Why not?
I do think it saves a lot of paper. The problem is that the receipt is also a warranty in many cases

Good idea. Here is the idea that i had that won a recent ideawarz.

http://www.cambrianh...er/ideas-id/KDXmBSl/

yeah, i searched for similar ideas and saw yours. i think they are definitely different ideas, but both in a similar direction. i think both ideas should be implimented.

I would like to add nother idea in this same range: tickets from pin machines. There is an option (in the Netherlands pin machines) if you want a ticket of the transaction yes or no, but adding a second pin code entry for a ticket should reduce the amount I think. So after people say the do want a paper ticket, they have to (in my idea) enter their pin code AGAIN, or stop without a ticket. And I am guessing that seeing that you have to enter your pin again, is a de-motivation so big, that lots of people let go of the ticket: so saving a lot of paper, ink and energy.

There is no piratical reason for doing so. It would just anger people to develop at hate for the company. Also, they would never know they had to enter a pin code again.

You are not going to save any energy or ink with most ATMs:
1. The machine is always on so you don't save much power.
2. The paper has the ink in it. Pretty much all ATMs and cash registers use thermal paper rolls.

In some countries it's obligated to conserve your receipt untill you're 100 meters away from the store. Furthermore you'd have to make a difference between fast moving consumer goods and consumer durables, where receipts are necessary to change the article you bought when there's something wrong with it...

…product focuses on a simple consumer preference that saves time, paper, and money for all involved…

It will save paper waste, money for the merchant, and maybe a little of your time to find a wastebasket.

“I don't use receipts beyond large electronics. Getting them is a waste of my time and paper.”

Right, but why not log members’ consumer activity to their personal account (for taxes, budgeting, and more)? That would be very useful to virtually everyone.

Data-basing the aggregate data so that consumers can track the best prices on goods and services will be even more useful. Consumers log in to “Gasbuddy.com” and enter prices and locations. Many of those prices could be entered automatically at the register. “Mygrocerydeals.com” attempts to track grocery ads. It is a great idea, but I think it needs a rebuild from something like this mechanism, which would essentially cover all items (not only the very limited ad items).

What do you think of allowing the card scan during a cash purchase (to trigger the preference, and I hope to log to the consumer’s account)? And, what do you think of “alletronic.com” allowing linking to any and multiple existing cards, outside agreements with the credit companies (I like that, if it is secure).

I like the idea of no PAPER receipts, but I think somewhere there has to be a receipt of some kind - as in Interviewables' idea. Ok, people who need receipts to claim expenses or whatever can be expected to be sensible enough to get them, but how long will it be before someone tries to return an item, has it refused and then blames the system?

I think having a preference stored on the card is a nice angle though. You'd certainly want some override mechanism however, for when you DO make those big purchases or whatever.

http://www.alletronic.com

PhilipH,

The electronic receipt could be produced for the merchant by scanning the card again.

Kevin,

Alletronic is just starting. They have a website, but I don't think they have any accounts active yet.

Anything that will cut on this horrible and unnecessary amount of rubbish that we are producing is a good thing. And so is your idea.

On an individual basis, there is not much paper saved but have been thinking about this same idea for a while. Over millions of transactions, this could save considerable savings. There is the issue of warranty and possible returns, but most of my transactions do not accompany those options (restaurant, convenience store, etc.). Why not allow this option at time of sale from the vendor who in many cases has the option to suppress printing.

"restaurant, convenience store, "
At the convenience store they all ready ask if you want a receipt. Just like most stores that don't always need it. At a restaurant people pretty much always want to check the bill for mistakes. At just about every other store they use it often for security as proof of purchase.

kevin, i disagree. at every convenience store i go to, they know i dont want a receipt, but do not have the option to not print it, nor do they offer this to any other customers. i know some do, but its by no means all.

saying everyone always wants to check the bill at a restaurant would be one opinion. i however don't and many of my friends do not, especially when dining or drinking at a bar. even if its only 5-10% of consumers, its still a beneficial service that does not harm those choosing not to use it and could still amount to millions of receipts not being printed and the associated monetary and resource savings.

"even if its only 5-10% of consumers, its still a beneficial service"
I totally agree that it could be a beneficial service. But, what is the cost benefit here for the company? Having to buy newer machines or alter existing point of sale systems for retail services is a costly endeavor. Also, the credit card company would intern also have to update there system as well. Most stores have older systems from like the 60's and 80's, most stores with semi-recent systems all ready have the ability for the operator to suppress printing. So, its up to store policy if they print or give you the option.

I don't own a credit card company, I'm pretty sure CH does not own one, do you? How would we implement this effectively? I see that its an idea that has some logic to it. But, from a business standpoint it seems like a hard endeavor.

I second Kevin. If I don't need a receipt I don't ask for it.

Ultimately, businesses will probably have to provide a monitor for shoppers to view the bill thoroughly before paying. It is hard to do at the super market, as they have you transferring items from the cart, working the payment terminal, and sometimes bagging your groceries. It will also be a pain at restaurants, unless they pass around a wireless monitor.

Initially, how about having consumers scan receipts at home and then parsing and logging those files into their accounts:

Consumers track spending for taxes and budgeting
Database tracks the best prices on goods and services for consumers
Merchants purchase aggregate data for marketing analysis and offer promotions electronically

Paperless options can be implemented simultaneously, and as the other functions become popular, everyone will have an interest in replacing paper receipts (and scanning them in).

