WARNING with Reasons NOT to buy a NEW Stern Pinball Machine - Pinball Expert - Brisbane Australia 

I wish William's and Bally still made pinball machines. They were built to last. I have a decent little collection of William's and Ballys from the 80s and 90s. Still going strong.

Jeez, Stern's policies and behavior are totally unacceptable. Thank you Mark for putting a spotlight on these issues. You are appreciated!

Great video Mark,always nice to hear from you , a true and honest expert

Thank you very much for your warning. You are helping customers and its very very important when you see the prices of the new pinballs!

Thank you for all your years of experience in pinball ! More thanks for being willing to share this information with us and hold these company’s accountable for their faults. Looking forward to the next video.

We have a route with over 300 games. Having sound issues with Munsters Pro 3 months after purchase. Stern tech said it would be $1300 for new board, no way I could fix. No Schematics WTF? No more Spike 2's for us.

Thank you so much Mark. My latest Stern is a SAM system and I'll leave it at that after seeing your informative no nonsense video. Keep up the good work!

Your previous video and admittedly nostalgia goggles helped my decision to go for an old little busted Data East Tommy machine instead. So technically old school Stern. Installed Pinsound board and a new display for kinda the same price of an replacement nodeboard for died LEDs in a new model. Although I will need an technician for fixing some issues all parts needed are openly available without crashing the bank. So many thanks for your helpful videos and advice. 👍

Thank you for your honest review on the Spike and Spike II systems Mark, this kind of technical information is critical to making an informed decision. I had been considering a Stern JP, but after watching this, I think I will hold off for now. I just don't want the stress of a minimal warranty / support period, lack of product diagnostic information for repair or the excessive cost of any repairs due to the system architecture of the product. Thanks once again

Stern Charges Higher prices, For poor quality... All these forums and pinball websites are in bed with Stern! Bravo on saying the truth!

That's why I love living in Europe. Mandatory 2 years warranty on all electronic products. Apple tried to circumvent it and apply only 1 year, and the government of my country told them to go to hell.

Outstanding video! Been collecting and repairing pins for 20 years. Really thought I'd been missing out on the new stuff--THANK YOU!!

Thank you sir for opening my eyes. You have just saved me a great deal of money.

I just bought a Rick and Morty from Spooky, while the build quality isn't as great as my TSPP, the PROC system does seem easier to repair due to the LEDs being easily interchangeable vs spike surface mounted LEDs. Spooky has also been very active in the forums and are still making improvements to their R&M as the game is being manufactured. I would love to see some professional insight on the PROC system regardless. Also, my r&m seems to be using the same or similar power supply due to the loud fan which I did purchase a quieter fan which i have yet to install due to it voiding my warranty even though SPOOKY had made a comment in the forums hinting they wouldn't give you a hard time for replacing the fan and would still honor their warrenty.

I just acquired my FIRST pinball machine (The Adams Family). It is brilliant, and a blast to play. This is definitely the beginning of a new gaming adventure for me. Next on the list, The Twilight Zone. Thanks for sharing your expertise!

Thank you for the comprehensive insight, Sir. I am in the process of filling the basement of my new home with pinball machines. I will steer clear of Stern and take my $100,000 budget elsewhere.

very interesting, thanks for the clear walkthrough. it's a pitty, some of those new models are really beautiful, but under this conditions ...

I was starting to look at my first at home Pin (a few friends too) and this video made the decision not go to stern very easy. Thank you. I hope that is what you wanted. That is 2-3 future machines you've changed the sale off. Congrats!

Hello Mark, Thanks a lot for this review about Stern, if Stern doesn't listen to this hounest and clear straight forward review i guess that stern management just like you said doesn't give a shit about there (future) custumors. i sure wont be buying a Stern pinball with spike. i realy liked the fact you were adressing straight to Stern, i guess al they want is MONEY and the love of pinball has been lost

Thank you for explaining it so clearly. Greatly appreciated.

Great video. Exactly what I wanted to know and also suspected. Thank you!

You've confirmed all my suspicion's. Thanks for saving me from purchasing a future nightmare.

Well that sucks. Nothing like buying a $7k timebomb.

