CoinStar

[mkc]

I think this is a great idea! Make it with upper limit like $100, and no user information nedded. If this is the case, this will be the nest way I buy btc.

[frankenmint]

i see what you mean -- literally a coinstar machine -- got you.

that would be crazy. it would also provide a purpose for that big ass water jug full of pennies at my in-laws house. i'd commandeer that sh!t quick-fast.

Yep - that's EXACTLY my point.  Hopefully someone with some business sense will run with this and make a little money while providing a service as well

I wish this could be a software based fix and we can piggyback off of coinstar's existing infrastructure instead.

Join me with @Outerwall on twitter to request that they do the 'software update' on their coinstar and redbox kiosks - redbox sort've presents a small issue, unless they do a reverse model whereby with btc you are required to pay the full value of the media up-front and the service then sends the remaining bitcoin back to the originating address upon confirmation of the returned media.

[TheButterZone]

Which is a simple RT of http://twitter.com/Frankenmint/status/524810515357249536

[tss]

yes what a great idea.  also lets get the bottle redemption machines to print bitcoin qr codes as well.  and lets set up wallets for roadside beggars.  im sure their local dope dealers will accept their bitcoins as well.

[ANTIcentralized]

I had this idea today - and should probably try to develop it myself but that won't really happen.  So - anyway I'm just going to leave this here and see if anyone will run with it.

You know those CoinStar machines in supermarkets etc?  (in USA afaik)  They convert small change into USD for a fee of about 9% - most of them now also have the option to buy various gift cards for the full value of your change (Amazon, ITunes, various restaurants etc...)

In a Bitcoin ATM thread two years ago:

How about a business like CoinStar machines giving out BitCoins. They already have a business model charging dummies 9.8% for exchanging USD->USD. You'd only need a better way of giving machines your address than typing in 34 digits, a "print qr code for this address" in Bitcoin is a first step. Make a good usage model where interacting with the machines isn't hard (starting with a universal "pay to me" card that can give differing machines your bitcoin address) and they might consider it.

"An estimated 84 percent of coinstar users are women". Not going to comment on this one.

They recently sold off their money transfer business to Sigue, a company that profits from what Bitcoin does for free (http://www.sigue.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=122&Itemid=114), so they don't have a conflict of interest in now promoting an instant and free money transfer method.

Coinstar does not charge people 9% for changing USD -> USD, but they rather automate the process of converting large amounts of coins into a "format" that is spendable, as most banks will not accept large amounts of change/coin that is not "wrapped" by denomination.

The fact that a coinstar machine is expensive to produce as this kind of technology is not cheap (to count and sort coins deposited in mass) and needs to be audit-able will make it less likely that there will be a machine that converts change into bitcoin. Any operator would need to cover the costs of the machine plus some margin in converting their fiat into bitcoin

[theskillzdatklls]

cool idea, doubt coinstar would do this type of integration until way down the road though.

[marhjan]

Coinstar does not charge people 9% for changing USD -> USD, but they rather automate the process of converting large amounts of coins into a "format" that is spendable, as most banks will not accept large amounts of change/coin that is not "wrapped" by denomination.

The fact that a coinstar machine is expensive to produce as this kind of technology is not cheap (to count and sort coins deposited in mass) and needs to be audit-able will make it less likely that there will be a machine that converts change into bitcoin. Any operator would need to cover the costs of the machine plus some margin in converting their fiat into bitcoin

Right - they charge people 9.8% for the service of converting loose change into a more spendable form of fiat.  However - you may also choose to convert to an Amazon or ITunes gift card as well as other options for ZERO fee (presumably in this case Amazon/Apple etc are paying CoinStar a somewhat reduced fee based on volume.)  So why couldn't Coinbase or Circle or? do the same thing?  Now - you might be talking paying a 15% or so premium by the time you get the btc - something akin to going the Paypal to Virwox to btc route, but we're again talking about small amounts of btc for the loose change sitting in a jar or on your bedroom floor right now.