I definately like the idea, as i understand it you want an email sent instead of a receipt printed. Yes, i definately love the idea and it will be highly beneficial to both consumers and companies in regards to record keeping. You should definately work on this! It will save a lot of paper, i get those paper receipts and i hardly check the receipts. Maybe when you get home, an email will be waiting or on your phone and you can check, or the prices are shown on a monitor like at some grocery stores. This mechanism should either be set up through the discount cards that some stores give, or through the credit card, although how does the credit card tell the machine that it doesn't want to print the receipt?

http://www.alletronic.com - WOW well there it is!

How is it different from this idea that all ready won? http://www.cambrianh...er/ideas-id/KDXmBSl/

I'm all for saving paper. What happens if a store's computer system is down and there isn't any proof that a shopper bought the returned item? If you only bought that item, then you could take in your credit card statement. There are managers who will do their best not to honor their guarantees. I won't mention the store's name, but I had bought warranty coverage for my laptop, which expired on December 31, 2004. However, since there was an extra day(Feb 29), the expiration date was December 30th. Through the right connection, the store was wrong. Other times, I have bought stuff at the wrong price and they believe me and don't even what to look at my receipt.

How about having your system offer the capabilty of downloading coupons and when an item is bought, the system will search for any coupons for that item. This will also save money and waste on all those coupons we receive every week. That's just a suggestion.

Here is the video:
http://www.youtube.c.../watch?v=wXS1ag1WXpM

There have been a few similar ideas in the past but the main obstacle has been that you need to recruit such a massive number of retailers in order to achieve critical mass. The whole EFTPOS s/w provider industry is very fragmented and as such there are no dominant players for you to partner with. You could stick with the credit card providers instead but I think you would be hard pressed to convince them that your offering is better than their existing product. After all, their objective is world domination, not global harmony. What do you think would convince them to adopt your system?

most of the time I'm asked if I want a receipt by the cahier. Let the decision stay with the user - expense report purposes, etc.

The majority of 3rd party merchant hardware, from companies such as veriphone use thermal printing. These devices are the standard for service driven businesses such as restaurants and convenience stores. Historically, they were by default set to produce a merchant copy and a customer copy, however as of late they are increasingly printing a merchant copy and then asking the user if a customer copy is desired. Unfortunately I believe that it is only at this point of contact that tree-hugging can be accomplished. What would be more probable is a continued shift to queued receipt printing where the responsibility lies betweens the customer and the merchant, not with the card provider or banking institution. The infrastructure required for such an effort, is at this point pretty insurmountable. I do identify with your receipt driven pain though.

Here's my two cents worth. Some receipts are worth the paper their printed on. In a no time at all, the ink disappears. Maybe with all those receipts we accumulate, we could start a worm farm and feed the paper to the wiggly little creatures. Yes, I watch Home Improvement and Dirty Jobs. idealbreaker- Yes the responsibilty should be between the merchant and customer. Although the customer may not want a receipt, the merchant will still have their register tape, which I know they use to account for their sales. The next time you buy an item(s) have the cashier take a picture of
the cash register tape with your cellphone and then you can email it.
If a product is defective, then the store should trust that we didn't deliberately destroy it to receive our cash back. Companies became paranoid because of those stealing products off the shelves and taking them back for money. Stores need to realize we are not all criminals or buy things on whim.

Jakrose - If your idea could send all detailed purchase information to your debit statement, that would be ideal. It wouldn't be just $100 from Billy Bob's Electronic Store. The statement would list every item you bought from that store.

insert 'not' in the second sentence before worth.

"The statement would list every item you bought from that store."
And every other store.

"If your idea could send all detailed purchase information to your debit statement, that would be ideal."
Indeed! Consumers could load their data to a spreadsheet or financial software of their choice and do budgeting, taxes, and whatever else they want. I bet that charging consumers a nominal annual fee ($12 maybe) might actually stir up more interest than giving it away. If not, offer a coupon for the first year free for opening a free checking account at the credit union.

Now, with a growing consumer base, the aggregate consumer purchase data becomes valuable to sell to merchants for marketing purposes (This is the money trail).

The information on receipts is more useful and less wasteful in a digital network or device, so paper receipts will die out, but the big money in consumer sales data seems independent from paper receipts. Also, paper receipts could provide an important mechanism to get “Consumer Track” (my working title for this business) up and running as a viable business: Develop the POS software to acquire sales register data, but when electronic data acquisition is hindered for whatever reasons, have consumers scan their receipts and send them in for data extraction (drop the annual fee and/or use some rebate incentives to compensate the hassle). Individual merchants will continue to have their individual sales data, but Consumer Track will accumulate sales data from virtually all businesses and all transaction types. Assuming, most people use two or more credit cards and still use cash, it seems you have the credit companies beat. Actually, having consumers post credit account statements (sans account numbers) might reduce scanning paper receipt to only those from cash transactions (Note also: credit cards don’t itemize grocery purchases).

It seems that virtually all businesses would want to analyze their sales data relative to “all sales data” (Sounds like big money to sell this data). Then, Consumer Track controls a pipeline for marketing back to the consumers (Sounds like really big money here). Consumers can control the flow of marketing in their online account. Also, they can track prices of goods and services (perhaps another small revenue stream for Consumer Track, but not critical to charge much at all here). If consumers utilize this system to full advantage, other marketing mechanisms might die out (like paper spam coupons by the pound in your mailbox). Paper receipts will follow paper coupons into the digital realm. Soon thereafter, cash too will go digital. Lets do this, and make a lot of money while contributing to a better environment in several ways!

yes yes yes,. hate those reciepts. obviously big purchases is one thing, but a quart of milk!