I have sole permission to make GOTTLIEB cabinet stencils. I bought that right some years back and I am the only provider of GOTTLIEB stencils that have verification of true to original by GOTTLIEB LLC.
This doesn't stop Twisted Pins making GOTTLIEB stencils and selling them... it doesn't stop them selling what was mostly crap.. it doesn't stop people buying them.. which they readily did.
It also does not stop Pinball Pimp copying my stencils with their registration crosses and then selling a host of GOTTLIEB stencils online... it also does not stop them stating that they are seeking permission to sell these stencils.. which they are not - this is an outright lie.
Admittedly, Pinball Pimps stencils are of a much better quality than Twisted pins'... but do they have the right to sell?
NO..
Are they selling?
YES
In all honesty, if the pinball community will readily buy from a pirate retail outlets simply because the rights holder hasn't yet made that stencil file.. or that the rights holder ( for the sake of argument) has had certain manufacturing parts stolen and is therefore unable to offer that part until the goods are returned, then the community digs its own grave.
A restored machine is no longer a restored machine.. its a spruce up.
The phrase " Genuinely restored" would set a level that could only be achieved by using genuine parts.
If you are not going to insist on quality of parts or consistency of product, then we may as well let China make all the parts for us and save a few $$'s