Realcent.org

Trying to get as much info so I know best how to proceed in my quest for the holy grail of loose coin (bags instead of boxes).

Do you guys who get the bags can you call and say you want 15 bags or do you only get a few at a time ?
Are these bags coming from lobby counters? Then just not going to the fed and sitting somewhere until you call and order 15?
Are you having better luck with small community or large chain?

Im looking for a bank in the chicagoland area that can do loose but have not had any luck but all I need is one! Any pointers from those lucky enough is appreciated. Should I just start cold calling from the yellow pages

Try the Chase smaller branches. Or any other small branch...I've only found 1 to sell me, also. A freakin' boat load of "No's!", too!

TheJonasCollegeFund wrote:Try the Chase smaller branches. Or any other small branch...I've only found 1 to sell me, also. A freakin' boat load of "No's!", too!

How many can you get at a time? One or two bags or like 10 or 12?

Call the big box, high volume stores and coin car wash owners in the towns you want to go to and find out where they deposit their own bags and bags of coin. Then hit those branches.

I'd go in personand speak with the manager or accounting office to explain why you are asking that question.

there is a chain of credit unions in my area that have lobby counters. they will not order for me.

there is another bank in my area with 30 branches with lobby counters. they send a van around to pick up the bags and take them back to the main branch. I went to the main branch and had a very friendly chat with the president. for security reasons, he couldn't sell them to me.

I have 2 banks that sell me the lobby counter bags.. one I call every couple days and double check thast they have some before I drive over.. I just asked one day and they said OK.. The other is my local bank that I have done business with for 15 years.. they keep them aside for me.. Both branches get chocolate every few weeks..

I get my bags from various locations, but it takes some buttering up to get them. I typically get 1-3 bags per location. The come off the lobby machines. Let me tell you, you find some interesting stuff (varies by location). For instance one location I get a lot of foreign coins, and at another I get lots of wheats.


Best of luck!

It is tough. some branches of the credit union I get bags from will. Only 3 out of 7 will sell them to me. One hardly ever has bags.

I did get a bank to order bags. Starting off slow with 4 a week.

Best bet its a bank you do a lot of business with, and a friendly head/vault teller.

i am in the same boat as you TX no one around seems to give out loose bags here. now for all of us unlucky searchers whats worse plastic wrapped coins or paper wrapped?

I made sure that I told both branches that give me bags that I would not bring them back there... they both seemed to like that idea..

I have no problem getting them. The problem I have as you know I get the pennies to keep Franklin busy with him having autism. So I bought him some $50 bags right off the sorter and he will not touch them. I found out that he does not like to stop and start a project so fifty dollars is to much for one sitting. Were as he has no problem starting and stopping that. After Franklin is done looking at them into the Ryedale the left overs go. Before I joined this group I would haul of them back to the bank coppers too.

My bank accepts customer loose coin which is counted by a machine behind the counter..I have found that some branches will let me buy the bagged coin and others wont-clearly its just up to the main teller-as for ordering multiples-It doesnt work like that,brinks picks up once a week whatevers there...theres never more than 1 or 2 bags of any denomination...

sounds like i have a lot in common with Franklin (:>).

try to look at this from the teller's point of view. its a big hassle to them. if you don't pick it up, it will sit in the vault perhaps another week taking up space. ask them what day/time is most convenient for them for you to pick up. ordering bags seems to me a lot more extra work than buying a full lobby bag which is just going to take up room in the vault.

Problem solved get your own CoinMax it is 50 times faster than Coinstar and are made by Cummins-Allison they rock!!!! You can see them at http://www.cumminsallison.com/coin/self_service_coin.htm put them in the right place " a place with cheep beer ect." pay the person with the store the percentage fee that the counter charges for the rent space and for changing out the bags for you. And you get all that copper!!!!!!!!!!!!Maybe silver,.999 Ect. Also you could use it to bag your own zinc to take to the bank. I would think they the bank would take them for deposit because it part of your Coinmax business. Also if you had a fee on it you would get more copper as we know zinc dumpers do not pay fees.

We should buy one as a group and place it with a member.. then as it makes money keep buying more and placing them with more members.. before long we would have a Realcent conglomerate!

I just spoke with the local office (south Texas) about me purchasing a unit and placing it in some retail establishment that Cummins-Allison could introduce to me. Unfortunately, the Wal-Mart and the dominant supermaket chain here both use Coinstar and Cummins-Allison is having a hard time finding stores to place their equipment. The salesman would like to sell me a unit, but he doesn't know anywhere I could set it up.

I wonder what it would take to put one in a supermarket.. 4% ?

It's all about floor space. What else could the store put in that space and how much money would that item make for them? Foot traffic is also key. If not may people even see the machine, then it won't fill up fast enough for us to recoup our initial investment.

[quote="henrysmedford"]Also if you had a fee on it you would get more copper as we know zinc dumpers do not pay fees. [quote]

Hahahahaha!

The best idea I've had for a location is a check cashing store. The ones around here don't accept lots of loose coin, most of their customers are cash (as opposed to plastic) users, and by going in there they already expect to not get full value for their money. Once word gets out that you charge less than coinstar, you'll be making some good coin.

ed_vantage17 wrote:The best idea I've had for a location is a check cashing store. The ones around here don't accept lots of loose coin, most of their customers are cash (as opposed to plastic) users, and by going in there they already expect to not get full value for their money. Once word gets out that you charge less than coinstar, you'll be making some good coin.

Yeah, CC places i've seen barely have room for the machines we're lusting after, let alone room for a small gumball machine.

Howabout Pawn Shops?

How many people do you think it would take to make a machine work? I live in a community of about 2,000. There are a lot of empty store fronts, and the ones that have businesses, have extra space. The next community over has about 4,000 people. I would think that it would work better there due to extra traffic.

henrysmedford wrote:Problem solved get your own CoinMax it is 50 times faster than Coinstar and are made by Cummins-Allison they rock!!!! You can see them at http://www.cumminsallison.com/coin/self_service_coin.htm put them in the right place " a place with cheep beer ect." pay the person with the store the percentage fee that the counter charges for the rent space and for changing out the bags for you. And you get all that copper!!!!!!!!!!!!Maybe silver,.999 Ect. Also you could use it to bag your own zinc to take to the bank. I would think they the bank would take them for deposit because it part of your Coinmax business. Also if you had a fee on it you would get more copper as we know zinc dumpers do not pay fees.

How much do the machines cost?

Cost: The basic model is about $10k. Goes up to over slightly double, I think the sales rep said, for the top of the line model.

Diggin4copper wrote:I made sure that I told both branches that give me bags that I would not bring them back there... they both seemed to like that idea..

My bag pick ups cut me off this week. I had been returning everything i got from them the next week and taking all the fresh ones. The issue seemed to be car wash and other coin businesses were using the sorter in the lobby for business uses. But apparently me and my weekly $250 -$600 zinc return were not part of the issue???? They said i couldnt even buy them anymore and return somewhere else. I stopped my rolled orders cause those were my dump banks. Oh yea, they left me stuck with over $500 face zincs also!! (well kinda stuck me, well you know what i mean) Trying to figure out where to dump before i figure where to get more. Maybe its time to buy the rolling machine??