Bruce has always suggested for 6 - 7 plus years that they inspect just to be safe etc but it is not mandatory and never has been so I am not incorrect because not every single machine gets taken out of the boxes. I know a lot of collectors that have purchased repeated Bnib Stern machines and like me, they want them as is, from factory untouched. I don't want a machine that has been unpacked & re packed.
Unlike a newbie who has no pinball or electronics experience, there is nothing I can't fix given the business I have run for close to 20 years. Not one of the new Sterns have ever needed a thing. It's a small minority percentage of machines that might need an adjustment. The feedback I get from many purchasers & from Stern agents is 5 percent or less.
To be blatant, I think AMD likes to check machines because there are some dishonest buyers out there who would make claims for parts that they want for other sited machines. The pinball industry certainly isn't full of honest people & their are a lot of buyers out there that would try anything on to get a free part if they could.
But if the person is known to AMD, has purchased before and is known to be honest, then sending out a machine untouched isn't a issue for them or any Stern dealer from direct discussions I have had.
Every new product has factory design & adjustment issues from time to time in any industry.
What is frustrating is that unexperienced people who have never purchased a BNIB Stern think the majority of machines are needing fixes. It's a tiny minority.
Also, Stern doesn't have any parts or supply problems. I buy stuff from Stern often for my own collection & others & they always provide me stock within a few weeks, translites, LED DMD display, shakers , Data East & Sega stuff etc etc etc. Stern have a lot of NOS stuff that people haven't even thought of. The amount of brand new NOS stuff Stern has avail for any title is staggering. Only after u investigate you find out what's avail. I have parts people think u would never get or Stern wouldn't advertise but anything for anything they have ever made is available. You just find out the part no, then u order thru AMD etc. the hardest issue is for Stern to find the box of parts out of the 1,000s of boxes but they never fail to locate the parts.
You can order any title out of apx 10 & the longest waiting period for 90 percent of products is a few weeks to one month.
Obviously, the latest title is going to be longer due to massive demand, LE runs vs Premium vs Pro etc, but once initial orders are processed, getting any title is usually only 2 to 4 weeks max plus shipping via air or sea. Example, in 3 to 4 months time, most initial orders for GB will be well on their way. Then the initial wait times will settle like they always do. That's when the 2 to 4 weeks lead time exists again to get any title.
Stern can now accomodate small to massive runs. They are more flexible with production then they have ever been. That's great.
I speak to people who work at Stern in Mgmt positions quite often & I hear directly from the factory as to what the facts are. It takes less than 48 hrs to get a stock/part no, and rarely do Stern say they can't ship within a few days.
Even if a Prem Translite etc is out of stock or on back order, it's usually rectified in a matter of weeks.
The one thing Stern does do best, is its stock control.
