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Shop Amazon with What’s Under the Couch Cushions

By Brian | September 14, 2005 | Share on Facebook

This is a great idea:

Amazon.com on Tuesday said Coinstar Inc., best known for coin-counting machines found in many supermarkets and drug stores, has agreed to let customers exchange their loose change for certificates redeemable at the online retailer. Under the deal, customers can insert their coins into a Coinstar machine and receive a receipt with a redemption code that can be used to make purchases on Seattle-based Amazon.com.

Topics: The Future is Now | 2 Comments »

2 Responses to “Shop Amazon with What’s Under the Couch Cushions”

  1. Michael Weinmayr says at September 15th, 2005 at 9:21 pm :
    Or, you could carry a small amount of change with you and use it to buy stuff. I have a change pocket in my wallet. I never have more than 99 cents of change.

    This won’t even last as long as Personics.

  2. Brian says at September 17th, 2005 at 12:37 am :
    Of course, Michael is right – the rational thing to do is keep 99 cents with you at all times, and avoid ever collecting much more than that. Yup, that’s the rational thing to do, alright.

    Except that Michael is unique. I’ve got one of those automated coin sorters in my bedroom. Every couple of years, the wife & I head down to Atlantic City and gamble away our “free money.” Others I’ve known give it to charity every Christmas. As the article says, there’s about $10 Billion lying around in people’s homes right now.

    As for the Coinstar/Amazon thing, I think it’s a great idea, but I don’t think it will revolutionize Amazon. It’s more the concept of it that I like.

    That being said, I disagree that it will fail. The Coinstar machines have been around for decades, and I don’t see how this will make them go away. I’d imagine that the break-even barrier for Amazon is quite low, so as long as they’re getting some revenue from it, they’d probably continue doing it. Also, one could view it as paid advertising in thousands of supermarkets across America. With that attitude, you could even justify a small loss on the project…