I just donated $20 u.s. to the Pacific Pinball Museum in Alameda Ca. in the Bay Area U.S. I MISS playing their wonderful collection of over 90 working ones in incredible shape! Thev'e been Covid closed for many months and I HATE to lose them forever. I drive 60 miles to go there. SUPER nice employees too! Many amazing posters artwork in many different rooms with juke boxes and all sorts of treats. Viva la Pinball Museum. Thanks for this heads up on this company. I am thinking of buying a used machine but live upstairs and have to move in a year or so.

I'm glad that I took the time to watch your video. Keep up the info, truth teller for the consumer.

Stern is a "Lifestyle" brand first and a Pinball manufacturer second.

I'm absolutely with you! I bought a brand new Stern Star Wars and i'm so disapointed. One opto board was dead on arrival, which can happen, the shop needed over 1 month to get a new one. The worst thing is the playfield, which had micro scratches allover after the first 20 games! My local pin shop doesn't get an answer from the stern distributor here in switzerland since we asked for a solution from stern for my playfield. No more Stern...

Make me think twice before buying one. Thanks for the info

Another great, informative video Mark. Thank you for your unbiased expertise and knowledge. I do feel these Spike games are ticking time bombs. I had a node blow immediately after a Stern software update that I had to pay for. Ridiculous!! These machines are becoming closer to pinballs sold in the Sears catalogs of the 1970s and 80s. Very sad to see. Problem is for every owner who leaves Stern there are 2 more buyers waiting to purchase. Stern loves the new buyers because they are so green and have no idea what low quality they are buying. So sad to see and not a good way to keep such a small, niche hobby alive for future generations. Thanks again Mark and keep these videos coming!

Thank you, I had almost bought a Star Wars Premium on a whim, glad I saw this. Will take more time researching alternatives. Thanks.

This video is a top result for "how to buy stern pinball machine". Which is an excellent outcome of the algorithm! Hopefully it catches more people who were looking to try and get a table.

Great video 👍 even before this, I wouldn’t buy a new Stern and the Guarantee is a joke and shows no confidence in their own machines, keep up the great video’s 👍

Thanks for the insightful warning against Stern pinball machines after 2014 with the Spike 1 or 2 system. Harder and much more expensive repairs plus low quality power supplies with noise fans are anti consumer.

Interesting video with some great information 👏🏻 cheers

Thanks so much for this revealing video. I was going to begin collecting pinball machines and was about to purchase 3 to enjoy and as an investment, but hearing about the quality and how nobody wants them as resales, I won't be buying any!

I have several Spike 2 games in my arcade with 7000 to 8000+ plays with no issues on the system itself. Stern's quality impresses me as an operator compared to our jersey jack games with a 1000 plays or less.

Great vid, I was considering a Stern but I'll think twice. You should come back and make more videos!

Excellent video once again. I'm certainly not going to consider new Stern. A 60 DAY warranty is all you need to know.

Hi. I'm an arcade operator in central France. I had this very problem w/ the broken D9 diode on my Star Wars Pro machine, and it cost me 560 € in repairs. Fried node board, fried "Smart" LED boards, fried satellite boards. Had to replace the #8 Node Board, and had to have the LED boards repaired (I'm not equipped to deal with SMD soldering), plus labour and shipping. This is unacceptable. And six months earlier, I had the infamous short to ground issue with an LED flashlamp on my Ghostbusters pro. Lucky for me, it was still under warranty. Worse : none of the "protections" mentioned by Stern worked on these issues, since they occured outside of their "safety envelope", before their "circuit protections".

I have designed hardware and software for pinball as well as repaired many of them and I know what fails on them. I had a little tiff with Pat Lawlor in Star Tech Journal when Earthshaker came out. I questioned the vibration of the shaker motor and Pat Lawlor responded to me, “we ran the games at twice the vibration level and had no problems”. Well, sure enough, I saw things fall off of Earthshaker that I’d never seen come loose on other pins, like saucer switches. I miss those days. I wish someone would fund me to design a new pinball system.. otherwise, those golden days of pinball are over for me.

Love my Stern Batman 66..... so far so good on a really fun and dynamic play machine. Fingers crossed!

He has got a point in a way I hope they do learn from it

Wow! I was thinking of buying several machines from them! I’ll check more into this now!

TL;DW: Stern is the Apple of pinball machines. Thanks for the information, I am pondering the idea of buying my first pinball machine. Videos like this are very useful to a newcomer doing research to try and make a good purchase.

Bravo! Well said, sir.

