Anyone else remember these?

[CraigOK]

I was thinking about this the other day. The last time I remember having my card run on one was when I bought Braveheart on VHS at a Gibsons. 2 of the 3 are no longer around

[Thumbcocker]

In the early 2000's the county I lived in had a damaging thunder storm that knocked out power for days. The local Sears store was open operating by lantern and flashlight. They had one of those machines and were checking people out with it and a calculator.

[sparky45]

You can get your own: https://www.ebay.com/itm/ADDRESSOGRA...gAAOSwFsxgKHDI

[redhawk0]

I haven't seen one in about 10 years...but they can't be used on many of the new cards. They don't have raised numbers/letters any longer. The CC # is just printed on the back of many new cards.

redhawk

[gwpercle]

At my wife's place of business they have one for the days when the power is out or the computer is down.
After the power or computer comes back up they enter the sales manually into the computer with the information on the receipts .
Otherwise they couldn't do any business ...we have a long hurricane season and power can be out for weeks .
Gary

[TimD]

Mom and Dad had one for the shop. I remember the slips with carbon paper before the new fangled ones came out.

[FISH4BUGS]

What we called knuckle busters.

[Winger Ed.]

When I left the paint store in 2004, we still used one for American Express.
Any purchase over $50. we were supposed to call them for authorization.

[richhodg66]

I was thinking about this the other day. The last time I remember having my card run on one was when I bought Braveheart on VHS at a Gibsons. 2 of the 3 are no longer around

There is still a Gibson's like you remember in Clay Center, Kansas. Not as big as the two in Lawton, Oklahoma I remember so fondly, but pretty close and still keep a little reloading stuff.

[M-Tecs]

Yes sir. Used them when I started working at a Standard service station when I was 15. Had to look up card numbers in a book that was updated monthly to make sure the number wasn't listed as a bad card. If you took one you paid for it.

Same for me in 1975 - 1978. Started at the Standard station day after my 15th B-day. Purchased myself a car on my 16th B-day with the money I earned. I got my drives license in the morning and went to work that afternoon and evening. On weekends and nights drove the wrecker also. That was in a small town with only one station open in the evenings and weekends. Watched several friends and parents of friends die from car accidents that I responded too. Also shot cattle, horses, deer and antelope that were hit by cars. The wrecker had a 22RF bolt gun and a single shot 12 gauge for that use.

[Conditor22]

I used one when I pumped gas as a wee lad.

I had a thread going many-many moons ago about remembering old things

[bedbugbilly]

Yep - we had them in our family business as well.

What I remember very well wa before those . . . when I was a kid, every once in a while my mother would take us to the city and buy us clothes for Church - most of our clothes as a kid were denim jeans and all of our ****s, pajamas, etc my mother or my grandmother made for us. It was exciting to go into the city and a clothing store to get a sport jacket and trousers for Church when we outgrew the old ones. I those days, customers with good credit were given "metal charge plates". When the purchase was made, my mother would hand the clerk her metal charge card, he wrote p the order and the order and the metal charge card were put in a carrier and put in the vacuum tube wjocj west i[staors tp the book-keeper. She recorded the sale, put the three piece invoice in a very similar item asw shown only it was more of a press with a handle which would moss the customer information on the three layer invoice which had carbon paper . it was then sent back downstairs to the clerk in the vacuum tue where my mother would sign it and she was given a copy and the remaining copies sent back upstairs in the vacuum tube to the book-keep to post to her ledger.

Times haver sure changed . . . but I still long for those days when things were, or seemed, much better than today.

[Dancing Bear]

Yup, used them. Worse chore was to check the tiny book for stolen/cancelled cards before running them through the unit.

[Tazman1602]

That and counting back change is a thing of the past......unfortunately...

[Mr_Sheesh]

Used them at searches when fueling our aircraft, one of our kids was an idiot and kept changing the numbers randomly, when I caught him at it he opined that they were random numbers anyways... I asked if he thought the FBO (fixed base operator, guys who run the place) would be amused at some idiot randomly changing the date on those receipts, took a while for him to get it. Grumble.

[redriverhunter]

I saw them in use less than a month ago. I was leaving a restaurant they were telling customers cash only, and trying get money out of those who had no cash. Went down the road to harbor freight and they had three lines going cash only and two credit card lines. I give the manager credit he was running back and forth trying to teach the youth how to use them. Funny the cash only line was next to empty. I still try and run on cash as much as I can. I guess they would have to pen and ink mine in because the number on my c.c. are printed not raised.

[kevin c]

My podiatrist used one at my last visit a couple years ago. He was a stubborn sort for old technology; still had an XRay machine that used film cassettes.

[richhodg66]

My podiatrist used one at my last visit a couple years ago. He was a stubborn sort for old technology; still had an XRay machine that used film cassettes.

I would use that doctor's services for that alone. I'm a technology phobe myself to a large degree, still carrying a flip phone which my teenage students find very amusing. When I'm retired for good, I won't even be carrying that.

[GregLaROCHE]

My first charge card was from Sears. It was smaller than those today. They had the type of machine with a big handle and a roller inside to imprint the name and number. How many remember those?

[imashooter2]

When my Dad operated a service station it sat right next to the cash register. Set the amount of the sale, imprint, then get the customer's signature.

1970s we had one attached to a pole at each island at the old Exxon. Great memories of that place. I was paid to pump gas, but the boss let me do minor repairs for 50% of the labor charges. I was the only station for many miles that would fix a flat or change a belt after 4 PM. Put a lot of money in both our pockets for just a little bit of hustle.