Anyway - I'm interested to see both the interest and the level of negativity that various users have about this.  Glad to at least inspire a bit of conversation at least

[franky1]

Right - they charge people 9.8% for the service of converting loose change into a more spendable form of fiat.  However - you may also choose to convert to an Amazon or ITunes gift card as well as other options for ZERO fee (presumably in this case Amazon/Apple etc are paying CoinStar a somewhat reduced fee based on volume.)  So why couldn't Coinbase or Circle or? do the same thing?  Now - you might be talking paying a 15% or so premium by the time you get the btc - something akin to going the Paypal to Virwox to btc route, but we're again talking about small amounts of btc for the loose change sitting in a jar or on your bedroom floor right now.

Anyway - I'm interested to see both the interest and the level of negativity that various users have about this.  Glad to at least inspire a bit of conversation at least

amazon and itunes offer a retailer a nice commission anyways (probably 10%) and due to the fact usually to activate the itunes / amazon cards costs retailers the labour at a stores cashier desk activating plastic cards. and ofcourse the physical cost of plastic cards and shipping/display, thus its cheaper to offer it via the coinstar box as it removes those costs. so with the savings they make by having a machine do it electronically and automatically plus getting commission from itunes/amazon, a retailer/coinstar can offer the amazon/itunes codes at zero fee from the box.

just like if coinstar had a way to do bitcoins. they will make their commission from the variations of the markets (like how some bitcoinATM's and circle pretend to be zero fee)

[ANTIcentralized]

Coinstar does not charge people 9% for changing USD -> USD, but they rather automate the process of converting large amounts of coins into a "format" that is spendable, as most banks will not accept large amounts of change/coin that is not "wrapped" by denomination.

The fact that a coinstar machine is expensive to produce as this kind of technology is not cheap (to count and sort coins deposited in mass) and needs to be audit-able will make it less likely that there will be a machine that converts change into bitcoin. Any operator would need to cover the costs of the machine plus some margin in converting their fiat into bitcoin

Right - they charge people 9.8% for the service of converting loose change into a more spendable form of fiat.  However - you may also choose to convert to an Amazon or ITunes gift card as well as other options for ZERO fee (presumably in this case Amazon/Apple etc are paying CoinStar a somewhat reduced fee based on volume.)  So why couldn't Coinbase or Circle or? do the same thing?  Now - you might be talking paying a 15% or so premium by the time you get the btc - something akin to going the Paypal to Virwox to btc route, but we're again talking about small amounts of btc for the loose change sitting in a jar or on your bedroom floor right now.

Anyway - I'm interested to see both the interest and the level of negativity that various users have about this.  Glad to at least inspire a bit of conversation at least

I could see a potential machine that would convert large amounts of lose change into bitcoin for a 15% fee. This would essentially be the same as converting change into cash then taking the cash and going to a BTC ATM that charges a 5% fee (which I would consider reasonable).

Another twist to your idea would be to open a BTC ATM near a coinstar machine that accepts both cash and a coinstar voucher (only vouchers from the neighboring machine). The ATM could validate and process the voucher instantly (and the ATM operator would likely have some kind of agreement with the operator of the coinstar machine

[vinda]

cool idea, hope someone can make it real, and i would like to try it!

[The00Dustin]

Coinstar does not charge people 9% for changing USD -> USD, but they rather automate the process of converting large amounts of coins into a "format" that is spendable, as most banks will not accept large amounts of change/coin that is not "wrapped" by denomination.

The fact that a coinstar machine is expensive to produce as this kind of technology is not cheap (to count and sort coins deposited in mass) and needs to be audit-able will make it less likely that there will be a machine that converts change into bitcoin. Any operator would need to cover the costs of the machine plus some margin in converting their fiat into bitcoin

Interesting, every bank I have asked in the last several years accepts loose change, but not wrapped change (it has been 10+ years since a bank has accepted wrapped change from me).  Most of them have their own coin counting machines and don't charge members to deposit the loose change.  One of them even told me they don't have a coin counting machine, but will count my change by hand for no charge (and will not accept wrapped coins, and I was a member).  We are only talking about 5+ banks here, but with 100% consistency, they accept loose change and not wrapped change, so either I live in the twilight zone, or Coinstar is for the unbanked and uninformed.

