this "scam" I thought up works, but I just need your feedback to make it a little better, and gain suggestions on how to make it more efficient and profitable. this is what happens...

I live in Central New York, so the Canadian border is only about a 2 hour drive. I bring about $500-$600 US dollars with me through Customs and into the nearest foreign currency exchange. I typically, depending on the exchange rates, receive about $1000 CAN. I then drive to the nearest bank. At the bank I use my $1000 CAN to buy $1000 in CAN quarters. (As long as I place a coin order a week in advance, there is no limit to the number of coins they can supply me with). I put the quarters in my car, and drive back across the border. Back in the states, I spend the quarters as if they are 'normal' US quarters. (The closer you live to the border, the more accecpted foreign coins are). It takes me about a week to filter/exchange the CAN quarters into the US coin supply.

In case your wondering where the profit is, I started with $600, got $1000, and exchanged $1000. My profit is around $400, less gas costs.

Here are the questions I need feedback and answers to:

1. I can get rid of $1000 in quarters in a week, but I want to raise it to, say, $5000 a week. How could I get rid of $5000 in quarters a week, without anyone realizing that they are CAN?

2. I'm around 20, so I still look young. Everytime I cross the border, becasue of my age, they like to stop and search my car. They find the quarters, and get really weird at me. Legally, I can bring $10000 US across the border undeclared. My problem is: They are going to stop me regardless, just because I am young. If I declare $5000 in quarters, they will search me and interrogate me. If I do not declare it (legally I dont have to), they look in my car (cause of my age), and find $5000 in quarters in the back seat. That dosen't look....right...to them, more interrogation. How would I go about bringing $5000 in quarters into the US? I've thought about shipping them back to me from Canada. I've calculated the costs, and it still will be profitable, but not by nearly as much. Suggestions?

3. I've had success in filtering in the CAN quarters at banks, and at the stores I shop at. I'd like to try vending machines. Some work - I put in 4 CAN quarters, hit the coin return, and 4 US quarters come out (60 cent profit instantally from $1). The only problem is that for a week after I clean a machine out of US quarters, the only thing in it will be CAN quarters. Is there anyway to manipulate CAN coins to work on US machines? I understand the majority of CAN coins are magnetic, so I'm not sure if it possible. I suppose I could just visit more machines, but I'm sure there is an easier way.

Thats pretty much all I do. It works with $1000, which brings in on average about $400 every 1 to 3 weeks, depening on how lazy I am...

Anyone have any ideas on how I could make this more profitable, efficient, etc? Feedback is greatly appreciated!

Oh yea - if there is anyone who lives near the Ontario/New York border who would be willing to help me out, with their time, and money, I'm sure we could arrange a 'profit-sharing' plan...

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[This message has been edited by jackallen (edited 12-31-2002).]

Hmm,, I like that plan,, get in touch with me..

Exchange your quarters at a bank? Shit I dunno but this sounds like a plan.

i've tryed rolling about 4 or less CAN quarters into a roll of US quarters and bringing them back to the bank. at this rate, I would need to fil 20000 CAN quaters with 180000 US quarters to depleat my quarter supply, or $45,000 US. Plus, when the banks go to open their rolls, they may think its weird how 4500 rolls of quarters, with my account number written on, all contain 4 CAN quarters....so far I've been able to rid myself of them at stores, vending machines, and at the banks, but that is with only $1000. I want to make more money, so say $5000 a week's worth, or $10,000.
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[This message has been edited by jackallen (edited 12-31-2002).]

wow, this is one of the most inteligent plans that i have come accross the bad ideas section. Glad we still have some of the smarter population around.

I suppose you can make a map of the areas vending machines and deposit 20 dollars worth of can quarters into each and exchange out 20 dollars worth of americna quarters, while it is not too efficent, it is the fastest and least risky way, if any risk at all. Also, this might work better if you have a few cars and a few friends. Could be looking at pretty good profit, even though not too large, it is still good spending money.

This is an awesome idea. Maybe we can devise a plan for getting this stuff across the border. Please, get ahold of me, my email is rogueleader19@hotmail.com , or, if you have AIM, my s/n is PuNkErMaTt1988

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Originally posted by CDG:
wow, this is one of the most inteligent plans that i have come accross the bad ideas section. Glad we still have some of the smarter population around.

