Welcome to the first of hopefully many issues of phonecards on-line. I have three objectives in creating this newsletter. The first is to give a review of the latest news and information available on-line. There are currently many ways to get phonecard information on-line - The major on-line services, the internet newsgroup rec.collecting.phonecards, mailing lists, IRC, bulletin boards. It's only fitting that this high tech collectible has so many hi tech ways of collecting. The second objective is to provide information for the latest promotions and giveaways. Collecting promotional cards is a great way to increase your collection. Be it razors, cereal, video tapes or Big Macs, phonecards and promotions are here to stay, and will most likely expand. Being on-line is a great way to hear about the new promotions, and I hope to publicize many of them. The final objective is to analyze the current phonecard market. It is my opinion that phonecard collectors tend to collect other things as well, such as coins, stamps, sportscards, etc. Still, there are those who are new to collecting, and I hope those who are new (and those are not) will find some useful information from someone not officially associated with the industry. Finally, this is the only phonecard newsletter (for now) where you can win a free phonecard by answering an obscure history question. Since my Master's Exam is upcoming in Medieval history, better get those medieval textbooks out!
Phonecards On-Line is available two way for now.
1) On-Line on the World Wide Web. The address is: http://www.idis.com/phonecards/phonecards/alan.htm
2) Direct e-mail. I'll be setting up a mail distribution system from my internet account. For those who have not already joined this mailing list, my e-mail address is: ahc3@cornell.edu
Something that scares me as a collector is to hear the term "ground floor opportunity" - When I hear this term, I think of a pyramid scheme or a real estate deal. Still, this seems to be a term that is thrown around a lot lately. Although prepaid phonecards are not as big of a secret as they were a year or two ago, most people still have at best a vague awareness of the hobby. I feel that this will change in the next couple of years, as people realize the utilitarian value of prepaid phonecards. Basically, what we need are more phonecard users and fewer phonecard speculators. Commemorative phonecards that charge $30 for 5 minutes of calling time are hurting the hobby - People who do not know better may purchase, and realize later that they have purchased junk. Veteran collectors (For phonecard collectors, that means anyone who actually knows what a phonecard is and has at least 5 in their collection!) need to really spend the time to talk with new and potential collectors. Use the phonecards as well. I'm not advocating using a high priced card like the Sprint McDonalds 40th Anniversary card, but there are many cards out there that are available at face value. Use the card, and give it to someone. Recently on a trip to California, I brought my X-Men phonecards with me. I used the time, and gave a few of them to my 7 year old nephew. Who knows, maybe he'll bring them to school to show his friends, but people will not learn about phonecards until they get used. This hobby does not have much of a future if people do not use phonecards. It will just become an expensive extension of the sportscard hobby. Finally, support the phonecard dealers out there. In order for this hobby to be viable, a secondary market needs to be created.
This summer has been quite eventful. With the creation of the usenet newsgroup rec.collecting.phonecards, access to on-line information has opened up to millions of potential new collectors and many already established collectors. Additionally, Members of all of the major on-line services now have a common place to meet. To learn how to access the usenet, ask your internet service provider or customer service for any of the major on- line services
Hillshire farms has a new phonecard promotion - For a mere four packages of sausages, you can be the proud owner of a promotional phonecard. The card looks nice, but companies have tricked us before by not giving the card shown in their advertisement. Another promotion that I have just discovered involves Kodak Instant Cameras - There is a 5 minute card enclosed in specially marked packages. Available wherever there are sold, the price is steep (Around $12) but if you are going to buy one of these anyway, why not get the phonecard!
As I promised at the beginning, here is the questions of the week:
The year 1415 was a turning point in the Hundred Years War - A decisive military victory by the English eventually led to the temporary unification of the English and French Crowns. First, what was the name of that famous battle, and who inherited the English and French Crowns? All correct entries will be placed in a pile and a winner will be drawn at random. The winner will appropriately win a used British and French phonecard
Until Next week,
Alan
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