CoinStar or Lucky 7s?

[Frank]

Went to take my usual load to a CoinStar here at the local Wally-World.As luck would have it, the screen read, "Kiosk Full". Rats.

I reach down to the return to see if there's anything in it, hoping the trip wouldn't be a complete bust. To my surprise, I reach in and pull out a HANDFUL of mixed change. Then another. And yet another. The chute leading into the machine was absolutely choked with change. I load up my pockets, casually glancing around to see if anyone was watching (I doubt it would have been a problem, but you never know). Now I feel like my jeans are sagging like a gang member.

Luckily, I'd left an empty juice bottle in the truck. I emptied out my bulging pockets quickly, and made it to the next store over to another CS machine.

In the end, I counted out $54.30 on my floor when I got home.

Moral of the story...always check the CoinStar slot!

[mustbebob]

Great story Frank! I guess it does pay to go to the coinstar!

[enamel7]

The money was left there by a previous dumper that didn't take the time to check the return. My CU has a coin counter that I find a few coins in all of the time. Did I steal it from them, no. Did I steal it from the CU? No, it hadn't been counted and put in the machine's bags. It's no different than finding money on the ground. I myself never would have bothered looking back. Who would you turn the money into? Not the store or CU. It's not their money. In fact both would tell you just take it because there's no way to justify it on their books.

[uglycent]

I love to see what people find in there. Unfortunately I have not found anything.

[GrumpyEd]

If a person was walking away I'd tell them to look but once they're gone it's abandoned change.
I'd feel a little guilty taking that much but there's no way to return it to the person that left it once they're gone, they didn't forget it they probably never knew it was there. All those machines are probably on cameras but it's like checking a return coinslot in any machine, is there a limit on when you shouldn't take it? I don't know but I'd consider it found money.

I watch the coinstar machine as I use auto checkout. Lots of people grab whatever is in the reject bin and run it through again and if it still won't take it they plop it on the top shelf or leave it in the reject tray. Some toss them in the trash can next to the machine along with the bag or box they brought their coins in. Some of the time I find a couple foreign coins or a few cents stuck together on top or in the reject tray.

Most people don't think a few cents adds up, it makes sense. You need 700 for burger and drink, maybe they're not crazy. I pick them up out of curiosity and that over a year or your lifetime it adds up. So far never found enough to test my conscience LOL.

[Maineman750]

You can bet I'll be checking the machine in my Walmart from now on

[VAB2013]

Way to go Frank! I have only found a few cents every now and then in the coinstar reject bin. You won the jackpot! I think it is okay too, no different from finding money on the floor in a store, or if you get a Coke from a vending machine and it messes up and gives you extra change back. Who are you going to give it back to anyway? The next person will just snag it

[jfines69]

I was holding off on making any comments to see what others thought... Since I am unaware what the contract between the store and coinstar states I would have either let the store know or taken it to customer service... That is me though... No idea what Will said since he deleted his post... Now for Frank I hope they turn out to be the Lucky 7s... A couple of nice DDOs or RPMs would be excellent!!!

[enamel7]

Coinstar only has the right to coins that are counted. The store can't take the money without doing a ton of paperwork. I know this from experience. Friend of mine tried to get a cashier to keep a cent he got in change. She said she didn't want to deal with all the paperwork.

[willbrooks]

I figured it was just best to butt out, but I have been asked to explain myself, so I will. Here is my point. I am with Jim that at the very least the change should have been taken to customer service. Then if they said nobody reported it, then fine. But how do you know that at that very moment an old lady or a disabled person wasn't at the desk reporting the lost money and needed help to retrieve it? You don't know because you didn't ask! You just pocketed it and ran. In my opinion that was wrong. Remember this thread? Slop Sink Find. That gold ring was by all rights mine, but I took the time and effort to find the daughter of the ring's owner and give it to her. I guess that is just my character.

[enamel7]

That's different, as far as jewelry goes. I'm having trouble figuring out how money could be stolen from someone that dumped it into a machine. I would think if someone had a problem with the machine they would just flag down an associate.

[enamel7]

If I'm out detecting and find a class ring, you can bet I'll try to find the owner.

[VAB2013]

Will, thank you for explaining your view. I do remember the slop sink find and you did such a good thing to return the ring to the daughter of the family.

Here is my question, how in the world would that much coinage go to the reject bin anyway? Am I missing something?

[jfines69]

Will, thank you for explaining your view. I do remember the slop sink find and you did such a good thing to return the ring to the daughter of the family.

Here is my question, how in the world would that much coinage go to the reject bin anyway? Am I missing something?

That would happen when the machine is full or jammed... In any case the machine is suppose to contact, by way of the internet, Coinstar when full or broken down... I saw a cool tid bit of a show yesterday on Modern Marvels about the Coinstar company... The machines com line may have been down or a mechanic had not gotten there yet!!!

[VAB2013]

Thanks Jim, I didn't realize the machine could mess up that bad.