Yesterday Little Girl and I had an evening date planned. She has been wanting to see Mirror Mirror at the theater, and I finally had a moment free! We began our evening by getting dolled up (Little Girl mostly) but I did my best to get spiffed up. We enjoyed ourselves at the movie theater, and laughed at so many parts of Mirror Mirror. Afterwards, we made our way outside for her to take a photo near the theater poster.

After we left Cinergy Cinemas in Corsicana, we headed to Ole’ Foods grocery store.
Ole’ Foods is a local grocery store, and one of the two retail locations that has a Coinstar machine that I can withdraw funds from my PayPal account. When I arrived, I couldn’t find the machine anywhere. I saw a Blockbuster movie kiosk, but couldn’t figure out where the #PayPalCoinstar machine was in the store. I kept looking until I thought I saw a PayPal logo.
     I was able to find it near the pharmacy area, very far out of the way from sight. It is not visible from the front of the store, and you can’t see it outside. When I went to use the kiosk, it was blocked by a poster board. The poster board said that it was open from 9AM until 7PM daily, and I arrived before 7PM to use the machine. All of the windows in the business office had closed mini-blinds, and I wasn’t sure if I would be able to get money from the machine. I asked to see a manager, and a lady met with me at the front of the store. I explained that when I arrived, before 7PM everything was closed already. She said to me “We aren’t going to give you money are we? Do you have something printed out saying you are to use this machine?” After I showed her my packet, she told me to just remove the poster board and then go to the cash office when I was done. She was sure to tell me that she doesn’t know how PayPal works on the machine, but has just seen that it is available.  I told her that it is convenient to convert your coins and apply the total to your PayPal balance, or you can cash out funds from PayPal using the kiosk.
     And this is what greeted me. An almost empty bottle of Crown Royal. I can’t make this up folks. You can see more photos of it in my Google+ Album. I even found a nail, two buttons and lint sitting on the card reader. I showed her the bottle, and she simply laughed and walked away without throwing it away or moving it for me. I left it there, even though a trashcan was sitting on the floor next to the kiosk overflowing with garbage. How about that for customer service? Way to keep the PayPal and Coinstar brand fresh on one’s mind. I then began my transaction.
    I chose to withdraw money from my account from the Coinstar options. You are able to take out a limit of $500 per month, and no more than $200 per day including the $3 transaction fee. So, in all I could have withdrawn $197 yesterday. I chose to only take out $100 from my balance. The minimum amount you can take out is $5, but it will still cost you a $3 fee.
     Two receipts print out, one that you keep; and one that you take to the business office (if your’s is open, and all.) They will exchange your Cash Value voucher for the amount you withdrew.
    You will keep your receipt, and will have your money in hand. In all, the machine took about 3 minutes to use, since I actually read the fine print.
     After picking up a Coke, Aunt Jemima Whole Wheat Pancake Mix, marshmallows for Rice Krispie Treats, and fresh ground sausage for this morning’s meal. Little Girl and I headed home.
     As you can see, within just a few moments I was able to have my $100 in hand. I paid a small fee, which still costed less than paying ATM fees including out-of-network bank charges for taking money out of my bank account. This will come in handy for me, since when we opened our PayPal account years ago we used B’s name for the account. I am unable to transfer funds into my bank account through PayPal since my accounts don’t share the same name. They refuse to change it, even with proof that the account is all mine. $3 isn’t much of a fee to get money out that I can use. You can also like Coinstar’s Facebook page, or follow Coinstar’s Twitter page. Not only can you follow and like Coinstar, but you can also like and follow PayPal’s Facebook, and PayPal’s Twitter pages.

“I have been paid (at Coinstar’s request) to try and blog about Coinstar’s products/services
as part of a  Collective Bias (#CBias)shopper insights study. All opinions expressed are my own.”