# My first Coinstar experience....



## Jen (Oct 28, 2008)

So I gathered up all of my change this weekend and hit my local coinstar.  What did I do first thing this morning?  Spent ALL of it.  Okay, so $16.33 isn't that hard to spend (anybody else get a little dissapointed when that total comes through?!).  BUT - the idea was to have it in there for the next few books I wanted to read.  Due to shining recommendations here, I bought The Book Thief, Outlander, The Stand, and had to pick up BJ's The Color of Magic.  Went over by 58 cents, oh well.  
That was FUN!!!


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Jen said:


> So I gathered up all of my change this weekend and hit my local coinstar. What did I do first thing this morning? Spent ALL of it. Okay, so $16.33 isn't that hard to spend (anybody else get a little dissapointed when that total comes through?!). BUT - the idea was to have it in there for the next few books I wanted to read. Due to shining recommendations here, I bought The Book Thief, Outlander, The Stand, and had to pick up BJ's The Color of Magic. Went over by 58 cents, oh well.
> That was FUN!!!


Woohoo! Good job! It worked good, then? The receipt, I think, has a code that you add to your Amazon account online, or did you just apply it at checkout?

Now we want to hear how much you're enjoying the books!

Betsy


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## Jen (Oct 28, 2008)

I went in and applied it to my account (there is just a number on the receipt-you go to your accounts and just apply the gift card, super easy!), and when I went to one click the first book I was worried that it didn't work, I assumed it would give me an option.  But when I went to look it automatically took it out of the gift card, awesome!!  
As for actually reading them...not yet!  Since I'm at work, and I'm not supposed to #1 be buying books, or #2 hanging out on kindleboards....I'll let you know tomorrow


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## Angela (Nov 2, 2008)

Glad it worked for you Jen. I found it to be so easy!!  When I finished with Coinstar last Thursday, I was about to walk out of the store and the girls at customer service flagged me down and asked to see my receipt. They both seemed very surprised that is was for a gift card rather than cash. I told them what I was using it for and only one of the girls had ever heard of the Kindle. They also said that I was the only person they knew of that used the option for a gift card!! It turned out to be a new experience for them too.  I only took about half the change in my bucket, so I have more to take later on. I definitely will continue to look for spare change! Oh, the coinstar machine also takes dollar bills!!


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## Xia (Nov 10, 2008)

Oh, _The Stand_ is great! I read it so long ago, gosh I think it was about 30 years ago if I remember correctly (OMG that makes me feel old to say that). I think I'll have to get it on Kindle, I'd love to read that one again.

I just finished _The Color of Magic_ a couple hours ago. I read it because of BJ's Discworld series recommendation thread, too. And I just finished buying _The Light Fantastic_ and _Equal Rites_ (books 2 & 3 in the Discworld series) a few minutes ago (and I linked to amazon thru this board so that Harvey will get a little commission from my purchase to support the board!).

-X-


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## Angela (Nov 2, 2008)

Xia said:


> Oh, _The Stand_ is great! I read it so long ago, gosh I think it was about 30 years ago if I remember correctly (OMG that makes me feel old to say that). I think I'll have to get it on Kindle, I'd love to read that one again.
> 
> I just finished _The Color of Magic_ a couple hours ago. I read it because of BJ's Discworld series recommendation thread, too. And I just finished buying _The Light Fantastic_ and _Equal Rites_ (books 2 & 3 in the Discworld series) a few minutes ago (and I linked to amazon thru this board so that Harvey will get a little commission from my purchase to support the board!).
> 
> -X-


Surely it wasn't 30 years ago... please tell me it wasn't 30 years ago!!! Seems just like last week or last month!! Oh how quickly time flies!


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## Teninx (Oct 27, 2008)

I was disappointed to read that the $10.00 gift card bonus for transaction of $40.00 or more requires a mail-in request. I was hoping that it would be applied directly to the gift card code dispensed at the time of counting.


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## Angela (Nov 2, 2008)

Teninx said:


> I was disappointed to read that the $10.00 gift card bonus for transaction of $40.00 or more requires a mail-in request. I was hoping that it would be applied directly to the gift card code dispensed at the time of counting.


I was a little disappointed myself... now I have to remember to actually mail it in!!


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

There's always a catch, isn't there!

Still a good deal!

Betsy


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## Yollo (Nov 10, 2008)

Does coinstar take a cut out of your money? I seem to remember reading that somewhere. If so, I might as well just put my change in coin wrappers myself.


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## Angela (Nov 2, 2008)

Kimblee said:


> Does coinstar take a cut out of your money? I seem to remember reading that somewhere. If so, I might as well just put my change in coin wrappers myself.


If you apply the money to a gift card, you get the whole amount... they only take a chunk out if you redeem for cash.


