edredtop
Well-known member
The two on top have been in circulation for about a year, the one on bottom is brand new. No maintenance whatsoever.
Discontinued Tokens
- Thread starter GoBuckeyes
- Start date
Kimberly Berg
Well-known member
What a NIGHTMARE! 
My heart goes out to you GoBuckeyes and Dakota Hoskins. I also purchase tokens from VanBrooks. I use the bi-metal high-security tokens (CT-121). Due to quarter theft, we converted to $1 tokens in January 2015, and added a single credit card reader at the Cash Machine. In June 2023, I ordered 22,000 tokens, and it took 4 months to receive all of them. The price of tokens has also been increasing. We now have over 168,000 tokens in circulation.
Not to rub salt into the wound here, but during the Pandemic I heard about a "coin shortage" and wondered if this could eventually affect token availability. For me, the writing was on the wall. Metal is a finite material, dependent upon finding new sources for metal alloys in nature. According to Tokens Direct, their CT and CTX tokens are a proprietary blend "combining two different metals... made from specialty alloys." I suspect my 2-tone CT-121 tokens are made from a combination of copper and nickel.
Regardless, I think we're just kicking the token can down the road. Today, VanBrook is discontinuing the CTX-812 tokens, tomorrow it could be mine (CT-121). This is a hot mess, and an opportunity for us to be proactive and find the NEXT payment system for our wash.
For me, the answer was a mobile payment app. I started my research in May 2022, and installed the Coinless app 4 months later. Customer usage has been slow but steady. This month app usage was 10% of my gross income. I'm onsite 20 hours a week and personally encouraging my regular customers to use it. We still accept cash/credit/debit cards for $1 tokens. To be clear, we're not getting rid of $1 tokens. To entice customers to use the Coinless app, they receive $5 credit when they download it, and are automatically enrolled in our Loyalty Program. For every $50 spent, they will receive another $5 credit. To date, over 2045 have downloaded it and customer feedback has been very positive. Once my customers use the app, they prefer it over the $1 tokens. No longer back and forth to the Cash Machine to get more tokens. I did look at the Cryptopay system in 2014, but the readers were expensive to install in each Bay, Vacuum and Vending machine (20 readers).
I understand every situation, car wash and demographics are different. My SS car wash is located in a middle-income area of Northern California, with a young population. Most of my customers have a smart phone, credit card and tech-savvy. The app was an easy decision and I'm relieved to be reducing my dependence on tokens. I'm not a paid spokesperson for Coinless. I just wanted to share my personal opinion and experience.
My heart goes out to you GoBuckeyes and Dakota Hoskins. I also purchase tokens from VanBrooks. I use the bi-metal high-security tokens (CT-121). Due to quarter theft, we converted to $1 tokens in January 2015, and added a single credit card reader at the Cash Machine. In June 2023, I ordered 22,000 tokens, and it took 4 months to receive all of them. The price of tokens has also been increasing. We now have over 168,000 tokens in circulation.Not to rub salt into the wound here, but during the Pandemic I heard about a "coin shortage" and wondered if this could eventually affect token availability. For me, the writing was on the wall. Metal is a finite material, dependent upon finding new sources for metal alloys in nature. According to Tokens Direct, their CT and CTX tokens are a proprietary blend "combining two different metals... made from specialty alloys." I suspect my 2-tone CT-121 tokens are made from a combination of copper and nickel.
Regardless, I think we're just kicking the token can down the road. Today, VanBrook is discontinuing the CTX-812 tokens, tomorrow it could be mine (CT-121). This is a hot mess, and an opportunity for us to be proactive and find the NEXT payment system for our wash.
For me, the answer was a mobile payment app. I started my research in May 2022, and installed the Coinless app 4 months later. Customer usage has been slow but steady. This month app usage was 10% of my gross income. I'm onsite 20 hours a week and personally encouraging my regular customers to use it. We still accept cash/credit/debit cards for $1 tokens. To be clear, we're not getting rid of $1 tokens. To entice customers to use the Coinless app, they receive $5 credit when they download it, and are automatically enrolled in our Loyalty Program. For every $50 spent, they will receive another $5 credit. To date, over 2045 have downloaded it and customer feedback has been very positive. Once my customers use the app, they prefer it over the $1 tokens. No longer back and forth to the Cash Machine to get more tokens. I did look at the Cryptopay system in 2014, but the readers were expensive to install in each Bay, Vacuum and Vending machine (20 readers).
I understand every situation, car wash and demographics are different. My SS car wash is located in a middle-income area of Northern California, with a young population. Most of my customers have a smart phone, credit card and tech-savvy. The app was an easy decision and I'm relieved to be reducing my dependence on tokens. I'm not a paid spokesperson for Coinless. I just wanted to share my personal opinion and experience.
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