h a l f b a k e r yThe phrase 'crumpled heap' comes to mind.
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wow, first off i wanna say this is an amazing website with tons of great ideas that could really do well. this is my first post so don't kill me on it!
Loose change around the house? Exchange it for cash NOW! We'll come to you!!
It seems that a lot of people have change stored up in their
house just waiting to exchange it at the bank. But who really has the time to lift those heavy bottles of coins? But once you do lift that lump of change out of your house, you have to take it out just to exchange it at the bank again! Why not just save time and energy and have us (me) do it?
Make an appointment and give an estimate of how much change you have, and I'll be at your door in less than a week. Once the coins have been counted by a machine tested for great accuracy, you'll get it exchanged for cash in no time. Who can beat the price of a flat rate of $3.00 + 10% of the total amount of change?
Small businesses/Arcades/Grocery-
The second part of my business will be to resell these quarters to small businesses/arcades/groceries or any other business that needs coins. Is there any website that someone can direct me into to find out how much (if people are already doing this) banks are charging to sell coins?
Minimum amount of exchange is $20, and maximum amount is $100
For security reasons, I will only exchange a maximum amount of $100 per day.
How's the edit sound guys?
CoinStar
http://www.coinstar.com
These guys make a killing doing change conversion. [Soapy, Jun 06 2007]
Coin Machine
http://images.aucti...4/64452/sorter6.jpg
My business idea all in one link. [vias7268, Jun 07 2007]
Coin wrappers
http://www.hutshop.com/roso360prcow.html
coin storage [vias7268, Jun 16 2007]
[link]
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Might work, but I would do it door-to-
door rather than by appointment. How
many people are going to go to all the
hassle ? |
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And welcome to the ery, vias. |
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thanks for the first comment! well what "hassle" are you talking about? |
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Well, you'll need a Brinks truck, and probably some armed guards. Those things burn a lot of gas, and the insurance for hauling around money can't be cheap. Neither can the 'machine tested for great accuracy'. |
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There are machines that do this for 10% located in supermarkets, and some banks have machines that do this for free. |
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You'd probably do better paying cash for coins and then melting them down for copper and silver. But then you'll need a foundry ... |
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So, welcome to the halfbakery, and here's a bone to chew on. [-] |
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//what "hassle" are you talking about//
I mean the hassle of having to make an
appointment and then make sure
they're in when you call. To be honest,
I have maybe £10-£30 in change, and if
someone turned up on my doorstep I
might convert it to bills; but I couldn't
really be bothered to write in my diary,
and then have to plan an evening to
make sure I was in. |
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Don't worry about the fishbone - there
are plenty of worse ideas on the site.
Some of Nuclear Hobo's spring to mind. |
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well i dont plan on doing 50 houses in one day..plus i'd have them in coin wrappers already..
either way, negative or positive comments, i already bought the machine for this..which won't cost money to test because my house will be the first. and maxwell, ever heard of 1-800-got-junk? google them up, and tell me what you think of their idea. it's basically the same as mine, except they haul off heavy junk for outrageous prices.. |
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Why make an appointment? Just show up after midnight. |
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So is the machine on the truck outside my house? Or do I have to trust you with my money to go to a central location and come back? |
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Still a good idea. Welcome.(+) |
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Banks don't like handling large quantities of coins and usually charge businesses a fee for handling and changing coins. |
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//So is the machine on the truck outside my house? Or do I have to trust you with my money to go to a central location and come back?// |
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i plan on bringing the machine inside the house |
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// Banks don't like handling large quantities of coins and usually charge businesses a fee for handling and changing coins.// |
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well my commerce bank has a machine that does it for free, so i plan on just using the coin machine to convert it for those extra lazy people :) |
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// There's no money in this (ahem). There would be, if all the change hoarders lived in the same area of the same town and all wanted a tinker with a noisy machine to come calling.// |
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don't tell me you don't have change lying around your house.. |
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How much does your coin machine weigh,
[vias]? Will it traverse the steps? |
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Here is something for you to chew on-
consider hiring your service out to a
charity. You keep your fee, but the rest of
the coin is donated to the charity. The
house occupant / change donor gets a tax
deductable receipt for the change donated. |
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//welcome to the ery, vias// I thought you were going to say therapy. |
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Moving the machine from place to place I have a concern for your security. And related to that, your insurablity. |
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Let me get this straight. You are going to be carrying moderate amounts of cash in a truck, along with a moderately heavy machine, you are going to unload that machine and bring it into peoples homes, either carrying the cash with you, or leaving it in the truck. After you finish your job you are going to load the heavy machine, AND a heavy load of coin out of the house, and back into the truck. You are then going to go a short distance down the street and repeat the procedure. |
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I envision that some local entrepreneurs with smaller machines that can expel small masses of metal with great velocity are going to request that you share some or all of the cash you are carrying with them. They are also likely to visit the homes that you have just serviced and request a share of the cash you have left with them. |
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//How much does your coin machine weigh, [vias]? Will it traverse the steps?// |
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// Here is something for you to chew on- consider hiring your service out to a charity. You keep your fee, but the rest of the coin is donated to the charity. The house occupant / change donor gets a tax deductable receipt for the change donated.// |
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that's a great idea. so you mean i could keep my 3+10% and then instead of getting it exchanged at the bank for money, just donate it directly? hmm, i'd have to do it after i get profit, because that means i'd lose some of the money i'm putting in..right? can you clarify if i'm not making sense, bungston? |
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// Moving the machine from place to place I have a concern for your security. And related to that, your insurablity.// |
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yup, my mom did too. i'll have some sort of answer for my security issues. ie, mace-pepperspray, etc.. |
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// Let me get this straight. You are going to be carrying moderate amounts of cash in a truck, along with a moderately heavy machine,// |
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as stated before, it's 5lbs :). and i'd only carry the necessary amount needed for the day of exchanges.. hopefully that'll be around $200-300 |
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// I envision that some local entrepreneurs with smaller machines that can expel small masses of metal with great velocity are going to request that you share some or all of the cash you are carrying with them. They are also likely to visit the homes that you have just serviced and request a share of the cash you have left with them.// |
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are you saying that there are already people who are doing this? or that they already have a machine to do it with? if these entrepreneurs already have it, why bother with me? my marketing target are those small businesses, elders, and anyone who has change racking up that can't afford to dish out $100-300 for a coin machine. |
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not sure if i answered your question right Galbinus_Caeli, but just reply if i didn't |
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If you show that you are carrying bundles of cash, men with guns will take it from you. |
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// Sorry, I was too subtle. |
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If you show that you are carrying bundles of cash, men with guns will take it from you.// |
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hahah. it's gonna be rolled in coins already. since i'm just starting up, i'm probably just gonna keep it in a backpack. |
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and about the whole carrying large amounts of money...it's kind of the same as a delivery driver isn't it? |
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A delivery driver who is delivering money, maybe. |
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A pizza driver might be carrying $100. Less if he is smart. |
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I doubt it would be worth your while to process less than $100, and you are likely to go directly from house to house, so you will probably need to carry a bank of at least $500. |
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Mr. "I need money for my coke habit" might not be willing to drag his ass of the porch to rob a pizza guy of fifty bucks and a large pepperoni, but you might be a more tempting target. Plus he knows that you just gave a fistful of cash to the old lady in the house you are walking out of, so he can get a twofer. |
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well my towns pretty safe..so until i expand it, if i ever do, i don't have to worry about that for now |
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[+] for the service, [-] for the potential for thievery by others. |
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I am curious, I admit, as to how this works out for you. Keep us posted. |
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It's a shame I can't vote neutral on this. I've stuck a link to CoinStar on here, they make a fortune taxing you 7.5% for counting your money, and the machines always seem full, so you are off to a good start. The downside is the security. |
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Perhaps getting a coin roll filler might be a better idea? You use your machine to fill the little tray then wrap it for the bank. No money except your fee leaves the house with you! |
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//Perhaps getting a coin roll filler might be a better idea? You use your machine to fill the little tray then wrap it for the bank. No money except your fee leaves the house with you!// |
