Outerwall, the company behind the seemingly ubiquitous Redbox and Coinstar kiosks, hasn’t been doing so well lately. When both DVDs and cash are losing popularity, what should a company with a business model that depends on people using both do? The company’s new owner, Apollo Global Management, will help it to figure that out without the pressure of worrying about the stock price. [More]
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Target Jumps On Gift Card Exchange Bandwagon; Offers Customers Less Than Cards Are Worth
By 12.28.15
With the bulk of the holiday celebrations having come and gone, you might be sitting around the dried-out Christmas tree counting up all those random gift cards you received. While you appreciate the generosity of your friends and family, you just don’t have any desire to make a purchase with said cards. To that end, a number of retailers are willing to offer you a trade; joining the ranks of Walmart, GameStop, and Coinstar this year is Target. [More]
3 Things Your ATM Could Soon Be Doing Besides Dispensing Cash
By 6.2.14
Almost all of the more than 400,000 ATMs in the U.S. are used for the most basic of banking purposes — withdrawing cash and making deposits. But fewer people are using cash and it’s now often easier to deposit a check (in those rare instances when you receive one) via smartphone than it is to trek to the ATM. In order for the machines to survive (and someday play their part in the inevitable robot uprising), they must diversify. [More]
Coinstar Lets You Add Coins To Your PayPal Account, For A 10% Cut
By 6.10.13
Sure, after you check for silver quarters, you could roll up the coins in that jar you’ve got on the counter and deposit them in the bank. You could take them to a coin-counting machine at the bank and deposit them in your savings account. You could even dump them in a fountain, making hundreds of wishes in the process. But the folks behind Coinstar’s ubiquitous machines hope that you’ll take your spare change–and maybe a few bills–and deposit it in your PayPal account. [More]
Verizon & Coinstar Launching Redbox Instant Streaming Video Service This Month
By 12.12.12
Sure, finding a Redbox kiosk in your neighborhood might be pretty easy. But going anywhere to get a movie, even as far as your mailbox, much less getting in your car to drive somewhere, is so 2009, right? That need for instant access to movies is what’s leading Redbox owner Coinstar to hook up with Verizon to launch their very own video streaming service, set to debut later this month. [More]
Starbucks & Coinstar Unite To Sell Seattle’s Best Coffee In Kiosks
By 6.6.12
If you think Starbucks’ penetration into the world of coffee-selling is already at the saturation point, the company would kindly like to disagree with you. It has announced a deal with Coinstar to roll out thousands of automated kiosks that would sell $1 cups of Starbucks’ Seattle’s Best brand of coffee. [More]
Treasury Prints Less Money As Credit Card Use Climbs
By 7.8.11
Last year, the Treasury Department didn’t even bother printing any new $10 bills. [More]
Redbox Sales Dive, Possibly Due To 28-Day New Release Delay
By 1.17.11
Redbox rental kiosks apparently aren’t as appealing when its “new releases” are no longer so new. Thanks in part to an agreement not to stock new discs from major studios until 28 days after release, Redbox sales are down despite kiosk traffic remaining consistent. [More]
TD Bank Charges Non-Customers 6% Fee For Coin Counting
By 11.16.10
Sad day. TD Bank’s coin counter machines used to be free to all, but within the past month they’ve changed it so now non-customers will get levied a 6% transaction fee. [More]
Redbox Will Stream Movies Next Year
By 11.1.10
Not content to beckon to you subliminally from its kiosks planted in heavily trafficked areas, Redbox’s corporate parent Coinstar announced it will launch a streaming service next year. Teaming with an unannounced partner, the instant rental service will go head to head with the Netflixes and Hulus of the world. [More]
Coinstar Lets You Use Change To Buy Farmwars, Mafiaville Junk
By 8.9.10
Coinstar, which has more than 60,000 change-converting kiosks around the world, is offering an alternative to cash and gift cards by serving up Facebook Credits to spend on games and applications on the social networking site. [More]
Coinstar Calls Cashing In Change 'Recycling'
By 8.18.08
Douglas writes, “Coinstar wants you to ‘recycle’ your coins in their machines, and save the environment! Minus their 8.9% fee of course.” They even have a little wizard on their website that estimates how many parts of the environment—water, energy consumption, and geological waste—you save by putting those coins back into circulation, instead of hoarding them like the polar bear murderer you are. They don’t provide any source for these estimates, though, and we’re not convinced you’re doing anything “green” other than lining Coinstar’s pockets.
Coinstar’s $2.49 Check Comes Through!
By 10.5.06
Sweet sweet resolution. Karen griped about Coinstar jacking her for $2.49, a Coinstar rep wrote in wanting to help, and now Karen sends this love note:
Coinstar Wants To Give Karen Her $2.94 Back!
By 9.21.06
When Karen griped about Coinstar, I came clean: I love those guys. Without the chipper green Coinstar machine at my local Stop ‘N’ Shop, I never would have managed to keep my brain pickled with booze through pretending to earn a philosophy degree at a major ivy league school. Any service that allows me to empty the contents of my vacuum cleaner bag into a slot and walk away with cold, hard cash gets kudos from me.
