Rounding up? Or down

[everything]

I went to three different retailers today, they all rounded up or down, or added a penny somehow, my LCS wanted 42.20, I said is 42 good, they didn't want the two dimes or to make change either.

I know some retailers want their tills to be "right on", I have seen some cashiers that will keep some spare change to the side and use that to keep their till accurate to the penny.

Is it really happening, is the penny being slowly subjucated or bypassed because of it's worthlessness? Or is it just inflation (boiling frog) knocking at the door.

[Recyclersteve]

Both. In my opinion I am still surprised that the penny (and to some extent, even the nickel) are still around. I've seen many times when people drop coins accidentally. They know they dropped them and don't even stoop to pick them up. That tells you several things:

1) People are lazy.
2) People don't want to look poor, even if they are. (Exception: Some older folks who just don't give a rip about how they appear.)
3) People think the coins are a nuisance to keep around, so they don't bother to go out of their way to keep them.
4) Young people don't want to embarrass themselves by scrounging for a coin. (Exception: Really small kids who get excited.)

[IdahoCopper]

I only bend for the ring of a copper penny. The zincs remain dropped.

[Thogey]

Both. In my opinion I am still surprised that the penny (and to some extent, even the nickel) are still around. I've seen many times when people drop coins accidentally. They know they dropped them and don't even stoop to pick them up. That tells you several things:

1) People are lazy.
2) People don't want to look poor, even if they are. (Exception: Some older folks who just don't give a rip about how they appear.)
3) People think the coins are a nuisance to keep around, so they don't bother to go out of their way to keep them.
4) Young people don't want to embarrass themselves by scrounging for a coin. (Exception: Really small kids who get excited.)

Minimum wage in AZ is $10 per hour. 1 cent every 4 seconds. It's not worth the time handling a penny. Maybe for an Indian ragpicker it would be.
Hopefully, little metal disks will go away soon.

[AdamsSamoa]

I pick them all up..... they add up

[Recyclersteve]

Also, as we get older and our vision declines... we don't know whether it will be a penny or a dime (or even a quarter) until we bend over to pick it up. As long as I've stooped, I may as well finish the deed!

P.S. My vision isn't currently that bad, but there are times when I see a coin after dark in an unlit area (like the vacuum area of a car wash). It would be hard for someone who doesn't have exceptional "night vision" to be able to see some of those coins. I can barely even see that it is a round shape sometimes- that is how dark the areas can get.

[Morsecode]

I pick them all up..... they add up

Same here. I almost got hit by a car the other day groveling for a 1991 Lincoln.

The "Need-a-Penny, Take-a-Penny" trays are revealing. I'm seeing quarters in them lately.

[AGgressive Metal]

I'm starting to see dimes and quarters in the "take a penny leave a penny" trays, granted I'm in Portlandia - you don't live here if you're a penny pincher, given the way rents are (except for us Portland Mint guys!) Even the homeless people here have their tents, jackets, boot, and backbacks from brand name outfitters

[hobo finds]

Both. In my opinion I am still surprised that the penny (and to some extent, even the nickel) are still around. I've seen many times when people drop coins accidentally. They know they dropped them and don't even stoop to pick them up. That tells you several things:

1) People are lazy.
2) People don't want to look poor, even if they are. (Exception: Some older folks who just don't give a rip about how they appear.)
3) People think the coins are a nuisance to keep around, so they don't bother to go out of their way to keep them.
4) Young people don't want to embarrass themselves by scrounging for a coin. (Exception: Really small kids who get excited.)

Minimum wage in AZ is $10.50 per hour. 1 cent every 4 seconds. It's not worth the time handling a penny. Maybe for an Indian ragpicker it would be.
Hopefully, little metal disks will go away soon.

That's why I still pick them up, as prices for everything going up due to higher min wage!

[johnbrickner]

I see the rounding all the time at our local cigar shop in the village. They tend to be a little looser on the bottom line with the most regular customers. Especially when they pay with rolls of coin. My son will leave a dime and take all the pennies often from the leave take tray.

