We've all been there before. You see the tasty treat, be it
beverage,
chocolate bar, or other snacky food, (or perhaps even
girls' underwear) and you know that
you must have it. Quickly inserting a
small fortune (to some) into a small
black hole, and jabbing a button (or several buttons) you hear nothing, see nothing.
"Where is my product?" you ask.
Silence.
"Shit."
Here are some methods for retrieving 'lost' coins from a vending machine, some tested, some not. Please note that these methods are intended to be used to get your coins out after you
a. decide you don't want to buy anything from the machine, or
b. select the item you want, and don't recieve it.
I'm not really interested in aiding people in
ripping off vending machines, but I suppose you can do what you please.
- Press the coin refund button/latch/bolt. Nine times out of ten this will do the trick. (you'd be surprised how often people don't think of doing this!)
- Peer into the coin slot and see if you can see your coins stuck in there. Chances are it's been held up by other people's stuck coins. There can be anywhere up to $20 stuck in a single coin chute at any one time. If you can see your coins, then you're in luck:
- Get out your house/car keys. Select the longest key from your keyring and insert it gently into the slot. The aim is to press your coin to one of the sides of the chute and coerce it slowly out of the hole.
- Failing that, get some super glue and a long, thin piece of paper. Dab some glue on the end of the paper and slowly push it into the slot, followed by your key. Use the key to hold the gluey paper to the coin for about 30 seconds, and then gently remove your key. Then very, very gently begin to pull the paper out. Can you feel the coin attached to the end? Good. (if not, repeat the above again) Make sure that as you're pulling the coin doesn't become caught on some part of the inner-slot area as it may become unstuck from your piece of paper. With any luck you should be able to pull the coin (or coins) out. (either one by one or many at a time, depending on luck)
If you can't see your coins, then you're in a bit of a fix. The following suggestions are quite illegal.
- Break the coin box open and retrieve your money. You could use an electric (preferrably cordless) drill to drill some deep holes around the keyhole, and then pull the entire locking mechanism out.
- Steal the vending machine.