News and Views

Administrative Notes Part III

Things are pretty much back to normal now. I have been offered a full refund and apology from the company that I was using to distribute this newsletter. I have to admit that the person who handled my account was extremely helpful, they were just having computer problems that led to my problems. We've parted ways peacefully. I would like to thank everyone who wrote to express their support, and there were a lot of you. As I said, makes it very nice to write this newsletter knowing that there is so much support out there from my readers.

I will be re-organizing my current mailing lists for this newsletter, breaking it up to separate lists of 25 e-mail addresses. One reason for changing to a distributed listserv in addition to supposedly making my life easier (ha!!) was to protect the e-mail addresses. I really do not want people to take the addresses and incorporate them into their sales or spam list. With a maximum of 25 addresses, the chances of that happening are reduced.

Newsletter in print

I tend to feel that since my world revolves around a computer, everyone's must. Of course, this is not true! There are many people out there, including collectors, that are not plugged in. Therefore, I am going to try an experiment, offering this newsletter available via postal mail. It won't be fancy like other newsletters out there, but I hope as interesting and informative as many of you think it is. You may be asking yourself, how will this affect me? It won't - The newsletter will continue to be distributed free of charge via e-mail and the web - After all, the only cost to me is my time, since I already have the web sites and e-mail anyway. I will be charging for print issues, since I will need to pay for envelopes, printing charges, paper, etc. The cost will be $12 for a three month subscription, an issue mailed each and every week.

Now, on to the phonecards...

Click on the image for a better view

Sprint MTV cards

While cruising the mall this past week, I walked into Spencer Gifts (They appear to be the phonecard store these days) and alas, no new GTI cards. They informed me that these cards sold very well, and they were sold out. On the counter I found some new cards - MTV cards by Sprint. There are three denominations, $5, $10 and $20. What I found very interesting is that the cards on display were marked so. In order to get a live card, you needed to exchange the display card for a real one behind the counter. Unfortunately, I was only able to come home with the real one, not the display one as well. In case you did not know this, do not pay sales tax for a phonecard you buy retail. The sales tax is included in the price! The folks at Spencer's were not aware of this, so I informed them. They of course did not believe me, so I invited them to call customer service at Sprint. Needless to say, they were shocked that they were charging sales tax and shouldn't have been.

I purchased a $10 card. I may have purchased more, if it had not been for the high price of the card for phone time. A $5 card gives you 9 minutes, $10 will let you talk for 20 minutes, and $20 will let you talk for 45 minutes. Right next to these cards are GTI cards that give you 20 minutes for $5. If you were a consumer who was buying a card to use because you heard that they were a great deal, what would you buy? Obviously, the public is not that stupid, as the inexpensive GTI cards are sold out, and I was the first person to buy the MTV card. Hmm... I see this as a good thing. Although I think it is great that major phone companies and Baby Bells are in the prepaid market, charging 50 cents and more per minute are not going to do. I can talk for 3 minutes using my Sprint Calling card for about $1.40, and have the convenience of being billed later. If I use the MTV card, I will pay $1.66 for the card (About $1.80 if Spencer's illegally charges sales tax) and have to pre-pay for the card. Where is the convenience and savings? There is none! Less convenient, and more expensive. In order for the public to accept a card, the rate will have to settle to the 25 to 33 cent range. Anything more will not catch on, and in the long run may hurt the industry.

Post Office Update

There have been conflicting reports on how the current test run of American Express cards at the post office are going. Sandy Bashover, the publisher of PCM Report, heard from the source that sales were going better than expected. However, several dealers on CompuServe noted that from their perspective, sales were not going so well, and that not all postal workers were even aware of the promotion. One of the problems with the promotion is that the starting rate for a $5 card is 55 cents a minute, again in my opinion, too expensive. The way that phonecards are going to catch on is if they are cost effective to the user. The rate scales down to 33 cents per minute, but that is only if a $100 card is purchased. Again, the rate is on the acceptable side, but most people are not going to purchase a card for $100.

Digital Motion Cards

One of my favorite phonecards happens to be the lenticular version of the Space Shuttle. You move the card, and the shuttle blasts off! Jan Matthews reports that 5500 of these cards were produced in $10 amounts, and they are available for $10. He notes that recharge rates are 20.7 cents per minute, which is quite reasonable. I feel that even though the original card is $10 for 10 minutes, it is neat enough to acquire for your collection. You can contact Jan at mattrock@ix.netcom.com for more information

AT&T Phone Center Stores to close

It was reported this week that AT&T Phone Center Stores are going to be closed. Obviously a result of the further break-up of AT&T, the stores were not too profitable. I don't believe this will have a major effect on phonecard collecting, although it was a great opportunity for many people to become familiar with the hobby. AT&T really had a chance to educate people about phonecards with their stores, but that never happened. Look for AT&T phonecards to be available in other retail outlets.

Promotions

Today's Collector, "The Marketplace for Antiques and Collectibles", and also a Krause publication, will give you a free Smartel 10 minute phonecard with a one year subscription. The cost is $14.95, and the card has the Today's Collector logo in red across the front against a white background. I've actually purchased this off the newsstand, not much phonecard news and ads there, but still a good publication. You can call 800-258-0929 to subscribe, just mention Dept. ABAK19 when ordering.

Lipton Soup is offering a 5 minute promotional card. You need the official form, which Deb Trinter notes were not available in 3 of our main supermarket chains here in Las Vegas. Supposedly the forms are right by the boxes of Lipton Soup recipe secrets, in the blue boxes, on tear off pads. You need to buy 2 boxes of soup. The offer doesn't expire until Aug. 31, 1997.

Until Next week, Happy Collecting,

Alan

Distribution

Phonecards On-Line is written and distributed by Alan Cohen. It is a weekly newsletter devoted to phonecards - Current news, viewpoints, and reviews of new issues. It is distributed free of charge, and available two ways.

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

2) Direct e-mail. Send a message to: phoneline@cardmall.com