[Rastatodd]

I don't know where I saw this post. But this person would pick up all that change on the ground say outside local convenience stores and put it into a jar and when this person had enough coins in that jar the person proceed to go over to the website "Sons of Liberty" website and purchased a 1/4 oz. Liberty square. Now that mint is no longer in business and when those squares come up for sale seems those squares sell for better than spot all the time. In my opinion that person did quite well picking up all those neglected Lincolns and Jeffersons.

[Cu Penny Hoarder]

I only bend for the ring of a copper penny. The zincs remain dropped.

Same here.

I can usually tell if penny on the ground is copper just by the color. Zinc doesn't tarnish the same way as copper.

[oktyabyr]

Some of it also probably depends on the owner. If it’s a chain, they are going to be spot on, because they get yelled at when the toll is off by a penny. If it’s small and the owner is more flexible, or the owner is running the till, they can round.

[InfleXion]

Inflation is probably the biggest factor. Considering the dollar lost 99% of its buying power in a century or so, having a silver dollar back then was like having a hundred dollar bill in your pocket. And they used pennies back then. Today the dollar is what the penny used to be. I'm surprised we even still have them, but most people don't want to be on the wrong end of a rounding. That more are willing to be means there are more who don't place much value in measuring the difference between 3 cents vs. 5 cents. The most you can lose from rounding is 2 cents since it rounds to the nearest 5, and if it takes more time to count 2 cents than it does to earn 2 cents then it doesn't make fiscal sense at that point.

[Cu Penny Hoarder]

Inflation is probably the biggest factor. Considering the dollar lost 99% of its buying power in a century or so, having a silver dollar back then was like having a hundred dollar bill in your pocket. And they used pennies back then. Today the dollar is what the penny used to be. I'm surprised we even still have them, but most people don't want to be on the wrong end of a rounding. That more are willing to be means there are more who don't place much value in measuring the difference between 3 cents vs. 5 cents. The most you can lose from rounding is 2 cents since it rounds to the nearest 5, and if it takes more time to count 2 cents than it does to earn 2 cents then it doesn't make fiscal sense at that point.

Actually the USD has lost about 97-98% of it's buying power since 1913, but what's a few percentage points among friends?

I first started to understand the purchasing power of money/metal was when my uncle gave me a 1827 large cent when I was 10 years old. I was shocked at how large and heavy it was. 42 years later, I still have that coin.

Copper, Nickel, Silver and Gold... all good things to have/hoard.

[Robarons]

Local shops near me just round up and go. No problems. However they sometimes round up by a nickel too so it works out evenly in the end.

The big chains- you better have that penny or you get nothing. Imagine being 1 penny short at Walmart, that self serve U-scan is not going to budge.

The dealers here making rounding feel like your getting a deal or its casing them pain. One guy said I hate to do this but I knocking that nickel off to make the total even. But if your only making 20-50 per a silver round, etc. I understand

I do not even take the change into gold spot into consideration but they do 100%. Also largely I ignore the bid/ask spread too but they will take the bid when they buy and the ask when they sell. Note these prices are for COMEX contracts on much larger orders so it makes me think. One time I was going to buy a 1 oz Rhodium bar 'AT SPOT' so I said sure. Got my $1475 out and the dealer said yeah thats the ask price, the bid is $1525. So it felt like it was $50 over- the spreads on Rhodium are the biggest on metals. Now with it at $2120/$2270 it does not matter but at the time it did

[Cu Penny Hoarder]

Local shops near me just round up and go. No problems. However they sometimes round up by a nickel too so it works out evenly in the end.

The big chains- you better have that penny or you get nothing. Imagine being 1 penny short at Walmart, that self serve U-scan is not going to budge.

