Personal Finance | Walmart - Shame On You and Allowing the Expensive Coin Sorter
77Would you pay 9% for something you get for free?
Would WalMart's frugal founder Sam Walton agree with charging 9% for changing coin into paper currency?
Do you know about Coinstar?
NOTE: All ads have been disabled for this hub by the author.
Truth in Lending was all about transparency, yet how can I miss the price tag of this? Yes, I was gullible I tried it - I had to - afterall my career has been finance. I had less than $10 in change. I put my money in and it wasn't UNTIL afterwards, that I found out what my fees were. I trust this was a rare occurrence and only happened to me.
When I returned home, searched on the Internet I found these high fees were true all over the United States and beyond! Mexico, Ireland - is it possible there is also no posting of these fees? IF the fees were posted, can you imagine the dramatic drop in revenue for them? And for WalMart. Perhaps they are now posted - truthfully I have not checked back.
Walmart I shop with you every week faithfully but I must question your business tactics and the partnerships that you make.
As parents, we teach our children - "you will be known by the company that you keep." This is true in business also. This service that can be completed at a bank for free is not a service that should be in the largest retailer store. As a mega giant, you have the means to service your customers. "To much is given...much is expected."
Saving is a frugal thing but giving back 9% in today's money with long term mortgages under 5%. This does NOT make any cents!
$181 of Coins for $165 - Not Good for the American Consumer - What a Trade!
Battle of 1000 Coins Advertisement Created by PES for Coinstar
Who is Coinstar?
Coinstar is a publicly traded company under the NASDAQ symbol CSTRIndustry. Their industry is currency and counting machines.
A Global American Company - Coinstar
Coinstar fees in the US are said to be "9.8%(USD) in the USA, 9.8% in Canada, 9.9% in Ireland and 8.9% in the UK."
Coinstar also has Redbox.
Battle of 1000 Coin Advertisement Video
The video advertisement to the right created by PES includes 1000 coins.
Corporate Summary - Coinstar
Public traded NASDAQ: CSTR
Industry: Calculating & Accounting Machines, Except Computer
Founded1991
Founder(s)Jens Molbak, Dan Gerrity
Headquarters Bellevue, WA,
Net income US$14.11 million (2008)[1]
Employees1,800 (2008)[1]
SubsidiariesRedbox
Funny Video - Coinstar - Not a Cool Point for Your Pride
Coin Sorters and Savers on Amazon
 | Amazon Price: $27.35 List Price: $35.49 |
 | Amazon Price: $49.99 List Price: $59.49 |
Share This Financial Information with Friends and Family
Share this information with your friends and family. Save them 9 cents out of every dollar. Remember a penny saved is a penny earned.
America Choices is about understanding the financial implication of buying foreign goods, understanding corporate tax strategies such as Double Irish and about helping the consumer make intelligent decisions.
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Wayne K. Wllkins,
I hope with the advent of the Internet that pricing transparency is forced upon companies. Knowledge is power.
Too many American consumers wear blinders when it comes to their money, and it's not because they don't care about where their money goes, but because they don't have the information to fight back a hood-winking scheme. Well, there are other reasons, too, but here's a personal experience...
One month I was facing late charges on a bill payment. I called the company's CS number and got into an automated voice system. After going through a half-dozen menus, I finally got a person who said, yes, we'll accept your payment online (credit card or ACH withdrawal). Only after all of that did I learn that it would cost me $20 to make a payment this way, much more than if I just swallowed the late fee.
I said no thank you, but many would have been intimidated by the process and by the fear of damage done to credit rating. I'm sure thousands of people every day make late payments this way. Good for the 1%, fatal for the 99.
Coinstar and others like them are everywhere these days.
My bank will count my change for free. Or my daughter and I will spend a pleasant evening rolling coins into paper tubes while we chat and enjoy some food and drink.
Advertising campaigns such as Coinstar's prey on the uninformed. I'm all for innovation in products and marketing strategies, but this Coinstar strategy is a blood sucker. 9% is a BIG deal. Super hub.
Sally's Trove,
It is through sharing personal stories such as you shared that we learn and grow. We can expect the best, we cannot assume the best,we must check the cost each and every time. I just don't understand why we have truth in lending, demand pricing transparency and yet this occurs and takes advantage of the poor. All the while,the largest retailer in the world is allowing it and promoting it. To not disclose the prices to the people and take advantage of them at 9% should be criminal under usury laws but sadly it is legal - what is wrong with our democracy?
In Appreciation
[1] wikipedia.com
Wayne K. WIlkins Level 1 Commenter 16 months ago
Just another example of scams big companies will use for the sake of profit while screwing the consumer over some more.