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Does this ever happen to you? You get a gift card and you love that the person thought to get you a gift, but it’s just not something you would use. You would never tell them that, and instead the gift just sits in your wallet for an eternity… never getting used. Thankfully this is a thing of the past for us because of Coinstar Exchange Kiosks who are sponsoring this post.
Coinstar Exchange kiosks are from the same folks who created the Coinstar kiosks you may be familiar with to exchange your coins into dollar bills.
Maybe you’ve seen the Coinstar Exchange bright yellow kiosk? They are located in major US cities markets and are at Vons stores throughout San Diego. At our Vons, it was right by the front door.
They are great to use after the holidays when people would really rather have cash than a gift card they may never use – and interestingly, Coinstar conducted a consumer survey that found 37% of people who received gift cards as gifts last year still haven’t used them all! <— That is totally us.
I’m changing that this year. We are going to put all of our gift cards to use and enjoy the gift as it was intended.
If we can’t use the gift card as is, we are going to exchange them for cash and put that money towards something we really want.
The girls and I tried out the new Coinstar Exchange to see how easy it was.
We do a family gift exchange each year, and Emmy typically gets a gift card that isn’t a good fit for her. So she helped me test it out with a Home Depot Gift Card.
We answered a couple questions on the screen, and then I swiped the gift card and my ID. Moments later this printed out. We were able to get $15 cash for our $25 gift card that we never would have used.
It was that easy. We walked over to the cashier and handed them the voucher and got our cash.
The whole process took less than five minutes.
Here is a list of the gift cards they are currently accepting and here is a kiosk locator.
I think this is awesome. I have a ton of gift cards lying around that I will never use.
That is a great idea, I never heard of this. I have to admit that I was cheesy and gave all gift cards this year as I’ve been down in my back and it was just easier.
I hate getting a gift card to a place I cannot use. I love this idea! It solves that problem well!
I don’t have any right now, but it is a great idea. If you need the money more than the stuff this is a great way to go.
While this is a brilliant idea the amount they take from the value seems very high. I guess anything is a bonus if you would never otherwise use it but even so….
That’s a good idea but not a very good exchange rate. There are other sites online (just google gift card exchange for cash) that would have given you $20 or $21 dollars for a $25 Home Depot card.
Those Coinstars are everywhere, this seems like an awesome way to get some quick cash. Unwanted gift cards can be awkward.
I didn’t know you could do this! This is an awesome system and it sounds super convenient and easy to use.
That is so awesome! I have all kinds of gift cards that I don’t want. I love it!
I was regifted a gift card to a woman’s plus size store. I am no where near plus size and would love to be able to find one of these kiosks.
What a great idea, I have a few gift cards laying around I’d like to cash in!
I have used Coinstar many times for turning in loose change but never knew they offered this service. What a great idea, especially around the holidays!
This is pretty awesome! I could have used this a few times in the past so I’m glad to see this and know so many people will get great use out of it!
I didn’t know they had this. That’s really so cool. At least I know what to do with the git cards I have at home. Thanks for the awesome demo!
I have never heard of these before. What a good idea!!!!
This is a great idea. I have a few gift cards i could cash in. I will have to look for a machine in my area.
I didn’t know about this before. this is amazing. Thank you for sharing this is useful.
Gift cards are such a popular choice for gifts now. This is a fantastic way to change the ones you will not use for cash.
That is such an awesome idea! I have a lot of gift cards I need to do this to.
I have not seen these machines before!! What a great way to use gift cards that you can’t use, we have gotten a couple of those before this wold be handy for.
I never heard about this before but it was so awesome. I love to receive a tons of gift cards
Just like magic! What a great product thanks for sharing yoru experience with us. The smile of your child is priceless =)
This is great. I didn’t know you could do that with CoinStar. I will have to look into it. Your girls are so cute!
My husband uses the CoinStar machine often. I didn’t realize they converted gift cards for some reason though.
What a cool system… unfortunately I don’t ever get gift cards :o) Worthwhile for those who do!!
This happens a lot of times. This is such a great option.
This is awesome. Nothing goes to waste. Interesting idea indeed!
This is a genius idea! I am looking up one near me. Why has no one thought of this before! Thank you for sharing.
These certainly look like handy kiosks!
There always seems to be an excess of gift cards laying around.
I saw something on these kiosks earlier today! What a neat idea! I need to find one in my neck of the woods!
I got to try one of these out too this weekend and it was fun! I have a few gift cards to redeem for cash on my next trip too!
well that’s a fun and pracitcal idea. I’ve never seen anything like it!
Wow this is a great idea! Better to get something for them than to let them go to waste.
What a brilliant idea! I remember receiving lots of them when I was still living in the States. Now that would be handy 😀
I had no idea that Coinstar had kiosks that can do that. I’ll have to check it out when I get a gift card I’ll never use.
wow, that’s really a brilliant idea! I wish I see one in our area. How convenient!
This is really cool! I didn’t know it existed – I would probably try and find a way to use it though since you do get a much smaller exchange rate… I’ve tried selling them on eBay before if I new I wasn’t going to use them. Thanks for sharing!
omg! i need this in my life! i have so many cash voucher haha i would be rich haha just kiddin’ but this is indeed a very nice idea, most of my vouchers just expired and wasted
When I had paychecks to cash I loved saving the change and using Coinstar. Maybe my son will like to use his piggy bank money for it.