A Sign of the "Roaring" Economy?

[Ripley]

Has anyone else seen those Coinstar machines going up in grocery stores? I didn't look at it closely, but it appears to turn loose coins into bills (or maybe a ticket to be taken to cashier). Now on the face of it, it sounds like a good idea. My bank doesn't have a machine to count my coins, so they give me coin wrappers to do it myself by hand. Ugh.

But to me it seems like another sign of how bad things are that folks have to take their pennies accumulated to a machine before they can buy their bread and milk. I'm sure there's a fee involved, I'll have to check.

Not since my college days did I depend upon rolling coins for the grocery. If this "last resort" method of buying power (along with the explosion of those phone card machines) is a sign of a "roaring" economy, then record high temps and huge death counts in recent summers must be a sign of an "uber-healthy" climate.

[gorrister]

1. I've used them

I think they charge 7 cents on the dollar.

[tinrobot]

18. 8.9 cents in Los Angeles...

Still, it's a good way to get rid of your change...

[DS1]

2. That's a stretch

I use the thing all the time, because my time is worth more than 9 cents on the dollar for wrapping buckets of change. I'm not poor, but I have gone to the supermarket armed only with a huge bag of change, planning on buying all my groceries with the receipt.

People cashing in change is no new phenomenon :eyes:

[Ripley]

8. Well, it's new to me.

I agree if it is only 9 cents/dollar that's great. I'll probably use it myself.

I just think it's odd that they are sprouting up like weeds round here, just like the title/cash places and phone card machines which are all mainly geared for folks with zero credit.

[Andy_Stephenson]

10. They have been in Seattle for a few years now...

I use em all the time...I save change constantly and it is nice to be able to roll them.

[DS1]

14. It's there as an option, and a stable source revenue for the owners

No maintenance, just plug it in an empty it out, then pour all the coins into a massive sorter.

Phone cards aren't just for people with zero credit either, if fact I can think of lots of reasons to have a spare one.

[Ripley]

16. Never said it was bad for the owner.

Good for them. I'm just pissed the banks stopped doing it for us a long time ago. It should be a free service from banks if you have an account with them.

Having been desperately poor in the past, I can attest to the use of some "inventions of convenience" that are fine and dandy for those of us who see them that way now, but basically are prey upon the poor inventions.

[Gulf Coast J]

19. It's not like the poor are forced to use them

When I was still in school, I'd roll my change myself and take that to the bank. Now that I have a job, I'd rather just throw the whole bucket (not the quarters of course!) in the machine and pay the fee. The poor are still allowed to roll their own coins. So are the rich for that matter.

[Ripley]

22. The poor aren't forced to use them.

So poor people are stupid? Maybe. In fact, quite possibly, since they usually are the least educated in this country. In my state, the poor are extremely uneducated and do tend to use quick-money machines. Also the huge influx of immigrants in this country use these machines.

Are you saying that if the poor/immigrant person is just too dumb to know how to walk into a bank where they probably can't go because they are working during "banker's hours" doing manual labor on someone's roof or toilet, that they should have to be forced to part with coins at 9%?

[Beaker]

28. i never roll my change before taking it to the bank-

they just pour it all into counters anyway, so why roll it?
a friend who works at a bank here says that unless it's a business, they don't like customers bringing in rolled coins, because they have to break them open anyway(to look for slugs)

[Ripley]

29. Lucky you.

Most banks I have approached in the last 5 years didn't take coins, unless they were rolled.

And you had to have an account there for them to even look at my coins.

I hate banks.

[DS1]

21. You're right, personally I ~hate~ banks

and the BS prices they charge to make money off you. Cash is cash, and they should take coins loose and by the wheelbarrow if I want them too.

[SOteric]

30. Actually Coinstar began integrating the machines

about 6 years ago when the Federal reserve declared a penny shortage. Apparently a lot of folks were saving their pennies in big buckets and tubs and there were too few in actual circulation.

I can perfectly understand why a bank might opt to decline wrapping pennies for their depositors. It's a waste of their payroll burden to employ people to do tasks which will not earn revenue and do little to support customer satisfaction. If it's a gross inconvenience for you, a number of purveyors sell automatic coin sorters for very little expense. Check with Lillian Vernon online.

[tom_paine]

15. I agree. Not significant.

:thumbsdown: :thumbsdown:

[BR_Parkway]

3. I think the fee on it is around 12 - 14%

it's supposed to be for convenience.