[pawel7777]

Interesting, every bank I have asked in the last several years accepts loose change, but not wrapped change (it has been 10+ years since a bank has accepted wrapped change from me).  Most of them have their own coin counting machines and don't charge members to deposit the loose change.  One of them even told me they don't have a coin counting machine, but will count my change by hand for no charge (and will not accept wrapped coins, and I was a member).  We are only talking about 5+ banks here, but with 100% consistency, they accept loose change and not wrapped change...

Whether it's a loose change or banknotes it's still the official currency. Banks cannot refuse or charge you for processing loose change transactions.
Not 100% sure on this one, but think that even a private business cannot refuse to accept loose change payments (may be different laws in different countries).

...so either I live in the twilight zone, or Coinstar is for the unbanked and uninformed.

It's about location and convenience. If you have a coinstar machine in your local shop, you wouldn't want to make an extra trip to the bank.

[ScryptAsic]

Coinstar does not charge people 9% for changing USD -> USD, but they rather automate the process of converting large amounts of coins into a "format" that is spendable, as most banks will not accept large amounts of change/coin that is not "wrapped" by denomination.

The fact that a coinstar machine is expensive to produce as this kind of technology is not cheap (to count and sort coins deposited in mass) and needs to be audit-able will make it less likely that there will be a machine that converts change into bitcoin. Any operator would need to cover the costs of the machine plus some margin in converting their fiat into bitcoin

Interesting, every bank I have asked in the last several years accepts loose change, but not wrapped change (it has been 10+ years since a bank has accepted wrapped change from me).  Most of them have their own coin counting machines and don't charge members to deposit the loose change.  One of them even told me they don't have a coin counting machine, but will count my change by hand for no charge (and will not accept wrapped coins, and I was a member).  We are only talking about 5+ banks here, but with 100% consistency, they accept loose change and not wrapped change, so either I live in the twilight zone, or Coinstar is for the unbanked and uninformed.

I have had the opposite experience. I have worked as a teller for a relatively small bank who would generally not accept large amounts of lose change (especially if it was unsorted), however would accept wrapped coins (we would write the customer's account number on the wrap in the event there was an issue discovered later on). As a customer of a number of large banks, I would see the same policy of not accepting unwrapped change, and when I attempted to deposit unwrapped change, I would be given coin rollers for me to wrap myself. I don't remember the name of the bank but it was a predecessor to capital one, that had a machine similar to coinstar in their branch for coin deposits; it would give you a voucher that you cold cash with a teller for everyone for free up to (I think it was) $15, and any amount over that amount you would need to either be a customer or pay (I think it was) 5% to the bank in exchange for using their machine.

[The00Dustin]

Coinstar does not charge people 9% for changing USD -> USD, but they rather automate the process of converting large amounts of coins into a "format" that is spendable, as most banks will not accept large amounts of change/coin that is not "wrapped" by denomination.

The fact that a coinstar machine is expensive to produce as this kind of technology is not cheap (to count and sort coins deposited in mass) and needs to be audit-able will make it less likely that there will be a machine that converts change into bitcoin. Any operator would need to cover the costs of the machine plus some margin in converting their fiat into bitcoin

Interesting, every bank I have asked in the last several years accepts loose change, but not wrapped change (it has been 10+ years since a bank has accepted wrapped change from me).  Most of them have their own coin counting machines and don't charge members to deposit the loose change.  One of them even told me they don't have a coin counting machine, but will count my change by hand for no charge (and will not accept wrapped coins, and I was a member).  We are only talking about 5+ banks here, but with 100% consistency, they accept loose change and not wrapped change, so either I live in the twilight zone, or Coinstar is for the unbanked and uninformed.