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Thats what I was thinking last night, but too lazy to type. Kudos to jackallen and his 2 brilliant posts.

dont worry about being searched and interogated (just leave your doobie at home). if they see your ass often enough, and every time they search you they come up with nothing illegal, eventually, because they know you, they'll signal you through. Just be sure to be nice and talk politely to the guys. My motto is "they're only human". they dont want to search your car every week for nothing, its easier for them just to say: "How you doing, Hows the weather? come on through."

I find this plan interesting, and would like to try it. But how picky are the in the states about getting Canadian quarters? For example, If I enter a bank with $200 in quarters [20 rolls] in clear rolls, and they notice that they all conatin Canadian quarters, will they exchange them? I would rather use clear containers, as theyde break open the paper ones to confirm theirs actually money inside, to then find out that theyre ALL Canadian quarters, instead of perhpas assuming its just one odd on on the end.

As well, can you exchange that much in coins at banks?

I just think this would be great to try. Just for those Canadians who cant figure it out, heres how you reverse it for your benifit:

Save up all the cash you want [$1000 for example] and call up the bank to place an order for the desired amount in quarters. Get the quarters, then take a trip to the US. Exchange them to US dollars, and exchange the cash on your way home. I checked it out, an discovered $2000 US will change to roughly $3150 canadian. So, us the $150 on expenses and you made a 50% profit. I only mentioned doing this, cuz when I first read this it didnt occur to my dumbass that the plan could be simply reversed, and wanted to make sure noone simply ignores the idea when it doesnt first come to mind and foget about it. Cuz this is a great plan!

This is the first good idea I've ever seen in Bad Ideas.

[This message has been edited by Dark_Magneto (edited 11-27-2002).]

quote:

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Originally posted by SomeEverydayNobody:
I find this plan interesting, and would like to try it. But how picky are the in the states about getting Canadian quarters? For example, If I enter a bank with $200 in quarters [20 rolls] in clear rolls, and they notice that they all conatin Canadian quarters, will they exchange them? I would rather use clear containers, as theyde break open the paper ones to confirm theirs actually money inside, to then find out that theyre ALL Canadian quarters, instead of perhpas assuming its just one odd on on the end.

As well, can you exchange that much in coins at banks?

I just think this would be great to try. Just for those Canadians who cant figure it out, heres how you reverse it for your benifit:

Save up all the cash you want [$1000 for example] and call up the bank to place an order for the desired amount in quarters. Get the quarters, then take a trip to the US. Exchange them to US dollars, and exchange the cash on your way home. I checked it out, an discovered $2000 US will change to roughly $3150 canadian. So, us the $150 on expenses and you made a 50% profit. I only mentioned doing this, cuz when I first read this it didnt occur to my dumbass that the plan could be simply reversed, and wanted to make sure noone simply ignores the idea when it doesnt first come to mind and foget about it. Cuz this is a great plan!

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good questions!

how picky is a bank? it all depends on how close to the border you live. if you try it in niagara falls, ny or bufallo, they probably wont give you any problems. but if you try this in albany or nyc, they probably will catch on quickly.

you can't put many canadian quarters in a roll at all, or too frequently. a few reasons are: i estimate only about .5 of the change I get is Canadian. this should be true of the banks change also. if they begin getting a CAN to US rate of 1:40, they might think something up. whats that come out to? a littl over 2%? that wont look to good, and they will catch you quickly. another reason why you can use many in a roll is that a canadian quarter is not as tall as a US quarter. if you have one can quarter and 1 us quarter, they look the same, but when you get a roll of CAN and a roll os US, the difference in height is close to a half inch. can quarters are 1.22mm thick and 18.03mm in diameter. us quarters are 1.75mm thick and 24.26mm in diameter. the differences are too noticable with one in each hand, but as i said, when you get a roll of each, the differences in height, weight, and diameter are obvious (the fewere can coins per roll, the better, and the safer - the longer it takes too..). the banks will wonder why half of their quarter rolls are extremely short, open them up, and sort of...catch on. not good. yet another reason why you cant put lots of CAN quarters in a roll is the fact that they are magnetic and US quarters are not. i have heard of some banks that run a magnet over the rolls before they will accecpt them. I have come up with 2 soluctions around this. 1 - find a way to demagnetize quarters for a short period of time, or perm. 2 - replace the whole scam with nickels or pennies. sure you wont make as much, but no can pennies are magnetic, nor ar nickels struck after a particular year (its either 1982, 1985, or 1995 - cant remember which off hand). doing this with pennies would take a considerable ammount of time, and you would ultimatley lose money in gas. plus machines dont take pennies, so your places to dispose of them are very limied. nickels, i estimate would be easier to get rid of, but then again, you make only 1/5 the profit as you would with nickels. you would probably break even, if that. (whats the point in wasting your time if you dont make money and just break even?)