Excellent video fella!! I live in Illinois in the US, and I met a Stern exec guy last summer because he was having a garage sale...Maybe I should go over and ask him about their machines and practices... 😉👍🙏

I was ready to purchase a new Stern pinball but this video is making me stop and rethink that plan.

60 day warranty sounds like a Stern wants to make more money in the long run selling spare parts. I wonder if the spare parts warehouse is more larger the pinball factory

Thanks for great info. A few years back, I was "down under", and very, very sorry I did not take the opportunity to hunt up some of you pinheads and arcades.

Thanks for this video. I had been considering a JP2 (we currently own a Fish Tales), but I can’t justify $9k for a machine with poor component quality that I can’t fix. As per your recommendation, I’m now considering an earlier Stern machine - and am checking to ensure it doesn’t have a Spike system.

I currently own 7 expensive modern sterns, LE, premiums along with some Williams. This video makes me nervous about the longevity of my games.

Thank you very much i will stay away from newer sterns now!!

Thanks for the video. We bought a new Godzilla Premium machine from a local dealer on the assumption that they would have to support it for a year. Then we read the fine print on the warranty and discovered... that there is no warranty. It's a more engaging game, in my opinion, than the 1990s games, due to the videos and music and elaborate modes. But we had one flipper go weak within a few months of home use and we still can't debug it. The consumer is expected to develop all of the skills of a full-time arcade technician (the dealer didn't want to send his own people, who are always busy rebuilding classic machines for resale). (We've had one pro arcade technician to the house, but he couldn't resolve the issue either!)

Excellent, informative video, thanks. I have subscribed.

Thanks, you helped me make my decision on what to buy. Looks like Jersey Jack for me.

Very true. Well explained. Thanks.

Much of this information was initially discussed by many senior technicians as early as 2015. However, it remained dismissed due to propensity of private sales. Distributors certainly did not want to admit shortfalls. Some technical SPIKE schematics have been released for Stern SPIKE games, however does not address lack of diagnostics. SPIKE I and II systems are not backwards compatible. Reliability, serviceability, and durability of SPIKE games remain suspect, and will not improve unless forced due to market sales.

Wow! Our friends just bought 2 modern pins that we have been having a lot of fun playing... We are going to buy 2 machines for our place so we can go back and forth with them... Those machines were going to be a Jurassic Park Premium and a Deadpool Pro... We've already been into our dealer to discuss pricing and terms and I was just doing some final research on maintenance/durability when I came across this video... I think the lack of corrective action from Stern over the past 7 years is mind boggling... I am completely rethinking how best to spend that $20k now... Might need to pivot to the used market.

Thanks Mate. Was looking at a Led Zep. Not now.

Wow Mark that’s giving Stern a gobfull lol it’s nice to know as I was looking at a newer stern but I’ll keep my Mustang (Sam) and look elsewhere thanks mate

Thank you very much for your information. I cancelled my LE Led Zep! Needless to say I won’t buy stern until they get their shit together! Cheers from Los Angeles. Keep it up my good man!

I'll stick with machines built when I was a kid, since they hold nostalgic value to me and are easy to repair, although the prices are approaching the price of the new Sterns.

Hello Mark, very clear words about Stern. I hope to see your opinion about GNR flipper. Greetings from the Netherlands Rob

Personally I prefer pins from the 80's and 90's from Bally, Williams, Gottlieb, Data East. The early stern pins are alright but the newer stuff I tend to shy away from, only exception is black knight 3000

Good to know and be educated on Stern's current business and manufacturing policies. Initial buzz on the newly released Led Zep pin isn't very flattering. Maybe Stern will be forced to address the shortcomings Mark has indicated. Jersey Jack has always been a well regarded pin company. Their Hobbitt pin is awesome and on my bucket list. Merry Christmas everyone.

You just pulled down their pants and spanked them good. Very thorough and detailed analysis of what is so obvious.

Node board pricing seems to be in line with apple parts cost? Are they doing it with return pricing?

I have been saving for a new pinball machine, this video was like a cold shower, no FN way I'm spending 8-10k for something with effectively zero warranty.,

Mark I just got 1.8 Billion on Zaccaria Steam Devil Riders 2019 Deluxe Pinball Table and I'm the #1 global score on that table's leaderboard!

I felt the same way " that 1990's games are more fun to play until 2012, when Stern made AC/DC..... Then i started to like Stern much more!

Thanks for the eye opening video!!!

