News and Views

Record Town goes Phonecard Crazy

Two weeks ago it was the Beatles phonecard - This week, there were three phonecards available at Record Town Music Store

1) The Beatles card - This is still available. I have seen it sell in the $30 range, which is more expensive than the cost of owning the CD. However, I have more than one CD already in my collection - I do not want to become a CD collector and a Phonecard Collector - That would be way too expensive.

2) Pocohantas card - This was an interesting and unexpected find. There was a sign as soon as you entered the store - Pre-order a copy of this Disney movie, get a 5 minute calling card. I went in, talked with the clerk, and asked whether I get the card now or with the movie. She said with the movie (Which means February 28) so I started to leave. Looking at the sign again, I noticed that it said with a preorder OR a purchase of a Disney Classic. I marched back in, and asked if I purchased the Disney Classic (Which were overpriced, but hey, they are Disney) would I get the phonecard now. She said that the cards were limited and that I would get one with the Pocohantas movie. I told her about the sign. Not believing me, she checked it out for herself. She then reversed her original statement and said I could get the card either with any Disney movie or the pre-purchase. I went ahead and purchased the rights to own Pocohantas next spring, and got my card. Nice card, animation I assume from the movie (I never saw it) - Produced by Brilliant, phone time by AT&T, 5 minutes, 100,000 made. I have not seen much activity on this card, but I assume there will be. After all, it is Disney.

3) Sony 5 minute card with video tapes. I knew about this promotion about 6 months ago, but not until this weekend did it show up in Ithaca! I purchased two packs, never can have enough video tapes (Not entirely true, after the TDK promo last year, I have tons of extra tapes!)

Record Town is pretty mediocre as a record store, but I think I will start going there to shop for phonecards.

Spencer’s Gifts Part II

These phonecards seem really popular. After all, they are GTI, 25 cents a minute, and popular themes such as movies and Baywatch. I’ve been to three Spencer’s around the state, and all are low on the cards. Someone must be using them. I know that I am.

Pizza Hut Update

Sorry about the mis-information about Pizza Hut last issue. Turns out that the promotion is limited in scope, and only available in the cities of Tuscon and Wichita. I’ve seen one person selling these at $10 for a set of 2. You can contact Joe Gutierrez at:

joepgutier@aol.com

Promotions

Besides the Pocohantas card, I have not seen anything new this week. Of course, part of the problem could be that I have been working like crazy on my homepage - Check it out at http:www.cardmall.com (note the name change) It will be a great place for phonecard collectors to check out. Besides having all of the back issues of this newsletter archived there, you will find the phonecard faq (frequently asked questions) file for the internet newsgroup. Additionally, check out Phonecard Central - Links to other phonecard pages. If you have a homepage, I want to know about it. Recently I started a Collector’s Corner, where you can submit a buy or trade classified ad. Finally, there is the card mall itself - A marketplace for phonecards and sportscards. I currently have some dealers and manufacturers with web pages there. And finally, since this advertisement is listed under promotions, there are at least two drawings for free phonecards on the web. One is at my site, listed at the main entry. The other is available at HT Technologies. Click on Enter the Card Mall, and read the descriptions of dealers. HT Technologies is listed there.

Until Next week, Happy Collecting

Alan

Distribution

Phonecards On-Line is available via:

1) On-Line on the World Wide Web. The address is: http://www.cardmall.com

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: phoneline@cardmall.com

Until Next week,

Alan