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## Yollo (Nov 10, 2008)

SWEET! I know what I'm doing with my pennies now!


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## KindleGirl (Nov 11, 2008)

I just took advantage of the $10 holiday bonus and went and cashed in $40 this morning!! Since I wasn't sure how much was in our bag of coins, I must admit, I did go to the bank and purchase some quarters to make sure I made it to $40! I didn't want to get so close and then miss out on the bonus money. I ended up needing about $10 in my quarters so it was a good thing I had them. Now all I have to do is mail in the bottom of the receipt and wait for my money! Yes, it would have been nice to have them add it on to the ecertificate, but hey, a $10 bonus on $40 is worth waiting on....can't make that much money on $40 at the bank!

Off to look at some kindle books.....woohoo!


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## Angela (Nov 2, 2008)

Have fun spending KindleGirl!!


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## Yollo (Nov 10, 2008)

KindleGirl said:


> I must admit, I did go to the bank and purchase some quarters to make sure I made it to $40! I didn't want to get so close and then miss out on the bonus money. I ended up needing about $10 in my quarters so it was a good thing I had them. Off to look at some kindle books.....woohoo!


Hmm. Is it wrong if I count my money before I take it to the money counting machine?

lol.


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## Angela (Nov 2, 2008)

Kimblee said:


> Hmm. Is it wrong if I count my money before I take it to the money counting machine?
> 
> lol.


lol... Mine as counted in a way... I had rolled the coins about 3 weeks ago and I counted out enough rolls of coins so that I knew I would have more than enough and then I had to unwrap it all!


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## Yollo (Nov 10, 2008)

Angela said:


> lol... Mine as counted in a way... I had rolled the coins about 3 weeks ago and I counted out enough rolls of coins so that I knew I would have more than enough and then I had to unwrap it all!


Glad to know I'm not the only one!


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

I weighed 100 pennies on my food scale and then weighed all my pennies. I figure I have about $7 worth of pennies.

According to this website:
http://www.kokogiak.com/megapenny/three.asp

$10 worth of pennies weights 6.25 lbs

Saves counting the pennies if you've got a reasonably accurate scale or want to stop by the post office on your way to Coinstar...

Betsy


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

I commandeered all my mother's rolled coins ($45.50, but I paid her back) and emptied out my treasure chest.  I ended up with $66 at coinstar.  The $10 holiday bonus coupon is ready to go into the mail this afternoon.

There are a lot of steps, but the screens are easy to use with clear instructions.  

I've already put more change into my treasure chest.  One bad thing about using my debit card to pay for everything is that I don't have much change anymore.  Can I empty out the grandkids piggy banks?  Is it rude to search through the couch cushions when you are visiting friends and family?  Ah, just remembered my change cup in my car.  Haven't emptied that out in a while.


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## Angela (Nov 2, 2008)

There is something I forgot to mention about my Coinstar experience... There is a coin return tray. This is where bus tokens, Chuckie Cheese tokens, foreign coins, etc are rejected. Often times, regular US coinage gets rejected, too! Don't forget to check the coin return. If you find change there that is actually the real stuff, you can put it back through. I think sometimes the counter gets confused if a lot of change is going through at one time. I have noticed that the newer nickels and dimes are the ones mostly likely to get rejected on the first try.


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

Angela said:


> There is something I forgot to mention about my Coinstar experience... There is a coin return tray. This is where bus tokens, Chuckie Cheese tokens, foreign coins, etc are rejected. Often times, regular US coinage gets rejected, too! Don't forget to check the coin return. If you find change there that is actually the real stuff, you can put it back through. I think sometimes the counter gets confused if a lot of change is going through at one time. I have noticed that the newer nickels and dimes are the ones mostly likely to get rejected on the first try.


Important safety tip, Angela. The screen on the coinstar I used reminded me to check, but maybe all of them don't.

My gift card came out to an even amount, so I thought it just ejected the overage.


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

Angela said:


> If you apply the money to a gift card, you get the whole amount... they only take a chunk out if you redeem for cash.


Right. They take 8.4% for a counting fee if you get cash. You get the whole amount for giftcards. This is why this is such a great deal, imho.

L


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## Mikuto (Oct 30, 2008)

I did this recently. Emptied out my coffee tin and the ceramic dish of random coins and hoofed it to my nearest coinstar. Ended up with just over 14 dollars, which I'm now coveting and reluctant to spend.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

I just had my first Coinstar experience.  $48.14....  At one point the screen said, "My you have a lot of coins."  LOL!  About fifteen coins passed through and I had to put them back through.  I ended up with two coins that wouldn't work.

Now I have to request the bonus $10.  Yay!  Book money!

Betsy


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

It's almost like free money, isn't it.  I'm still sorting through boxes in my garage (don't ask) and every once in a while, I'll come across some change.  Guess I'd better get to those boxes quick.


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