10 Unexpected Things You Can Buy and Do at 7-Elevens Around the World At certain locations, you can drop off your dry cleaning, pay your taxes or use a mashed potato vending machine.
By Rose Leadem
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
7-Eleven is slowly becoming a "one-stop shop" for nearly everything. From paying child support to dropping off your dirty laundry, 7-Elevens around the world are beginning to offer a range of services that highlight convenience and affordability.
Aside from convenience, the on-the-go giant offers more random items such as mashed potatoes delivered through vending machines and a variety of KitKat flavors such as wasabi and red bean. These items have surprisingly found huge success in many markets across the globe.
Here's a list of services and products available at 7-Elevens around the world.
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Mother Image | Getty ImagesChild support payments
Available at 1,600 locations throughout California, child support payments can now be made at a number of 7-Eleven branches. The California Department of Child Services explains that doing anything they can to get people to support their children is the primary goal of this new service.
With the help of PayNearMe.com, 7-Eleven has joined the department's efforts to make child support easier and more convenient for parents. Here's how it works: parents request a barcode through the PayNearMe website and upon receiving the barcode they can bring it to a 7-Eleven store, scan it and pay in cash.
PayNearMeTax payments
Craving a Slurpee and need to pay your taxes? Head over to 7-Eleven. This year, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that people can now pay their taxes in cash at 7-Eleven stores. Also through its partnership with PayNearMe.com, the service grants people who don't have bank accounts or credit cards the ability to make cash payments to the government. There is a $1,000 limit per day, with a $3.99 fee per payment.
Custom greeting cards
With this service, it's OK to wait until the last minute to pick up a heart-felt birthday card. Referred to by the media as the "Redbox of greeting cards," 7-Eleven has installed Card Isle kiosks in a number of its Virginia stores, offering custom-made greeting cards. Customers order a Card Isle card online and go to a 7-Eleven store to pick it up.
As a means to support the local community, Card Isle offers works from various local Virginia artists. The service is being tested at kiosks in five 7-Eleven stores in Blacksburg, Radford and Roanoke.
Riccardo_Mojana | Getty Images3-D printing
In 2014, the convenient store giant began offering 3-D printing in one of its South Korean franchises located in Gangnam-gu just outside of Seoul. The store sells both 3-D printers and equipment, as well as offers actual printing services. By simply bringing in a USB drive or SD card, customers can schedule a 3-D print and pick up the final product later.
Dry cleaning
Various 7-Elevens in New York now offer dry cleaning services to customers. My Laundry Station, an overnight laundry and dry cleaning service, has installed its vending systems in nine 7-Eleven stores throughout the state. Along with these New York branches, dry cleaning services are also available at a number of 7-Elevens in Asia, including in Japan and Taiwan.
Martin Hospach | Getty ImagesDriver's license renewals
In Taiwan, renewing your license just got a whole lot easier. There, individuals can renew their driver's license at a 7-Eleven store. By submitting a copy of their IDs, a recent photo and a completed application, locals can renew licenses in less than seven days. "Ibon machines" placed in thousands of stores across the country connect to vehicle registration departments, submit applications and process any and all fees as well.
Petri Artturi Asikainen | Getty ImagesConcert tickets
7-Elevens in Japan allow customers to purchase concert and entertainment tickets through kiosks located in the stores. With Multipcopy, a ticket machine that doubles as a copy machine, you simply look up the show you wish to see, input your name, contact information and a form of payment, and your tickets will be produced on the spot.
“Date Night Pack” and “Hangover Pack” deliveries
As a means to "redefine convenience," 7-Eleven's partnership with DoorDash, an on-demand restaurant delivery service, offers deliveries to its customers for a $2.99 fee. For $20, DoorDash will bring you its custom "Date Night Pack" that consists of ice cream, chocolate, Red Bull, gum and condoms. For the following morning, you can order DoorDash's "Hangover Pack" with advil, Gatorade, a mini pizza and a turkey sandwich.
The only thing missing from 7-Eleven's delivery menu are its famous Slurpees, which seemingly melt before they are delivered to your door.
Diana Miller | Getty ImagesMashed potatoes vending machine
Whether it's a hot July day or the fourth Thursday of November, you can get your dose of mashed potatoes any day of the year in many 7-Elevens throughout Singapore. Although this sounds uneventful, the more interesting aspect of this year-round meal offering is the way it's dispensed: through a vending machine. Maggi, an international supplier of instant soups, noodles and seasonings, is the manufacturer of the vending machine, which also dispenses gravy.
An unusual variety of KitKat flavors
Forget your typical milk chocolate KitKat bar and pick up something more exciting. 7-Elevens across Japan offer a number of KitKat flavors you've probably never heard of, such as rum raisin, wasabi, hot chili pepper, purple sweet potato, red bean paste, cherry blossom and annin tofu.
