News and Views

Thanks to Everyone

I'd like to thank everyone for all of the positive feedback that I have been receiving. Many of you have been looking for phonecard offers and writing back to me. I feel that this is great, as I can write about it for many people to see. Some of the offers may be local, some may be national. It doesn't matter, if it is a phonecard, I (and others) want to know about it. If you see anything in you area, please feel free to e-mail me

WWW Changes

As some of you may have noticed, I have changed my World Wide Web address. The address will be changing again shortly, for now you can reach Phonecards On-Line at:

http://www.hway.net/cardm1/wwwcards.htm

In the very near future, the new address will be: http://www.cardmall.com - I will actually have my own domain and a new business. Phonecards On-line will have a home there (hopefully for a long time to come!)

Post Office Update

The test run currently happening at a few post office locations across the US is giving lots of promotion to phonecards (See last week's newsletter for more details) I've seen information in newspapers, on-line on the USA Today Home Page, and even from Jay Leno's mouth on the Tonight Show - Getting more people to know what phonecards are is always a good thing

Sears Giveaway

This past Sunday, Sears gave a 15 minute phonecard to the first 200 customers starting at 9:00 A.M. in the morning. I think that this will be the first of many different Holiday phonecard promotions. For those that did not get up so early in the morning, the card came inside a greeting card, which was cellophane wrapped. Unfortunately, at least here in Ithaca, I got the feeling that many people had no idea what they were receiving, all they knew was that it was being given away and they might as well take one. Hopefully when they got home they closely examined and used the card. It is nice to see a promotion like this, even if most people have no idea what a phonecard is. Many people who never had a prepaid phonecard now do, and most of the quantity of this card was distributed to the public. It would not have been easy for a dealer to acquire mass quantities.

Beatles Update

This morning Anthology Part 1 went on sale. I ended up purchasing four copies, I figured it would be the gift of choice this year! I ended up with four phonecards as well. Heavy plastic, there are 45,000 available, and the clerk at Tape World said that this was the only chain where it was available. I have assumed that Tape World and Record Town (Had to be the same uncreative moron who named those two stores so stupidly!) were the same company. They absolutely refused to give out more than one card per purchase. The card is produced by Omnitel, and has a picture of Abbey Road and the Beatles crossing. A nice card!

Promotions

TV Guide

Get a subscription to TV guide, then tell a friend for thirty minutes about your magazine. Call (800) 365-1695 and subscribe, and you'll get a 30 minute MCI Phonecard. This offer expires December 15, 1995. Although TV guide is completely useless in Ithaca as we have no local tv stations, I will get a subscription because my wife likes reading the stories. At least it won't be too hard to justify that way.

AT&T Store

Spend $30 at an AT&T Phone Store, and you'll get a certificate that can be redeemed for an Christmas them phonecard. The card will be mailed to you

Herman's Sporting Goods

Purchase $50 worth of NBA goods, and get a 10 minute AT&T phonecard. I don't know if you get the phonecard on the sport or have to mail away for it though.

Mobil Go Card

This one is a debit card, not a phonecard. You can purchase a prepaid Gas card in $25, $50 and $100 amounts, or call (800) 730-TO GO to order. You can purchase anything that Mobil sells, and have a nice debit card after you are done. I usually fill up at Mobil (Except when Atlantic Richfield was giving away baseball cards) so I'll order one of these. Since Mobil offers pay at the pump with credit card, I expect this card will work just like a credit card, except that it is prepaid

K-Mart Phonecard

In the Electronics Department, a 30 minute phonecard is available for $9.99 - Not the best deal on phone time, but it does have the K-Mart logo on it.

Discover Card Phonecard

For $25 postpaid, you'll get a 60 minute phonecard from Discover. I've heard that the card features a painting from the Sistine chapel. You can order by calling (800) 636-0029, but you must use your Discover card to pay for it. Since I do not have a Discover card, I guess I will have to pass on this one.

Paul Mason Wines

A free 10 minute card is available, no purchase necessary! Must be postmarked by 1/15/96, and there is a $1.50 postage fee (Well, nothing is really free!) Call (800) 446-6734 for details, I heard that you need to have a coupon, perhaps they can supply with one if you call

Fuji

I've heard that Fuji is having a promotion, if you buy 50 or 100 computer disks. The coupon is on the package, and this offer expires on December 31, 1995.

Hanes

This the season for...underwear. Hanes is offering a phonecard if you buy their product. Again, I've been told that you need a coupon for this one, look for where Hanes products are sold. The amount of time depends on how much you purchase, 1 product = 10 minutes, 2 products = 15 minutes, and 3 products = 20 minutes. Personally, I would take 3 10 minute cards over 1 20 minute!

Hershey's Chocolate Phone and Phonecard

Point your browser to:

http://www.hersheys.flowerlink.com/html/hersheys/chocolate/phone.html

Order an 8 ounce Chocolate phone plus 20 minute Hershey's phonecard! Cost is $19.95. You can also order by calling (800) 4-KISSES, and this is order key number 11995

Curiel

Just purchased some Curiel Lotion (At $8.46, ouch!) from CVS - Had a phonecard with the bottle, good for 5 minutes. The phonecard says curiel, and has a scratch-off section

Mervyn's at 7:00 AM

This Friday, the first 300 people at Mervyn's will get a Joe Montana phonecard. Since we do not have a Mervyn's here, I will not be attending. The interesting aspect of this card is that it can have anywhere from 7 to 700 minutes of calling time. If you live near a Mervyn's, Go!

That's it for this week, that should blow everyone's holiday budget. Remember, phonecards make great gifts. (Well, if you keep telling yourself that, you may soon start to believe!)

Happy Thanksgiving everyone, and to those not in the U.S., have a Happy normal Thursday.

Alan

Distribution

Phonecards On-Line is available via:

1) On-Line on the World Wide Web. The address is: http://www.hway.net/cardm1/wwwcards.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