I have had the opposite experience. I have worked as a teller for a relatively small bank who would generally not accept large amounts of lose change (especially if it was unsorted), however would accept wrapped coins (we would write the customer's account number on the wrap in the event there was an issue discovered later on). As a customer of a number of large banks, I would see the same policy of not accepting unwrapped change, and when I attempted to deposit unwrapped change, I would be given coin rollers for me to wrap myself. I don't remember the name of the bank but it was a predecessor to capital one, that had a machine similar to coinstar in their branch for coin deposits; it would give you a voucher that you cold cash with a teller for everyone for free up to (I think it was) $15, and any amount over that amount you would need to either be a customer or pay (I think it was) 5% to the bank in exchange for using their machine.

How long ago are these experiences?  Key to my post was the fact that it has been 10+ years since banks accepted wrapped coins from me.  That is to say they used to.  Maybe I should have said 5+ years to be conservative, but I think it really has been 10+.  Regardless, the same bank that used to give me wrappers for free and accept wrapped coins later on made me unwrap the coins so they could count them.  The bank that offered to hand count coins was actually downtown in a 100K+ resident city.  They specifically said they would count in their free time and included the caveat that it could take days, but didn't want the coins wrapped.  Every other bank I have been to has counted coins for free for members with a machine.  Contrary to your experience, I have never seen a coin counting machine with customer access in a bank.  That having been said, while I may not have made it perfectly clear when I said "coinstar is for the unbanked," in all cases, I was referring to services for bank customers/members.  While it isn't too terribly relevant, I would guess that the bank you are referring to that counted up to $15 for free for non-members stopped doing that a long time ago, too, based on the service decline at most banks large and small.

[Bit N Roll]

Brilliant idea you have here. I hope you'll get more support soon.

[segvec]

Great idea, it really is.
Factoring in the volatility of the price would be iffy but definitively do-able.

[ScryptAsic]

Coinstar does not charge people 9% for changing USD -> USD, but they rather automate the process of converting large amounts of coins into a "format" that is spendable, as most banks will not accept large amounts of change/coin that is not "wrapped" by denomination.

The fact that a coinstar machine is expensive to produce as this kind of technology is not cheap (to count and sort coins deposited in mass) and needs to be audit-able will make it less likely that there will be a machine that converts change into bitcoin. Any operator would need to cover the costs of the machine plus some margin in converting their fiat into bitcoin

Interesting, every bank I have asked in the last several years accepts loose change, but not wrapped change (it has been 10+ years since a bank has accepted wrapped change from me).  Most of them have their own coin counting machines and don't charge members to deposit the loose change.  One of them even told me they don't have a coin counting machine, but will count my change by hand for no charge (and will not accept wrapped coins, and I was a member).  We are only talking about 5+ banks here, but with 100% consistency, they accept loose change and not wrapped change, so either I live in the twilight zone, or Coinstar is for the unbanked and uninformed.

I have had the opposite experience. I have worked as a teller for a relatively small bank who would generally not accept large amounts of lose change (especially if it was unsorted), however would accept wrapped coins (we would write the customer's account number on the wrap in the event there was an issue discovered later on). As a customer of a number of large banks, I would see the same policy of not accepting unwrapped change, and when I attempted to deposit unwrapped change, I would be given coin rollers for me to wrap myself. I don't remember the name of the bank but it was a predecessor to capital one, that had a machine similar to coinstar in their branch for coin deposits; it would give you a voucher that you cold cash with a teller for everyone for free up to (I think it was) $15, and any amount over that amount you would need to either be a customer or pay (I think it was) 5% to the bank in exchange for using their machine.