[DarkPhenyx]

4. I don't roll my coins.

I jsut dump them on someone and let them figure it out. I figure if I only do it in $10.00 increments my karma can handle the backlash.

[Florida_Geek]

5. I use them, I hate pennies nt

[jono]

6. We've had them here for ten years. (nt)

[spinbaby]

7. Our bank used to do this

We used to be able to drop a can of coins off at the bank, they'd run them through their counter when they had a moment, deposit the results in our account, and mail us the receipt. They stopped this service at about the same time the Coinstar machines popped up at the grocery stores. I will die with a ton of loose change in my basement before I'll pay 9% to use one of those machines.

[Ripley]

11. Ouch.

I don't want to die with loose change in the basement, if it means I could eat another day!

I guess no one sees a trend like I thought I was. Sigh. Convenience trumps for those of us with bucks where we don't see the reality of the new "industry." 9% is a lot of points for someone trying to feed themselves.

There seems to be a distinct difference in how this is viewed if one is using the machines for convenience or for survival.

[spinbaby]

20. If you're in it for survival

The bank still gives out lots of free paper coin wrappers and you're welcome to roll your own. I'm too busy making a living to spend my time rolling pennies--maybe someday when I'm retired and I have to roll pennies to supplement my vanishing social security payment. But I'll be damned if I'll pay anyone 9% to take my money.

[Ripley]

23. I'm not in "survival" mode right now.

This reminds me of a friend who worked for a bottling company and saved millions of pennies in those bottles at home. Then the flood came. All gone. Just a memory.

[Capn Sunshine]

32. Speaking of points , and the working poor

The check cashing services average 22%

For ONE transaction.
Sweet if you're able to turn a blind eye topeople who run out of money before their next check.

[kysrsoze]

9. Coins are my little side savings plan

On top of 4 refinances in the last 3 years (the only way I managed to keep afloat without having to eat Ramen noodles each day), I've been putting all my daily coins into a little piggybank that I don't touch. It's starting to get pretty heavy. Rainy day money, I guess.

[bikebloke]

12. Roll by hand

I let my change accumulate until I have enough to fill a roll. Then every six months or so, I'll deposit what I have in the bank. Roughly $50 each trip. It's good practice for the coming hard times. Then that extra money will probably go from savings to food.

[Nlighten1]

13. Those machines have been around for a long time.

At least since Clinton was in office.

[damnraddem]

17. No, all of that roaring is just the ...

sign of a very-upset stomach. This economy is nauseus.

[Lorien]

24. I used it during a long bout of unemployment

just a couple of years ago (yes, under *'s watch). I didn't have time to roll the coins myself, because looking for work IS a full time job! I paid for groceries that way for about three weeks.

[Valkyrie55]

25. Once again a way is found to hurt the poor

Having read through several posts in this thread it seems like the fee being charged to get access to your own money is at least 7%. It sounds a lot like those payday loans that charge insane interest for a short term loan. Imagine if everytime you went to get money out of the bank you had to pay 7%. Even the fees charged for accessing cash at an ATM aren't that high. Many poor people don't have bank accounts or credit cards and depend on cash exclusively. Although 7% is worth it for people who simply want to get rid of a large amount of change that they have accumulated, for those who ride the razor's edge of poverty it is a huge hit to take. It just seems like the poor are always hit with additional fees that more well to do people aren't.

[Ripley]

26. Thank you for noticing the point.

There are some at DU who have clearly never been poor or don't really understand what the poor live like and what their options are.

[Beaker]

27. they've been around for years-

they take a percentage of the change...some deal...:eyes:
i take my change to the bank.

although not all banks will take large amounts of change anymore-

THAT'S why coinstar sprang up.

[Bandit]

31. Count your coins first ~ Remember BBV ~ Machines are nopt infallible

:shrug: You can also buy your own coin seperator and roller for about twenty five bucks.

[BritishHuman]

33. Am I the only person who sees no sense in saving change?

I don't mean I throw it away, but I've never hoarded pennies. If something is 11.28, I'll look and see if I have the .28 before paying, and maybe hand over £15.28 or £20.28 and get a round amount in change. I never accumulate too many coins that way.

At the end of the month, you might have £5 worth of change in a jar - but that's £5 I didn't withdraw from my account in the first place. Effectively, I save my pennies in a bank.

Clearly I'm the weird one by majority rules, but I just cannot get my head round why people put their change in a jar. Can anyone explain why their way is better than my way? I'd honestly like to know.

:crazy: