So a while back I noticed that the machines at 7/11 are programmed to always give back change in the fewest coins possible, so I’ve given up on counting coins whenever I’m there and just dump my whole stash in. It seems there’s not downside of putting in extra coins, and often there’s an upside.
Overall it’s been a pretty effective strategy, my wallet weight has shrunk immensely and even though I’m alright at maths (I did a degree in it for godness sakes) I’m still pretty sure this method is generally quicker
However, I tend to get weird looks when I do it. Sometimes it’s from customers but mostly from staff, so I’m starting to worry I may be being rude, causing damage to the machine or causing extra work for them somehow?
On the other hand, it may simply be that I look ridiculous, and their mere mortal brains have not yet grasped my enlightened strategy?
31 comments
Your brain is huge. I’m gonna do this next time I have a ridiculous amount of coins. I wonder if it will give you bills back 🤔
Fellow coin dumper here.
It’s far superior. I used to hunt for exact change, now I just dump it all in and get the smallest number of coins back.
Our way is faster for everyone, they just don’t realize it.
I do it all the time. I don’t think the staff really give a shit as long as you don’t take too long.
That’s a bit paranoid, I think. No one cares. They deliberately offer the chance to dump coins to attract more business. Dump away.
Supermarket near me takes 1 yens. It’s a miracle. I can actually spend money.
I dont think it’s rude, just amusing / unexpected.
My colleague told me she found out those machines actually have a limit because she tried to use up a jar of 1円 coins her son had amassed. iirc she said it wouldn’t take any more than like 80 coins so she paid the rest to the cashier.
Don’t do it when there’s a line behind you. When there’s no one behind you? Game on.
i just wanna get rid of my 1 accumulation 😭
I don’t think it’s rude. In fact I do this on the regular.
Not sure about 7/11 but I’ve encountered coin machines that limit you to something like 15 coins
I do that at a market here. Nobody stares. maybe because it is not in the way people normally are watching… Anyway, I think people stares because fewer people are using cash in Japan these days. someone that pay in cash with lots of coins may be very odd now.
I saw the machine, I dump my coins.
Though nowadays I never use cash anymore. Cashless is faster and more convenient.
Once upon a time I used to work in a supermarket that had lots of self check outs. The hardware is largely the same in different countries, they’re just adapted for the target currency.
Inside the till there is only so much space for each coin denomination. And those coin hoppers also have to dispense change. The staff might be giving you a strange look if they fear you’re about to overload one of the coin hoppers. I wouldn’t worry though, honestly. It’s unlikely that a mass of customers are doing this.
I have a huge jar of small coins and literally everytime i go to the konbini i take a huge handful with me. As long as it doesn’t take forever/there isn’t a huge line, no one cares.
What are these machines?
I have 4kg of coins and want them in cash. In 7/11 is it possible?
just do it, exchange all your 1 yennies for black thunder
do you do it during peak hours like lunch when there’s a million salarymen waiting for their bentos to be heated up and bagged?
A coin machine that accepts 1円 and 5円 coins is so rare apart from 7/11, it’s the thing I love the most about 7/11
The supermarket near my home limits the number of coins you can use to 20.
There’s a game called [支払技術検定](https://octoba.net/archives/20130323-android-app-nouryoku-186699.html) where you have unlimited cash, a random payment amount pops up and you have to give money to get back as few coins as possible.
Play it a few hours and your wallet will never get fat from change again.
I don’t understand how people have such a problem with change to begin with unless they’re always dumping their wallets out at home or not making any effort when paying.
No. Unusual is all. I’ve been doing it for years with the JR machines. Every Japanese friend that sees me do it thinks I’m crazy until I explain why I do it and then they all start doing it. You are just ahead of the curve.
Big thing is these machines can break if you put in too many at once. Or rather, they can jam. Even the big ATMs for yucho would get locked up if you put in more than, say, 50 coins.
Processing takes some time too, like if you do this at the ATM then the machine sometimes sits there unusable for a minute. Not a thing to do if there’s a big line.
I think if it’s less than 20 it’s fine though.
My recommendation though is this[0] thing. Coin holder means you can just always give out exact change. Big advantage of working at other places too. I use this and went from having (I kid you not) like 500+ coins at home to just having this thing half-filled with coins, and often very quickly running out.
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[0]: [https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B08285J3QW?ref=nb_sb_ss_w_as-reorder-t1_k1_1_3&=&crid=112BMATEI387S&=&sprefix=%E3%82%B3%E3%82%A4%E3%83%B3](https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B08285J3QW?ref=nb_sb_ss_w_as-reorder-t1_k1_1_3&=&crid=112BMATEI387S&=&sprefix=%E3%82%B3%E3%82%A4%E3%83%B3)
Just charge your pasmo or Suica card at the station
I don’t really see the point. Unless you’re carrying like ¥1000+ of coins everywhere you go it’s not really going to be that worth it. As somebody who uses my coins wherever possible I never will have like ¥50 or ¥100 of ¥10 coins or ¥10 of ¥1 coins or whatever so the machine would just be spitting out the exact same coins again minus a few actually going towards the item’s cost (which I could have just counted out in a second myself anyway) so it would be a pretty big waste of time to have the machine eat and spit out a bunch of the same coins. I guess I might be able to get back an extra ¥100 or something if I had a ¥50 and a few ¥10/¥5/¥1 yen’s but I don’t really see it being that worth it, since I use my change quickly and my goal isn’t to always have as many of the largest demonstrations as possible, it’s useful to have a few ¥1/¥5/¥10 yen’s on hand to pay when your total is like ¥123 or something, or to use in vending machines or at temples, or the scanner at the conbini.
If you were like EXTREMELY SLOW at doing mental math or counting things out or had arthritis or something in your fingers I can see the usefulness, but for the average person I don’t think it’s really necessary so people probably think it looks like you either have no idea what you’re doing or you’re a bit sloppy.
It’s not rude, but be careful not to put too many. I did that one time and the machine stopped and spat out an error. The manager had to come n fix it n stuff. I think the “practical” limit is 50×1¥
The first time I was taught to do this is by a Japanese person. Nothing rude about it, not inconveniencing anyone and in any case it’s legal tender
My local supermarket only lets you use a maximum of 20 coins (total, not 20 of a certain coin). It also doesn’t let you insert any coins after you insert a 10,000 yen note (unless your transaction is over 10,000 yen) to stop people inserting large notes to pay for low-value items in order to “break” said notes.
But yeah, where possible I empty the coin pouch of my wallet into the machine.
Plus, don’t feel bad. They absolutely want coins. It’s worse if everyone only ever pays with 10,000 yen notes (that’s why some shops will have signs like “we’re running low on 1,000 yen notes etc.)
I do this too at seven eleven and train stations machines to charge pasmo. My justification is business owners need to give out change and to get this change they take bills to a bank and break it back into change. By giving them change instead of using a bilIs I am saving them a trip to the bank to get change.
am i the only one who organizes their coins in their coin purse every morning?
It’s not rude or anything as long as you put a reasonable amount like when emptying your wallet. But as a cashier at 7/11, I see quite a few people bringing hundreds of coins in bags/boxes and just dumping everything. It either exceeds the cap or even jams the machine, so the staff needs to open it and fix it, which can take up to 10-15 minutes. So during peak hours where there’s a long line behind you, not a great move for every party involved including yourself.