Is it possible to use plastic "token" coins with the AK5 coin acceptor?
I am using it to run an internet kiosk at a camping ground, and I am thinking to perhaps give each new camper a free 5 minutes on the kiosk.
I can purchase a box of 1000 plastic tokens for about $20. (They are about the same size and shape as a 25 cent quarter in Canada.)
So I would like to give them a plastic "token", which I would program into the AK5 as a "coin" with a value of 5 minutes. This way, perhaps they will be more likley to continue to use the kiosk and spend some money.
It has to be metal token, because the AK5 will also check the material of the token when it pass through magnetic field, not only the size.
You can try the plastic "token", only when it has metal material inside, but not sure if it works.
Also the metal token has to be better quality, better close to coin's quality.
The free 5 minutes promotion is very good idea, it will get user to started.
I will come up a solution for it, like give a promotion code, which use can then input the promotion code for 5 minutes free time for certain date, and it will invalid after use.
Thanks
The way I got around this was to use old coins that are no longer in circulation. In many countries you can buy old coins very cheaply on ebay - and as they are no longer in circulation they aren't really worth anything. A word of cautiion though - I bought old UK pennies from long ago, and they are too big for the AK5.. If you were in Spain for instance I'm sure you could get hold of a lot of old 5 pesata coins pretty cheaply. There are still a lot of them out there.
I must say though, that I've found that giving any free time can effect profits. I normally charge 50p for 15 mins, which in the UK is pretty reasonable, or £1 for 35 mins. If I give 5 mins to everyone, I've found that, although I thought it would get them to put more money in, a lot of people just want to check their email. They do that and then don't put any more in. Where they might have spent 50p just to check their email. However I'm sure that used well, it could be an effective promotional tool.
