Credit cards and the fall of the gumball industry

[hannamyluv]

I was in the grocery store today and for the millionth time, my kids asked if they could have a gumball from the gumball machine. I had to say no. Not because I didn't want them to have a gumball, but because I don't carry physical money anymore. All I use are debit and credit cards. I have no change in my pockets to give them.

Which got me to thinking... Lots of people these days are like me. They don't carry cash. So how much does this affect the gumball industry? Will eventually gumball machines disappear from the landscape like pay phones have in the past few years?

[weeks]

I think, instead, those RFID chips will be implanted in your, eh, ear and there will be machines EVERYWHERE ready to give you whatever.

And, with inflation starting to rage again, no worry about micropayments. A dollar will be worth about one gumball.

[pmac]

>>>So how much does this affect the gumball industry?

Not really sure. I have always just given them a good shake.

[martinibuster]

>>>I have no change in my pockets to give them.

You must live in a car friendly town.

Everywhere I park in the SF Bay Area is a shake down for quarters. Because of the California tax laws that give certain elderly homeowners a break, counties are shorted revenue, which they make up through various methods, parking meters being one of the methods.

Many Bay Area residents cannot leave the house without quarters as some meters take nothing BUT quarters. I went to Monterey last month on a Sunday and unlike meters everywhere else, their meters didn't give you a break. Had to patronize a parking lot because I didn't have three hours worth of quarters on me.

I rarely carry significant amounts of cash, but I do have spare change in hand.

[jecasc]

It's strange. When I go to the local store I first go to the bank cash machine which is about 200 meter away to get some cash with my debit card and then go shopping. And they do accept credit and debit cards at the store. Don't know why.

Where I live you have to have at least one coin to go shopping. For the shopping cart. Thats why there are always some people collecting money for charity lurking where you put them back and get your Euro coin back. This way you can not pretend to have no cash.

[lgn1]

If Tim Horton's would only take debit, I would never carry cash again.

For non-Canadians, Tim Horton's is a coffee and donut shop, that has a very addictive blend of coffee. For comparison, it make Dunkin Donuts coffee taste like drinking your own urine. :)

[lawman]

taste like drinking your own urine

Haha, I'm not even going to ask. :)

[grelmar]

[aside]Tim Horton's Forever! Life without a large "Double Double" and a Maple Glazed is no life at all.[/aside]

I went the "debit/credit" card route for a while, but gave up because I kept losing track of how much I was spending. I've gone back to cash because if I go to the bank machine and draw out X$, I know right away what my balance is, and when the cash runs out, that's my personal hint that I don't really need to be wandering into EBGames or Memory Express for random impulse purchasing.

I started that about a year and a half ago, and have watched my account do a steady climb since. Something about forking over physical, hard, cash, makes me think a bit more about what I'm buying.

And I also end up having wads of change for the vendo machines at work.

[hannamyluv]

Something about forking over physical, hard, cash, makes me think a bit more about what I'm buying.

I am just the opposite. If there is cash in my pocket, it is as good as gone. If I use my debit card, I have to think really hard about if I have enough money in the account, which makes me think really hard about if I need this thing. Different stroke for different folks, I suppose.