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can you explain this idea a little clearer? i dont know how to post a link here, but my coin machine automatically wraps the coins into the coin rolls, but i would still have to give them money that i'm exchanging their coins for |
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//You'd probably do better paying cash for coins and then melting them down for copper and silver// |
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Almost none of the coins in production today are pure metal. Pennies for example are either a copper alloy or are zinc with a copper coating. Quarters are a sandwich of common metal with a thin layer of precious metal. Nickels and dimes are also alloys so the value of the metal is insignificant in relation to the value of the coin. |
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hey guys, can you give me any suggestions for security...i mentioned mace, but i don't know if that's enough... |
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Security? Armored car, guys with guns. Short of that and I think you will end up relieved of your profits several days a week. |
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[Galbinus], I think that depends very much on geography. [vias] says he lives in a safe town, and are the baddies really going to drive all the way to his town just to take him for $200? |
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[vias7268], I wish you luck, but I don't keep change lying around the house. I find I can spend the change in my wallet on low-value items just as fast as it accumulates. I wonder how many people that applies to? Well, I suppose you'll soon find out. |
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//That's $26 for every $100 that passes through your system. (presuming you can collect $100 in change from someone's house). I can tell you right now, with those kinds of returns, the banks (or mafia) would be doing it already. That leaves the simple fact that these number are wrong.// |
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sorry, i'm REALLY new at this..so could you explain in detail how you're getting these numbers? how would the "right" numbers be considered? |
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//You are probably looking at $10 - $30 in change per household. $6 for $10. $24 for $30. Not on my watch.// |
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as i stated in my explanation of my business, the minimum exchange will be $20. again, i don't get where $24 for $30 is coming...please explain because i think this might be very important to my business.. |
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and i love your idea of selling change to other businesses..i never even thought of that.. |
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thanks [pertinax], but i've talked to a lot of people and they seem to have more than $20 of change lying around. and yea, i live in a safe town, but there the town beside me isn't that safe, so safety is still a big concern for me. |
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I keep a small container of change for when I empty my pockets. Most of this loose change gets spent but not always, and whatever doesn't get spent at the end of a pay period, ends up tossed in an old bottled water container. The last time I bothered to roll it all up to help pay for a tight Christmas it was over four hundred dollars. |
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I think I would opt to use a service like this and would suggest that your best protection would be anonymity.
Go door to door to find clients sure, but set up a time to collect that is at their convenience. |
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If there is nothing to distinguish you from any other house guest, no one has any reason to suspect you are carrying loot and you should be fairly safe unless your client has made a deal with the hood down the street to make his money back with interest. |
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//Can you still operate on 15% Gross Profit? That is 7.5% on collection and 7.5% on distribution.// |
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ok, so when you say 7.5% collection = exchanging change for cash, and 7.5% distribution = selling coins to businesses right? hmm, i'd LIKE to charge a higher percentage than coinstar, maybe like 8, just because i think there's no one else out there who's driving around doing the same business i am. but, if i have to lower it, then so be it, as long as the customers keep coming right? |
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i guess i'd have to figure out if my target market would be willing to pay a higher price for the service i offer, but then again, this is my first adventure, and i don't mind the changes that i'd have to go through. |
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//Go door to door to find clients sure, but set up a time to collect that is at their convenience.// |
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that's a great idea, but i'm really lazy..if i don't get calls from people, i'm going to end up making myself go door to door. |
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hey btw guys, sorry for asking you to clarify so many things...i'm VERY new to this, and i'm pretty young too. |
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Nothing personal but I'm not a big fan of the idea. There's a coin-changing machine outside a bank, inside a grocery store that we go to weekly. |
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I pay by credit card as much as possible but still accumulate some coinage. However, I'm too cheap to pay someone to take my heavy money. Maybe it isn't your idea but my personality that is the problem! |
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Here's a suggestions that might make it better for me. Work with charitable organizations and do fund raisers. People that bring their coins get a full tax deduction, you get a cut and the charity gets a bulk of the donations. Presumably the charity would help advertise and coordinate. |
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sure, whynot? if it gets my kids off their butts. |
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