News and Views

ACMI/Conquest Merger

A merger between these two companies was announced last week. The consolidation will occur in the near future. ACMI will become a division of Conquest. Each will still produce their own cards, only that there will only be one real company, not two. My opinion? Why not. I would expect to see more of this in the future. Over the past year or two, similar things have been happening in the sportscard industry with larger companies purchasing smaller companies, but still continuing the product lines of the purchased company. There are a lot of small companies out there than can be purchased. I think the entire industry will be stronger with fewer solid companies than many not so solid companies. Of course, there is a downside to this trend (if it is a trend): If a company fails, then a lot of people lose out. Still, both ACMI and Conquest seem like solid companies, and I think only good will come from this news.

Spencer Gifts and GTI

Does it seem that the only cards you can find at face value to use are not too exciting? If so, then get yourself down to the nearest Spencer Gifts (They are located in malls here in New York and California as well, so I assume they are everywhere) If you look at the sales counter, you will see phonecards for sale. What's really nice about these cards is that they have interesting themes. I have located Baywatch, Miller Lite, Waterworld and Apollo 13 cards. They are $5 and $10 cards, and are available at that price! What's even nicer about these cards is that the price per minute is very reasonable at 25 cents. So, no more complaining, pick up a few, use them, and trade them!

Call Santa Phonecards

An interesting entertainment card that I have seen is the Call Santa Card. You give it to your child, and have them leave their wish list for Santa. There are other things your child can do besides leave their gift list. The parents then call back later and listen to the list left by your child. (If you ever heard a child's wish list, it is pretty unrealistic!) After the card is used, it can double as an ornament. Robert Szabolcsky at 75142,3007 (CompuServe address) has these available for sale.

The Collector's Advantage

It was announced recently in the CompuServe Phone and Money Card Section that the Collector's Advantage, a hobby magazine that caters mainly to phonecard collectors, would be instituting a page promotion the Phone and Money Card Section. The Publisher, Steve Loewenstein, also announced a discount for advertisers who were active on CompuServe. Way to go - Extra promotion for CompuServe, dealers will be able to advertise for less. This is a nice combination for being on-line and collecting phonecards. The Collector's Advantage can be reached at (800) VALUE-01 -Cost is $20 per year, and I subscribe.

Pacific Bell is a phone call away

Pacific Bell Holiday Phonecards are now available. The cards are available for $5, $10 and $20 - Designs are

1) Douglas fir tree covered with snow
2) Santa looking over his list
3) Wrapped Christmas presents

Phone (800) 600-0094 to order

U.S. Postal Service Phonecards

Some more phonecards to order over the phone are available at the Post Office. They are being sold in a few select cities, but can be ordered too over the phone. Cards available are

$5 Santa in Workshop
$10 Santa on Roof
$20 Angel
$5 Blue Horse
$10 Medieval Horse (Hey, I like this one!)
$20 Tan Horse
$50 Flag
$100 Space Shuttle

Phone (800) 297-7678 to order

Promotions

Beatles Anthology Phonecard

I just saw this over the weekend - If you purchase the new Beatles CD Anthology at either Record Town or Tape World (If you live in Central New York, you can find these at many of the malls) you will receive a free Beatles Calling card. No details over carrier or how much phone time, on the ad appears to be a phonecard that is a cropped image of the 4 Beatles walking from their Abbey Road cover. Can you say "Guess what everyone is getting for the holidays this year?"

Kraft Super Promotion

Purchase $30 worth of Kraft products, receive a 45 minute phonecard! I think this is a great promotion. First of all, it will get people to buy lots of Kraft products. Second, 45 minutes is a lot of phone time. A lot of consumers may pass on a 5 minute phonecard. Why bother for 5 minutes. 45 minutes can mean a long conversation with Aunt Emma in Minnesota, or whoever you want to call. 45 minutes is a considerable chunk of calling time, and I think it will get a lot of people to take advantage of the offer to USE the card, which is something that we desperately need in this hobby!

007 Phonecards

Suncoast Pictures is offering a 5 minute James Bond card- Stop by Suncoast Stores and purchase Bond merchandise to get a card

K-Mart Marilyn Monroe

Purchase a pair of Marilyn Signature Jeans, and get a Marilyn phonecard - Stop by your local K-Mart to check this out.

Canon Copiers

For our Canadian friends, Receive a Free Pre-Paid Calling Card and Save on a Range of Canon Office Equipment when you call 1-800-405-OE-OE (1-800-405-6363) before December 31st - However, the number only works in Canada and probably open for Canadian residents. Oh well!

Links of the Week (International)

Check out the history of Irish phonecards at:

http://www.iol.ie/~tintori
or Caribbean phonecards at:

http://www.candw.ag/phonecard/phonecard.html

Distribution

Phonecards On-Line is available via:

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

Until Next week,

Alan

I can be reached at ahc3@cornell.edu or 74074,2220

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