How long ago are these experiences?  Key to my post was the fact that it has been 10+ years since banks accepted wrapped coins from me.  That is to say they used to.  Maybe I should have said 5+ years to be conservative, but I think it really has been 10+.  Regardless, the same bank that used to give me wrappers for free and accept wrapped coins later on made me unwrap the coins so they could count them.  The bank that offered to hand count coins was actually downtown in a 100K+ resident city.  They specifically said they would count in their free time and included the caveat that it could take days, but didn't want the coins wrapped.  Every other bank I have been to has counted coins for free for members with a machine.  Contrary to your experience, I have never seen a coin counting machine with customer access in a bank.  That having been said, while I may not have made it perfectly clear when I said "coinstar is for the unbanked," in all cases, I was referring to services for bank customers/members.  While it isn't too terribly relevant, I would guess that the bank you are referring to that counted up to $15 for free for non-members stopped doing that a long time ago, too, based on the service decline at most banks large and small.

All were within the last 10 years. Doing some research about the banks that Capital One purchased, I believe the coin counting machine was inside a Chevy Chase bank branch. The reason why the customer's account number would be written on the side of a wrapper when they would deposit wrapped coins is to prevent having to use the labor to count the deposited coins right away; in the event that it turns out that a wrapper was short then we could debit their account (I don't think we ever actually had that issue).

I would say that the reason why people could have up to $15 counted at the branch for free was to get people to come into the branch, have their coins counted, and then need to speak to a teller so they could attempt to sell them a banking product. You should really understand that $15 is not a lot of change, and if the amount being changed was even a penny more they would need to pay the fee or open an account, which would be another selling point for opening an account.

[The00Dustin]

I would say that the reason why people could have up to $15 counted at the branch for free was to get people to come into the branch, have their coins counted, and then need to speak to a teller so they could attempt to sell them a banking product. You should really understand that $15 is not a lot of change, and if the amount being changed was even a penny more they would need to pay the fee or open an account, which would be another selling point for opening an account.

I completely understand this, but I've been to banks that won't sell me a cashier's check because I'm not a member.  Issuing a cashier's check doesn't take any more labor than providing cash for a voucher, and most banks even charge members for the service, so there would theoretically be income involved in providing it to non-members, yet the service is refused.  I guess we just deal with a completely different set of banks.  Maybe service varies like this by city or state for some reason.  Regardless, I think we've veered off-topic here for long enough.

[bitnanigans]

I was looking for CoinStar machines all over the place when I visited the US last year, but I just couldn't find any. Ended up just going to the bank to get my coins exchanged for notes. If they were more widespread, that would be a very nice utility.

[FattyMcButterpants]

Right - they charge people 9.8% for the service of converting loose change into a more spendable form of fiat.  However - you may also choose to convert to an Amazon or ITunes gift card as well as other options for ZERO fee (presumably in this case Amazon/Apple etc are paying CoinStar a somewhat reduced fee based on volume.)  So why couldn't Coinbase or Circle or? do the same thing?  Now - you might be talking paying a 15% or so premium by the time you get the btc - something akin to going the Paypal to Virwox to btc route, but we're again talking about small amounts of btc for the loose change sitting in a jar or on your bedroom floor right now.

Anyway - I'm interested to see both the interest and the level of negativity that various users have about this.  Glad to at least inspire a bit of conversation at least

amazon and itunes offer a retailer a nice commission anyways (probably 10%) and due to the fact usually to activate the itunes / amazon cards costs retailers the labour at a stores cashier desk activating plastic cards. and ofcourse the physical cost of plastic cards and shipping/display, thus its cheaper to offer it via the coinstar box as it removes those costs. so with the savings they make by having a machine do it electronically and automatically plus getting commission from itunes/amazon, a retailer/coinstar can offer the amazon/itunes codes at zero fee from the box.

just like if coinstar had a way to do bitcoins. they will make their commission from the variations of the markets (like how some bitcoinATM's and circle pretend to be zero fee)

I would imagine that the commission that retail stores get for activating gift cards is much less then 10%, maybe 5% at most, but more likely to be slightly above the cost of processing a credit card transaction.

In regards to the OP's suggestion, I would say that it would be possible however it would need to also accept cash bills as well (and likely offer a better rates with the bills). If the machine did not accept bills then the amount of bitcoin that could be purchased would be very small and few people would likely want to buy it this way