Steam & Coinstar Partnership

[Fez]

I haven't heard much of this. But today I went to redeem my coins on the local Coinstar. If Steam would've been available, I'd done it in a heartbeat.

GET STEAM GIFT CARDS ON COINSTAR. I'll be putting all my spare change on that!

This applies to US only. Can't speak for other countries.

[Vengentz]

I've been keeping an eye on this for a while. It hasn't happened yet but would be cool. The closest thing you can do is use coinstar for an Amazon.com code, then get a steam game (uses Steam as a DRM). It's a pain but it sould work.

[ KARR™]

Why do people not just take their money to the bank and then you get ALL your cash and don't lose a % to a company who just count it up for you?

[Spawn of Totoro]

Originally posted by KARR:

Why do people not just take their money to the bank and then you get ALL your cash and don't lose a % to a company who just count it up for you?

The banks where I am require all coins to be in rolls.

It would take me 2 hours to roll the $231 that we did last time. If I assume $8 an hour, that is $16 of work + cost of the paper rolls, then to the bank and wait for them to weigh the rolls.

I may lose $20.30 (10% fee), but I saved a lot of time (10 min dropping in coins, vs 2 hours rolling + trip to bank and waiting for them to weigh in) and effort.

Aside from that, the fee is waived if you choose to get a gift card, so you don't lose anything with that option.

We don't use the gift card as we split the money. Half goes into my son's savings, the other half we use to buy him a toy (the coin jar is considered his money).

[HLCinSC]

Originally posted by Spawn of Totoro:

Originally posted by KARR:

Why do people not just take their money to the bank and then you get ALL your cash and don't lose a % to a company who just count it up for you?

The banks where I am require all coins to be in rolls.

It would take me 2 hours to roll the $231 that we did last time. If I assume $8 an hour, that is $16 of work + cost of the paper rolls, then to the bank and wait for them to weigh the rolls.

I may lose $20.30 (10% fee), but I saved a lot of time (10 min dropping in coins, vs 2 hours rolling + trip to bank and waiting for them to weigh in) and effort.

Aside from that, the fee is waived if you choose to get a gift card, so you don't lose anything with that option.

We don't use the gift card as we split the money. Half goes into my son's savings, the other half we use to buy him a toy (the coin jar is considered his money).

You can't really factor the $8/hour thing unless you have to actively stop working to roll them. Unless you get paid for your free time/non work hours it doesn't really cost you anything but your time.
Getting the gift cards without a fee is a good way to go. My bank BBT has coin machines at all of their local branches and if you have an account they waive the fee as well.

[Fork_Q2]

Originally posted by KARR:

Why do people not just take their money to the bank and then you get ALL your cash and don't lose a % to a company who just count it up for you?

I get rid of my unwanted coinage by using the self-service checkout options in supermarkets when I'm buying my groceries. Costs you nothing in time or energy.

[Vengentz]

Originally posted by KARR:

Why do people not just take their money to the bank and then you get ALL your cash and don't lose a % to a company who just count it up for you?

If it's a Constar partner like Amazon.com, ITunes, or anybody else listed on the Kiosk, you get 100% of the value, if you want cash, they take 10% or something like that.

[Spawn of Totoro]

Originally posted by thehaydencampbell:

You can't really factor the $8/hour thing unless you have to actively stop working to roll them. Unless you get paid for your free time/non work hours it doesn't really cost you anything but your time.
Getting the gift cards without a fee is a good way to go. My bank BBT has coin machines at all of their local branches and if you have an account they waive the fee as well.

Yes it is a factor. Time is money, after all. If that is what I feel my time is worth, then that is what I feel it was worth. It was just an example though.

Two hours of rolling coins or two hours more that I could have played with my son when he gets his new toy. Not everything can be put into money value. The time with my son is priceless to me and well in excess of the $8 example. Money, though, is a more universal example.

That is good for your bank. Not all banks offer that. Bank of America, Welsfargo and Bank of the West don't offer that here. They require you to roll it at home first or they won't even take it.

My bank is an online bank, so there is no place to go and directly deposit it.

It just boils down to a few things:

Do you want the cash that you can spend where you want or divide it how you want? or Get a gift card forcing you to spend it all in one place.

Do you feel it is worth your time to roll the coins and deposit them? or Do you have something else you feel is more worth the time to do and are willing to take the loss to do.

Lastly, Do you have an alternative and is it worth doing? (As per your example for your bank)

This is just one of those things that boils down to personal preference and philosophies. There is not real right or wrong way with it, just opinion.

Originally posted by Fork_Q:

I get rid of my unwanted coinage by using the self-service checkout options in supermarkets when I'm buying my groceries. Costs you nothing in time or energy.

So you are the one who keeps breaking those machines! Every time, self check-out is broken due to coins getting stuck! (j/k)

Then again, most the Coinstars I have seen are out of order at least one time a week.

[Fork_Q2]

Originally posted by Spawn of Totoro:

Originally posted by Fork_Q:

I get rid of my unwanted coinage by using the self-service checkout options in supermarkets when I'm buying my groceries. Costs you nothing in time or energy.

So you are the one who keeps breaking those machines! Every time, self check-out is broken due to coins getting stuck! (j/k)

Then again, most the Coinstars I have seen are out of order at least one time a week.

I could do what grandma Fork once did; she once bought an iPad at a busy electronics consumer store near Christmas, almost entirely with boxes of spare change she got me to carry for her. She, the cashier and me were counting coins from 1p to £2 at the checkout, in-front of the glare of the most angry, salty customers. Must be where I got my trollin' genes from.