for this scam, you can use clear rolls either. the reason is that from the reeds, can quarters do not compare with us quarters. can quarters minted from 1979 to 1999 containted 99% nickel and from 2000 to present contained 92% steek, 5.5% copper, and 2.5% nickel plating. us quarters contain a copper core, and an outside layer called a clad, made of 75% copper and 25% cupro-nickel alloy. as you can tell, the American coins contain much more copper. this is why a canadian coin will appear silver on the reeds, whereas a us coin will appear copper or reddish in color. when they look at the roll, they will see mainly red reeds, with 4 or 5 silver reeds inserted. see enough of these during your visit, and it will raise suspicions with the teller...
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[This message has been edited by jackallen (edited 12-31-2002).]

quote:

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This is the first good idea I've ever seen in Bad Ideas.

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My thoughts exactly, good luck!

Well, the US coins seem to be made pretty cheap. Or do they want the copper to show and everything?

quote:

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Originally posted by SomeEverydayNobody:
Well, the US coins seem to be made pretty cheap. Or do they want the copper to show and everything?

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What? I'm confused...
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[This message has been edited by jackallen (edited 12-31-2002).]

theirs stores around here that have change machines where you put in coins and such and you get dollar bills... try and find one of those machines and test us quarters and the canadian quarters and couple other coins...

ok here is a thought.

you guys have seen coinstar machines before? you dump in change they take like 6 cents on the dollar print a reciept that you cash at the register. now all you would need to do is find a coinstar in CAN then take the reciept to the US.

problems

-you get wacked 6 cents on the dollar

-im not sure if store know/only accept reciepts with their coinstars serial number.

another thing i allways wanted to do was to steal a real on coinstar paper and print my own reciepts.

[This message has been edited by biot (edited 11-29-2002).]

I'm going to have to try printing my own coinstar reciepts sometime, just to see how much I can actually get out of it. After all, if I actually get away with it, and don't do it too often, they may have a hard time catching on. Bright idea

I registered here at Totse.com in order to ask for the schematics of a vending machine, but am stopping to say that this is absolutely fucking *brilliant*. It, effectively, is a way of generating free money. Do you really think the average 16 year old kid running a cash register is going to know the difference between the value of canadian/US currency? Hell no. It looks the same, so I'll be damned if he even notices it. I didn't even know there was that big of the difference in values (Then again, I'm only 15). The vending machine exchange idea is also brilliant, as is slowly exchanging it rolled up with US quarters. . .
Just wanted to give mad props to you for figuring that out.

P.S. Now where are my vending machine schematics? lol

thank you...

the silent genius takes a bow...

im still looking for people to help input ideas, so if you want to read it over, and let me know what you think, i would appreciate it.
http://www.lumdirect.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=5

[This message has been edited by jackallen (edited 12-31-2002).]

Im in Aust so im not fully clued up on this but do US poker or slots machines take these coins? As over here if you feed say $100 of coin in a machine and hit collect the attendant resets the machine and gives you your "win" in notes out of the till.
Just a thought!

This is an interesting idea. I bet it would have been a lot easier 10 years ago, but now there are better machines and I have no idea which ones will reject Canadian coins. I have had some pop machines return them. Here are some ideas to try:

The post office machines are the only ones that I can think of that take pennies. Not all PO vending machines, but each post office should have one in a 24 hour lobby. You can test all the Canadian coins to see which they take. Also, check the change return to see if it is the same coins or different ones. If different, it will be easy. If the same, you need to buy some stamps (which have cash value) and get change. Putting in a quarter for a 1 cent make up stamp would be ideal.

