News and Views

Early morning shopping

Over the past two weeks, there have been three department store giveaways. All three were conducted differently, and all have their benefits and disadvantages. I am going to analyze each promotion, and try to determine what this means for our hobby

Sears

I feel that this was the best of the three promotions. Get to Sears at 9:00 AM, and the first 200 people in the door get a phonecard. The phone time is 15 minutes, the card is thin plastic inside a greeting card. The card itself looks very nice, and the fact that it is in a greeting card will mean that people probably will not throw it away. Most people I saw and talked to had no idea what they were getting, they were only happy to receive something for free

Mervyn's

Since I do not have Mervyn's here, I missed this one. I heard plently about it though. Basically, there were 700 cards available to people who walked through the doors beginning at 7:00 AM (Ouch) Problem here is that only about 20% of the cards had phone time on them. Some people opened the card and got phone time, most did not. To most people, it was a worthless piece of plastic. This is the worst kind of promotion, maybe people saw that you were going to win a phonecard, and all they got was an empty piece of plastic. They should have reduced the promotion to perhaps the first 100 people, and everyone get phonetime.

Montgomery Ward

This promotion looked so promising. I saw the card in the newspaper, it looked nice. The first 500 purchases would get a free card, so I knew I could sleep in a little. I make my purchase, I get my card. It is a piece of paper with a tearout card. Again, very disappointing. The employees at Ward's were not very diligent in handing these out, and most people who got these just put them in their pockets. Changes are they will be thrown away or end up in the washing machine. It does not look like a phonecard, it looks like a piece of paper. Worse yet, it looks like an advertisement.

Between these three promotions, Sears clearly stands out as the best. The ideal promotion will have a thin or hard plastic card, nice design, at least 10 minutes of phone time, and the card is renewable. You may look at this statement and say this is just a collector's dream, but listen to this. With the Mervyn's card, most of them are without phone time, so they were probably thrown away. Montgomery Ward's cards probably ended up in the trash at an alarming rate. If people have a phonecard that looks like a credit card, they are more likely to keep it. If they are more likely to keep it, they are more likely to use it (Which is good!) If they are more likely to use it, they are more likely to look at the logo, and the store gets more advertising for their money. It makes a lot of sense to hand out something that is collectible than something that can be thrown away.

Princess Cruise Phonecard

These are sold on the ship for $20, can be used to call in port. Phonecard collectors are somewhat demented, after all, who else would wake up so early in the morning? I heard one collector drove 180 miles to get to Mervyn's (Don't worry, he did very well, getting 2 of the 70 minute cards!) Looks like the only way to get this card is to cruise. As a cruise veteran (I have been on two, my most recent was last August to the Mexican Riviera) I can say go for it! And if you go, please pick up a card for me, as my next cruise is at least a year away.

Beatles Promotion Update

Seems that the only stores that these cards are available at are Record Town and Tape World. They have been selling between $25 and $30 on the on- line services, which is nice because I have quite a few (I am not trading quite yet, thank you!) Lots of people I know are getting the new CD this year.

Promotions

Pizza Hut

I've heard that if you buy a pizza from Pizza Hut, you can get a 20 minute phonecard featuring the artwork of Norman Rockwell. Guess what I am having for lunch tomorrow! There are two different cards, so guess it will be pizza twice this week

FX Phonecard

Here is an easy one (Although I have not called yet) - Dial (800) FXFXFX1, at the first prompt press #2 - At the second prompt, press #1 and at the 3rd prompt, press #3 - You'll get a free card. Don't know what it is, but hey, what is easier than calling an 800 number and pressing 3 buttons. Well, I just followed my own advice and called (and won) - The card is worth $3.20 from Sprint (that's only 5 minutes, folks) and will be delivered in 4 weeks.

Kohl's Department Store

Purchase $50 of AT&T Products, and get a 10 unit AT&T card from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - There are four cards available

Links of the Week

Check out Art Becker's Homepage at

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/artbecker

Art produces a print newsletter on phonecard collecting, information is there (as well as a link to my page)

American Express has a homepage, located at

http://www.americanexpress.com/firstclass

You can see what the current phonecards look like, as well as an 800 number to call to order

Until next week,
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