Coin operated refrigerators?

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WUVIE Hulbert, OK(Zone 7a) Mar 21, 2007

A few days ago my parents were discussing
a refrigerator they once had when they were
younger. Apparently, a device was put onto the
refrigerator which took coins. If you did not deposit
a certain amount each week, your refrigerator would
shut off.

This was how they paid for their television. The t.v.
salesperson came to the home and attached something
to the refrigerator which took the money. Every so often,
the company would come to collect the coins, which in
turn paid for the appliance or device you were buying on
'refrigerator credit'.

Isn't this interesting? If you didn't pay, your food went bad
and then they came to take your television. Has anyone
had experience with or remember such a thing?

Ah, how times have changed.

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Indy Alexandria, IN(Zone 6a) Mar 21, 2007

Wuvie,
I remember the old fashioned fridge where if you didn't put ice in it, the food went bad......ha
You rotated the card in the front window to different numbers like 25, 50, or 75 so the ice man knew what size hunk to heft in from the truck.

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Bubba_MoCity Missouri City, TX Mar 22, 2007

Those were called ice-boxes - for good reason.

We had an ice house in N.MN. Log building, ice covered with sawdust from a local mill, ice was hauled from the lake on huge sleds pulled by horses, cut with long saws.

You could by almost any appliance with the coin meters. Prices were inflated, I'm sure, but probably not as high as the rent-to-own shpos that are in business today.

Post #3309163
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Nan SW, WI(Zone 4b) Mar 23, 2007

That would have been an incentive to keep a good supplyof quarters on hand!
I had heard of this with washers/dryers, but not with refrigerators or TV's.

There's a place around here that still will let you buy their washers and dryers that way!

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