Another idea is subway sytems. The one I am familiar with is the Metro in Washington DC. If these machines take Canadian coins, it should be easy to launder a ton in one day. You can get change for buying cards with cash value (that don't expire) and you can add 5 cents at a time after you get the minimum amount to increase your change. Also, you can sell these cards in the stations without much trouble. It is not uncommon for someone to buy a card they don't need and offer it to someone else in line for the purchase price or a small discount. In addition, there are several machines at each station and lots of stations that you can access with an all day pass. (If you are going to do a lot and don't want them to get wise when one machine is 10% Canadian money.) It is not uncommon for someone on the trains to have a bag on a dolly that you can use to hold a bunch of coins. Just be sure to plan ahead to be able to take a small amount out at a time in a way that no one will see all of them.

Banks that I go to no longer take rolls of coins. They have machines like the coinstar ones previously discussed that have a return for rejected objects. You need to test these machines with some Canadian and mostly American first to see which will take US coin.

If these types of machines take Canadian coins, then it would probably be very profitable. Otherwise, I don't see how you can launder enough with cashiers to make it worth your while. Most of the newer pop machines will reject them.

If anyone has some Canadian coins they could use to test some of these machines, please post the results.

quote:

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Originally posted by Easy Going:
This is an interesting idea. I bet it would have been a lot easier 10 years ago, but now there are better machines and I have no idea which ones will reject Canadian coins. I have had some pop machines return them. Here are some ideas to try:

The post office machines are the only ones that I can think of that take pennies. Not all PO vending machines, but each post office should have one in a 24 hour lobby. You can test all the Canadian coins to see which they take. Also, check the change return to see if it is the same coins or different ones. If different, it will be easy. If the same, you need to buy some stamps (which have cash value) and get change. Putting in a quarter for a 1 cent make up stamp would be ideal.

Another idea is subway sytems. The one I am familiar with is the Metro in Washington DC. If these machines take Canadian coins, it should be easy to launder a ton in one day. You can get change for buying cards with cash value (that don't expire) and you can add 5 cents at a time after you get the minimum amount to increase your change. Also, you can sell these cards in the stations without much trouble. It is not uncommon for someone to buy a card they don't need and offer it to someone else in line for the purchase price or a small discount. In addition, there are several machines at each station and lots of stations that you can access with an all day pass. (If you are going to do a lot and don't want them to get wise when one machine is 10% Canadian money.) It is not uncommon for someone on the trains to have a bag on a dolly that you can use to hold a bunch of coins. Just be sure to plan ahead to be able to take a small amount out at a time in a way that no one will see all of them.

Banks that I go to no longer take rolls of coins. They have machines like the coinstar ones previously discussed that have a return for rejected objects. You need to test these machines with some Canadian and mostly American first to see which will take US coin.

If these types of machines take Canadian coins, then it would probably be very profitable. Otherwise, I don't see how you can launder enough with cashiers to make it worth your while. Most of the newer pop machines will reject them.

If anyone has some Canadian coins they could use to test some of these machines, please post the results.

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good ideas. i dont live near any metro. city, so the subway would probably be out. i will look into places where I can get items to resell at or near face value (stamps, gift cards, stamps).

i like your recommendation too about getting people to post. please, if you have some canadian coins, test them out on different types of machines. please post what coin you used, what type of machine you used, and where it was at (stamp machine in NYC post office, DC subway turnstyle, etc.). thanks! together we can all make this profitable!
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[This message has been edited by jackallen (edited 12-31-2002).]

I don't know if this would work or not, and nobody has mentioned it (I think)

What about payphones?

Some payphones could work, but a lot of the newer ones don't give change, And if you are just paying for long distance calls, using change will usually give you the heighest rates. If someone lives near a phone that still gives change, they should try it.

quote:

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Originally posted by Easy Going:
Some payphones could work, but a lot of the newer ones don't give change, And if you are just paying for long distance calls, using change will usually give you the heighest rates. If someone lives near a phone that still gives change, they should try it.

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i live near a payphone (central new york), and they do not accecpt canadian coins.
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[This message has been edited by jackallen (edited 12-31-2002).]