Now you’re probably thinking “What? Coinstar now counts my coins for free? Are they crazy?”

And they answer is:  Why yes, Coinstar is NUTS!

Okay, not really…  I just couldn’t resist writing that.

Coinstar is the company that owns those cool machines that let you pour your pocket change into them and they count the coins for you and give you a cash voucher minus their 9.8% service charge.  That fee 9.8% is awful close to 10%, huh!

Since I would love to have a 10% (or 9.8%) return on my investments, I just couldn’t justify spending 10% of my money just to have it counted!  In fact, to me it seemed like highway robbery.

Needless to say, the old Coinstar and I were not friends!!!

But that was yesterday, now I’ve had a change of heart, and here’s why:

In what I consider a brilliant move on Coinstar part, they now offer gift cards for the full value of your coins, in exchange for their service instead of charging their normal 9.8% fee! How cool is that!!!

Just to name a few of the participating companies in the new Coinstar gift card deal, here is a short list:

• Amazon
• Starbucks
• JCPenny’s
• Old Navy
• Lowe’s
• CVS
• Gap
• Regal Cinemas

I’m willing to bet that the list of companies participating in the Coinstar program will continue to grow!

So in the past, whereas I would never consider wasting my money on such a service, it may now be my preferred route.  Time is money, and the time it takes me to count and roll coins vs using Coinstar while shopping for groceries is a no-brainer!

Not only am I going to use their service…  I’m also going to take a hard look at their stock (Ticker: CSTR, current priced at $46.11) as an investment.  I can now imagine people throwing their coins in a piggy bank as a Christmas fund, or similar type of plan, then cashing them in at Coinstar machines!

Oh did I mention that Coinstar is also the company that owns the RedBox machines that are now found practically everywhere!

If Coinstar does a good job marketing their new service, I think as a side benefit, people in mass might start to save their coins at a higher rate than previously recent years.

If I seem a little excited about this new, well I am!  This new coinstar program is a win-win-win!  A win for me by making my life easier, a win for coinstar via higher participation rate from consumers and a win for the companies participating in the Coinstar program via increased sales!

It’s rare to have triple wins from a business change like this!

Do you think as I do, that the new service model that Coinstar offers is a win?  Do you think that you will start to use such a service, especially while you grocery shop?  How about as an investment, do you think Coinstar now looks undervalued?  Will you look at pocket change differently now, I think I might!

-MR

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Oh, and by the way, this I’m not getting paid for this and I don’t own any Coinstar stock (at least not yet)…