The dealers here making rounding feel like your getting a deal or its casing them pain. One guy said I hate to do this but I knocking that nickel off to make the total even. But if your only making 20-50 per a silver round, etc. I understand

I do not even take the change into gold spot into consideration but they do 100%. Also largely I ignore the bid/ask spread too but they will take the bid when they buy and the ask when they sell. Note these prices are for COMEX contracts on much larger orders so it makes me think. One time I was going to buy a 1 oz Rhodium bar 'AT SPOT' so I said sure. Got my $1475 out and the dealer said yeah thats the ask price, the bid is $1525. So it felt like it was $50 over- the spreads on Rhodium are the biggest on metals. Now with it at $2120/$2270 it does not matter but at the time it did

Go into any LCS and show them a stack of $20's or $100's and 90% of the time you can make your own deal. I often negotiate 10-30% off each coin I buy. ALWAYS ask them to come down in price... the worst they can do is say "no". The LCS owner wants you as a regular customer, especially if you're paying in cash.

[Recyclersteve]

Minimum wage in AZ is $10 per hour. 1 cent every 4 seconds. It's not worth the time handling a penny. Maybe for an Indian ragpicker it would be. Hopefully, little metal disks will go away soon.

This brings up an interesting point, that is, opportunity costs. Basically, opportunity costs are the next best alternative foregone. So, let's say you have a job where you can work unlimited overtime for a set rate per hour. Then you need to compare (as Thogey did above) the value you are getting by picking something up vs. the money you could be making if you were at work.

Then, for those of us who are retired, things change a bit. Realistically, there is no other paying job we could legitimately be doing at the point in time. We may have income from things like dividends, interest and Social Security. But with no other paying job to compare to (not even min. wage), I can see where someone might still be able to justify picking up something very small. Dare I say, even a penny?

Also, per my handy dandy search engine, minimum wage WAS $10 last year in Arizona. At the start of this year it went up to $10.50. Next year it is $11.00 and in 2020 it is $12.00. It will be interesting to see what happens with inflation over the next 2-5 years.

[IdahoCopper]

I retired completely in 2016 after I sold my jerky business. After a while, I got bored. Now I drive cars for two dealerships, wherever they need to go. Mostly its within 60 miles, but sometimes there is a good road trip. They flew me to Dallas to drive a motorhome 1500 miles back to Idaho. Another time was hauling a vehicle on a trailer to Colorado, then bring another back on the trailer.

It only pays $10 or $12 an hour, or sometimes $0.25 per mile, but I get out of the cave, meet new people and go to places I've never been. Its work any retired guy can do.

[Recyclersteve]

I retired completely in 2016 after I sold my jerky business. After a while, I got bored. Now I drive cars for two dealerships, wherever they need to go. Mostly its within 60 miles, but sometimes there is a good road trip. They flew me to Dallas to drive a motorhome 1500 miles back to Idaho. Another time was hauling a vehicle on a trailer to Colorado, then bring another back on the trailer.

It only pays $10 or $12 an hour, or sometimes $0.25 per mile, but I get out of the cave, meet new people and go to places I've never been. Its work any retired guy can do.

I've been looking to do something like that. A couple of questions for you:

1) Do they pay for stays at a hotel/motel?
2) Do you have some kind of food allowance or are you on your own regarding food?

[IdahoCopper]

I retired completely in 2016 after I sold my jerky business. After a while, I got bored. Now I drive cars for two dealerships, wherever they need to go. Mostly its within 60 miles, but sometimes there is a good road trip. They flew me to Dallas to drive a motorhome 1500 miles back to Idaho. Another time was hauling a vehicle on a trailer to Colorado, then bring another back on the trailer.

It only pays $10 or $12 an hour, or sometimes $0.25 per mile, but I get out of the cave, meet new people and go to places I've never been. Its work any retired guy can do.

I've been looking to do something like that. A couple of questions for you:

1) Do they pay for stays at a hotel/motel?
2) Do you have some kind of food allowance or are you on your own regarding food?

They pay all expenses, food, hotel, fuel. One dealership has given me a Visa card and a WEX fuel card. The other dealership is working on getting me a credit card. Until then, they reimburse my receipts within a couple days.

I never drive my own car for anything but going to the lot. They have plenty of cars, I always use one of theirs for dropping off a customer, delivering a contract, or other little chore.

The interstate trips only happen once or twice a month. I'm casual, on-call, and they understand that sometimes I have other plans and can't drive that day. Its not a problem.

[Recyclersteve]

This sound like an interesting opportunity. I plan on looking into it. Thanks VERY MUCH for bringing this up.