I went to my local Walmart, grabbed my item, and went through the self-checkout.
But after scanning my purchase, I attempted to pay with two dollar bills. Did it work?
Hi, I'm, John director of The Two Dollar Bill Documentary, back to give out another $2 bill
to a viewer who submitted a question that I made a video out of. I'm giving away two $2 bills this
time, for very similar questions. I decided to start with The Kodster's question first since
he mentioned Walmart specifically. And the only way to answer it was to hit the road!
I couldn't answer either question without having a fresh batch of $2 bills,
so I hit my drive-through bank teller and got a hundred of them.
Then it was off to Walmart, where I sought one low-cost item like
my favorite snack. "Grab myself some Skinny Pop."
And I headed for checkout.
The total was $5.38. Time for the Moment of Truth.
Bingo! It worked, and 62 cents change to boot. Just to be sure it wasn't a fluke, I drove 15
miles to another Walmart. Popcorn worked the first time, so why not try my luck with some more?
Another three $2 bills would be needed. Here we go again!
Come on, I can do this.
Six dollars paid. Another success. But I decided to try it one more
time. "I actually could use some printer paper...
...so let's grab this."
No reason to think it wouldn't work a third time, right?
Uh-oh. We may have a problem.
There we go.
This is harder than you think with one hand holding the camera! There goes number two.
And with four cents change, I think we have our answer. Looks like it worked.
So, Kodster, the answer to your question is a resounding YES. But Sean Gable's inquiry was
more generic, and the only way to answer that one was to see if $2 bills worked at other stores.
"Let's see if Target takes $2 bills at the self-checkout."
This combination required a one, along with a two dollar bill.
Yep, it worked. Four out of four. So once again, to prove it wasn't a fluke,
I tried a local supermarket - Publix - and after grabbing my
favorite high fiber brownies, discovered that some self-checkouts don't take cash.
At least we learned today that self-checkouts that DO take cash
are most likely going to accept $2 bills. As for Publix, I'm not sure why they don't,
but it reminds me that cash in general is getting used less and less often. I
recently looked into the possibility of a future cashless society, and you can click
on the video on my left to see how quickly that future will arrive. Thanks for watching