!

So last year, I was *this* close to pre-ordering an Elvira, but nabbed a used one instead. Feel like I dodged a bullet.

My wife and I were discussing the possible reasons new Elvira machines keep getting delayed, and she made a good point: Elvira seems like one of the most easy-going licensing deals Stern has, so it makes sense to pump out the other titles that have expiry dates on them first, and build a big backlog of demand before doing the next run.

Exchange rate matters. AUD is currently 2/3 of USD, so 14950 for the premium is 9960 USD. Between that and shipping to Australia, that's about what I would expect. Really only the LE is crazy there.

Makes you wonder what’s in Stern mind. If they can sell these pins at these prices all around the world no kidding they will keep increasing prices in North America.

These price increases are pretty insane. I know this is above my limit. The value, for me, just isn't there at 10k. Maybe it's a mental barrier but I want it below that number and that is after buying a shaker, side art and invisiglass at a minimum.

I know the Pro's didn't go up as much but I don't see how an operator can justify a 10k game. Maybe I'm out of it but most of the games I play on location are Premiums with some pros mixed in.

The other crazy thing is the price of the LE's (which are now "limited" to 1000). If the game is a dud, there are going to be some people taking a big hit much like they are with Toy Story 4. If Stern wants to maximize their profit and slow down the scalping you would think they would wait for a bit and see how Pro's and Premiums sell and how well the game is received before announcing/building an LE. Think of what they could have done with Godzilla LE if they had waited 2 production cycles before announcing numbers and pricing of LE's. And if the game is a slow seller, reduce the numbers or eliminate it all together.

I know, I know, all of us armchair pinsiders should be running Stern. It will be interesting to see how Bond does regardless of my thoughts.

Any idea if Deadpool is getting another run?

Im so glad i got mine this year - what a game!
Keeper

It'll be very interesting to see a schedule for 23, I hope one comes soon.

Automated (pinballs.com) just put up a DP Pro in their NIB inventory. I don't know if they just did a quick run or what, but if interested I'd be eyeing that one if you can somehow get it across the border.

(re: Rush Premium)

As it turns out, buried on their website is a disclaimer that deposits are non-refundable! So they get to sit on my thousand dollars all year while others have been enjoying their Rush for months. Nice.

So I am left asking once more, does anyone know when they will hit the line at Stern again?

And I better still get it at this year's price!

My GZ premium arrived yesterday. I ordered this past August so I was pleasantly surprised it showed up so soon. Downside is I ended up with a $500 surcharge but it kinda evens out with me getting it before the holidays.

E0956AC7-F4D3-470E-B0F6-A1B1BA6C43A8 (resized).jpeg

You might want to ask. I had two deposits with a large distributor and their site said no refunds on deposits but when I asked they said “no problem”. I would guess that is more for when your game is about to manufacture/ship and you want to cancel… but I guess it’s their option. Don’t bet on this years price, deposits don’t lock prices.

Well, I already did ask, and that's how I found out no refunds. Then I went looking for such a clause on their website and found it mentioned on their separate "terms" page. Not exactly obvious.

And the deposit damn well better lock the price! The deposit was put down on the price listed!

good luck with that

The assembly lines at Stern are about to get a whole lot bigger...

Details on Stern Pinball's New 50% Larger Factory

https://www.knapparcade.org/post/details-on-stern-pinball-s-new-50-larger-factory

2022-11-17 11_48_59-13649 (resized).png

Psssssst....... put a surge protector on that thing ASAP.

Higher volume and greater efficiency can add up to only one thing. Cheaper prices!

Or space for more microwave ovens.

If the deposit does not lock in the price and they change the price when yours ships, then that's a material change of contract (new price) and I'm pretty sure in all states that allows you to get a refund of the deposit if you don't agree to the new price. Check your state contract law.

Oops. Math fail. Knapp had it right.

So a $26 million lease..... they can't construct a purpose built building for that much dough?

You'd think they'd want an asset if they're spending that much cash.

PinMonk 163,000 is 48% larger than 110,000

My bad, I was working from the other direction. Integrity preserved.

Nobody owns their buildings any more. Apparently makes more tax sense to lease.

As Pinmonk stated earlier, you put a deposit down at a certain price and if it goes up you should have right of refusal. I’d press them on it, and let others know who to avoid

Our deposits are always refundable and i have Rush premium in stock. Hopefully your distributor can take care of you. Your welcome to see if they want to trade something to me to fill your order

There you go again, Trent, being awesome. You may be #38 in IFPA, but you're #1 for going the extra mile for customers and maybe future customers...

EDIT: So, actually Troy. But still Tilt!

(Troy)

Cool

C8CDEC82-2292-467A-8270-776CC6EB450E (resized).jpeg

Ah, I thought Trent was running the Tilt account. Should have realized it was Troy doing his Sales/Marketing thing.

Typically it doesn't but with the price increase you should get a chance to get it back. That is what is odd they are not making them again until 2023 and will be the $9700 price so a deposit should get the option to get back. Good luck if they have a Pro might want to snag a pro.