How accurate is Coinstar (coin counting machine)?

[JEDI]

I have lots of change in a jar.

i'm thinking of getting an Amazon gift certificate, since there's no fee for them.

how acurate are the Coinstar machines?

 

[Tristicus]

Count your shit before.

Works wonders.

 

[FelixDeCat]

I dunno but I know the free coin counters at some Wells Fargo branches are WAAAY off in the banks favor. They get jammed all the time, seem to always be short and sometimes spit out foreign coins - when you loaded none!

 

[FelixDeCat]

Count your shit before.

Works wonders.

Unless you put it in wrappers they wont take it without a big argument and hassle. If you are up for that, go for it. But expect security to show up to enforce "policy".

 

[Tristicus]

Unless you put it in wrappers they wont take it without a big argument and hassle. If you are up for that, go for it. But expect security to show up to enforce "policy".

What the hell are you talking about?

 

[waggy]

i took in a bottle of change. i counted it before and i had $124. i took it to the coinstar thing and it counted up $105. i was not happy and called the number on the machine. they said there was nothing they can do.

now i take them to my bank. it has been right on every time.

 

[kami333]

A little old but still:

http://www.10news.com/news/1621812/detail.html

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB108362887615600954.html

 

[Anubis]

What the hell are you talking about?

banks don't take loose change, you have to roll it first before you can exchange it at the bank

 

[waggy]

banks don't take loose change, you have to roll it first before you can exchange it at the bank

my bank will. they also have a few machines. they have been accurate (well off a few bucks but that could be me or them and not enought o bitch).

though i do have a small country bank.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

learn to use your coins. is it that hard? the next time you go out, carry 50 cents of pennies on you. pre counted. so when you need 2 quarters, pull that out.

rinse and repeat. Carry $1 worth of nickels or dimes on you. Use them as you need.

The inability for people to use change boggles my mind. That's how coinstar makes a killing.

 

[Tristicus]

banks don't take loose change, you have to roll it first before you can exchange it at the bank

Coinstars here are in grocery stores. I bring in socks full of change if I want.

 

[0roo0roo]

learn to use your coins. is it that hard? the next time you go out, carry 50 cents of pennies on you. pre counted. so when you need 2 quarters, pull that out.

rinse and repeat. Carry $1 worth of nickels or dimes on you. Use them as you need.

The inability for people to use change boggles my mind. That's how coinstar makes a killing.

yup/drive through or coffee money, its not that hard.

 

[Kanalua]

My parents had a huge jar of coins...they used the coins to pay for a trip to Chicago (we live in Hawaii), by train from L.A. Our Bank wouldn't take loose change, my parents just took a few weeks and while watching TV and anytime they had free time they would just put the coins in the coin rolls (provided by the bank for free).

 

[irishScott]

*sigh* Just get some coin rolls and count the stuff. It'll be cheaper overall. Or use it for toll money.

 

[UpgradeFailure]

All the times I have used one, it's been 100% accurate. I have a coin-counter that I put my change into, so it keeps track. The first time I used it, I also hand counted it to make sure it was correct, and it was, and coin-star matched up exactly.

 

[BurnItDwn]

banks don't take loose change, you have to roll it first before you can exchange it at the bank

Guess that confused me too, what does the bank have to do with precounting the money before you put it into a coinstar machine to see how accurate the coinstar machine is?

 

[ScottSwing]

Take it to the bank. Problem solved.

 

[ScottSwing]

banks don't take loose change, you have to roll it first before you can exchange it at the bank

Banks have their own industrial rolling machines. They don't want you shorting them a coin or two per roll.

 

[Homerboy]

banks don't take loose change, you have to roll it first before you can exchange it at the bank

ta hell they don't.
I (well my son) takes in his change ALL the time and they take it in. No fee. No deposit required. (we have an ccount there).

 

[Homerboy]

learn to use your coins. is it that hard? the next time you go out, carry 50 cents of pennies on you. pre counted. so when you need 2 quarters, pull that out.

rinse and repeat. Carry $1 worth of nickels or dimes on you. Use them as you need.

The inability for people to use change boggles my mind. That's how coinstar makes a killing.

How are you NOT using your change if you save it and cash it in for bills? (though I guess if you're a sucker and us CoinStar you're losing money)
Personally, I don't want to carry change around in my pockets. It's bulky, heavy, clunks around. Hell I don't even like to carry cash all that often.

 

[hanoverphist]

learn to use your coins. is it that hard? the next time you go out, carry 50 cents of pennies on you. pre counted. so when you need 2 quarters, pull that out.

rinse and repeat. Carry $1 worth of nickels or dimes on you. Use them as you need.

The inability for people to use change boggles my mind. That's how coinstar makes a killing.

your inability to see other reasons for not using change boggles my mind. youre very shortsighted. my change gets used regularly, and the change that doesnt get used by the end of that day gets dropped into the jar. i refuse to pay anyone to count my own money. i also dont trust automated counters, especially ones owned by the company that stands to make money off of the process.

i have quite a bit of change in a huge jar, as well as another wooden box full. no idea how much, but the kids and i use that as a summer trip fund. screw coinstar tho, we roll it ourselves and take it to the bank.

 

[spaceman]

nope
get a 5gals
water bottle
hoard change
mine is 1/3full
beofr elong til be too heavy to move
then when i die some way off relative can make off with it
win

 

[Deeko]

When I was in college as an intern, I wrote much of the software that drove coin counting machines for banks (our biggest client was Commerce Bank - now TD Bank - Penny Arcade was the product). We used a multitude of different counting machines from different manufacturers. I presume Coinstar uses something similar.

The machines can make errors, but they do go both ways. There is no scam here trying to con you out of your money. These machines are mechanical, and just don't always report the exact count.

However, in my experience, the errors happen on a pretty small scale, and can go in favor of either you or the bank.

 

[brxndxn]

Don't trust them. I used Coinstar three times before.. and the most recent was the worst. For the past few years, I just take the change in my pocket at the end of the day and drop it in a container. After a while, I take the full container to Coinstar and it is usually around $180. Recently, I bought one of those huge Crayons (like the Toys R Us ones) and filled it half full.. It was HEAVY.. I figured it was about 3x the size of the container I normally brought to Coinstar. Also, it was the first time I had $1 coins in the mix (a vending machine I used regularly took them). The machine jammed three times while I dumped the coins in.. and it printed a receipt for $120.. Bullshit..

So, IMO, if you use Coinstar, you are stupid. I was - and will not be in the future.

 

[Tim]

When I was in college as an intern, I wrote much of the software that drove coin counting machines for banks (our biggest client was Commerce Bank - now TD Bank - Penny Arcade was the product). We used a multitude of different counting machines from different manufacturers. I presume Coinstar uses something similar.

The machines can make errors, but they do go both ways. There is no scam here trying to con you out of your money. These machines are mechanical, and just don't always report the exact count.

However, in my experience, the errors happen on a pretty small scale, and can go in favor of either you or the bank.

I worked for that bank.

It can be a very finicky machine. If it isn't maintained properly... (multiple cleanings per day depending on use, and tested) it can count your coins wrong. If you cleaned it the right way, it worked perfectly pretty much every time.

Oh, and one time I found an entire J in the machine when cleaning it out. Good day for me.