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Coinstar is offering a $10 bonus for a coin deposit of $40 or more and the selected cash out option is eCert. I made a successful deposit that qualified for the bonus several days ago. Since I had more coins, I thought I would deposit more coins. I made two more deposits but they were not able to qualify for the $10 bonus.

On the second deposit, I brought a bag of 40 dollar coins, totaling $40, and tried to deposit them in a Coinstar Machine in Duane Reade. The machine stopped taking dollar coins after 34 coins. The total deposit was $34, only $6 short of $40 and therefore the total did not qualify me for the $10 bonus. The machine must have maxed out the slots for the dollar coins, because it returned all the dollar coins. I ended up with a $34 Amazon eCert. The lesson is that even though you may have $40 in dollar coins, the machine may not have space for all of the coins.

On the third deposit, I went to a different Coinstar location. I brought a bag of 40 dollar coins and a roll of quarters. Learning from the second deposit, I thought I would fill the machine with quarters when the dollar coin slots were maxed out. Unfortunately, only two dollar coins were accepted. The rest of the dollar coins were returned. I decided to abandon the deposit. The total balance of my deposit was $2, but because option for gift certificates required a $5 minimum deposit, the machine forced me to select cash payout, which comes with an 8.9% processing fee. I paid 18 cents in fees and ended up with a $1.82 in a cash payout. I took the cash receipt and bought items in the store. Had I known earlier, I could have use the quarters to bring the minimum to $5 balance before cashing out. The lesson is that you have to mind the Coinstar minimum requirement for the gift certificates.

Obviously, I did not anticipate that the Coinstar machines would max out on their coin slots. The shortcoming did not qualify my second and third Coinstar deposits for the bonus. Instead, I lost money on the third deposit. In any case, it was a fun experience. I’ll wait for the $10 bonus from my first deposit.

Coinstar coin counting is FREE when you turn your coins into a gift card or eCert. From November 7th to December 7th, when you try Free Coin Counting option and cash in $40 or more, Coinstar will send you a holiday bonus. Get your $10 holiday bonus from Coinstar!

Offer Details:
1. Cash in $40 or more of coins onto a gift card or eCert at a participating Coinstar machine
2. Mail in the bottom portion of your receipt to get your $10 card holiday bonus

My Coinstar Deposit:
I decided to try out Coinstar, since they are offering a $10 bonus. On November 29, I took my jar of coins to a Coinstar location. I opted for the Amazon eCert and deposited $40.03. After the machine finished counting all the coins, the machine printed a receipt with a Redemption Code for $40.03 for the Amazon eCert, which I can use to make purchases on Amazon.com. Since I deposited at least $40 of coins, I qualified for the $10 gift card, and in my case it would be $10 of the Amazon eCert. I cut off the bottom portion of my receipt and mailed it to the address printed.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

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To get your free $10 gift card, follow these instructions carefully.

Obtain an official claim form when you convert in a single transaction at least 40 U.S. dollars (in coins only) into a gift card or eCertificate at participating Coinstar Centers. The claim form will be displayed at the end of qualified Coinstar® receipts.

Valid Dates are 11/7/08 – 12/7/08

Complete the claim form in its entirety.

Submit the completed claim form. Claims must be postmarked by 1/7/2009. Claims postmarked after the applicable date, incomplete submissions, and illegible submissions will be returned as ineligible.

Mail to Coinstar Holiday Bonus Offer, PO Box 6112, Douglas, AZ 85655-6112

Receive the $10 gift card via mail. Allow 6–8 weeks for processing. If terms and conditions are not met, the $10 gift card will not be sent. Coinstar is not responsible for any claims lost, damaged, or delayed in transit.

General terms and conditions: the $10 holiday bonus offer ends 12/7/08. Offer valid in the U.S. only and excludes Puerto Rico. Offer good on qualified coin transactions made between 11/7/08 and 12/7/08. Transactions occurring before or after these dates are not eligible for this offer. Limit 1 per name, address, or household. Void where prohibited. Not valid with any other offer. No cash substitutions. Valid on coin transactions only. Failure to follow the above rules may result in disqualification. PLEASE RETAIN A COPY OF ALL SUBMITTED MATERIALS FOR YOUR RECORDS, ORIGINALS WILL NOT BE RETURNED

Coinstar reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to disqualify any individual it finds to be tampering with the operation of the Rebate program, to be acting in violation of these Terms and Conditions, or to be acting in disruptive manner, or with the intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any other person.

Any person attempting to defraud or in any way tamper with this program will be ineligible and may be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

Coinstar reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to cancel or suspend this gift certificate program should viruses, bugs or other causes beyond its control corrupt the proper administration or security of the Rebate.

Coinstar reserves the right to modify the rules of the program in any way or at any time, as long as reasonable notice is given.