Thanks for confirming that these are not worth the headache. I'm disappointed, but not surprised.

You would think that making interchangable playfield node boards versus game specific ones would reduce manufacturing costs. It would also benefit operators, as they could borrow a board from a less profitable machine, keeping profitable games in service whilst waiting for replacement boards / warranty returns.

Mark you can buy Zacarria Platinum Bundle for $75 which gives all all the current tables and 50% any new tables created. Do you think Atgames is charging too much ($200 base price) for the four pinball packs WITHOUT the deluxe tables?

Hey mate! Greetings from the USA!!! Found your video and we are getting massively screwed by Stern at the moment. They didn't secure the cash box prior to shipping and it plus the light box bolts bashed around the inside of the cabinet. Stern refuses to exchange the cabinet. We paid $10,000 for a pinball table with beat up insides... I hate that by the virtue of grace that Stern survived all the others.

The issue of not being able to swap node boards from your original video is no longer an issue in the spike 2 system

Agreed. 5 years warranty should be given for machines costing 10k . But that is wishfull thinking. Stern sells stuff like hot cakes due to brilliant IPs and marketing approach. Will it backfire someday? I doubt it. In fairness Stern is doing a great job keeping the Pinball contemporary, but does it mean they couldn't do a better job? They could. Thank you for your video. Objective feedback is always needed.

Thank You!

Thx for the tips !! Very interesting

Have you had any experience with Jersey Jack’s machines? Would love to buy one of theirs but wanna make sure I’m getting quality. I’m New to pinball. Thx John

In europe we have a mandatory warranty of 1 year and 2 years for more expensive devices .(+the option to expand the license time if provided)

Great insight on the product. I was considering the new Ninja Turtle Pinball, not anymore. What's your thought son Star Trek 2013 production & Tron 2011. Am I best to invest in those? Moe

How's the serenity? That's going straight to the pool room.

Thank you so much I was about to order a new Stern! Not Guna now I’ll keep chasing the oldies 😀

thanks mark great info

My new Munsters game was delivered on 9/5/19 and I haven't had any trouble with it yet but it needs new pinballs already as these are showing pitting from plenty of multi-ball play.

This is true I won't buy any spike system games from Stern, currently restoring a f14 tomcat and it's worth the effort over the stern👍🏾👍🏾

I expected this to be some ranting only opinionated column but your argument was well supported. Im glad this popped up on my Facebook feed. I just sold my walking dead and intended to buy an avengers but honestly, I'm just going to save up a little bit and buy a Wonka. I dont like theme as much but I don't believe I should continue engaging in sub-par quality of the new games by Stern

Nice one Mark , thanks.

I have a stern monopoly pinball and it is great. But I am shocked that stern is treating its customers this way. I was going to buy 3 pinballs machines for my kids but I have not decided on the machine yet. I will not buy a stern pinball now that I know this. I will be looking at JJP pinball machines now. Stay safe.

Looking for recommendations on good quality machines from the 90s that are worth buying on the used market

I want to give you a thousand likes, but RU-vid don't let me. Thanks for your honesty. Which Stern should I buy? - The Simpson's Pinball Party? - The Lord of the Rings (2003)? - Metallica Master Puppet? - Or, The Walking Dead LE? And what do you think of Monster Bash LE remake by Chicago Gaming?

Thanks for keeping them honest! It's too bad knowing that many of these will be decommissioned due to too much repair will be required to keep them going. I've got a 55 year-old '69 Super Bally Ball Bowler that I play daily. It's crazy knowing that it's better to buy older machines to allow lower repair costs. Any thoughts on the quality of The Big Lebowski by Dutch Pinball?

Excellent video! Unfortunately this seems to be the business model for most industries. It's all about the dollars.

Can you help me understand if distributors can offer service plans or warranty like a car dealership? Can distributors work with companies like Allstate to actuary the risk for pinball repairs and offer an extended warranty and service plan?

Thanks for the info

I bought a star trek vault machine. It had the magnet problem that was supposed to be solved. I have never had a pinball before. I had to open it up and start replacing parts....with very little to no support from stern.

I bought a new Rush Pro. After a couple hundred plays, a light popped off. Both scoops are lifting too, including the one with a mod.

Any update on the Stern pinballs? Was considering a new Stern purchase and watched this video with some concern. Has Stern improved during the last 2 years? Thanks for the good, detailed content!

Great video thank you