Picture
Phonecards

April 27, 1996


Issue 30

Phonecards On-Line is written and distributed by Alan Cohen


News and Views

The Albany Show

Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending the North East Corridor Phonecard show at the Clifton Country Mall just north of Albany, NY. My overall impression of this show was very favorable, I had a great time. Some of the Dealers/Organizations that participated were:

The show came about in a hurry, there has been some frustration in the hobby over a lack of a collector oriented show. This weekend there will be an industry gathering in Atlanta, but really only for the industry, not the collector or dealer. The Albany show was promoted as a pre-Atlanta gathering. Another reason for the show was to hold a meeting on the formation of a new phonecard organization, but that is the next story.

Collector traffic was very slow for the show - It was both a sportscard and a phonecard show. I was skeptical going in, because I found out that the show was not going to be held in the aisles of the mall, but in a closed down store. I was very wrong about this, the location was perfect. The store was very large and very visible from the mall, anyone who was walking the mall would have gone in out of curiosity (There were not many mall walkers though) There were three problems here:

  1. The show was not listed in Beckett or SCD, two sportscard publications that people look at to find where shows are.
  2. There were two other sportscard shows in the Albany area that weekend, including one with former Yankee players signing autographs
  3. The weather was fantastic. When winter ends in Central New York, it really ends. It was snowing as late as Wednesday night, by Saturday afternoon it was sunny and in the 70’s! After six months of winter, who wanted to be in a mall? Not many people, judging by the mall traffic.
Still, although collector attendance was low, the few that did attend were buying. As I usually do, I had a lot of inexpensive phonecards, and many sports related items. Just like the last shows, classic moved well. I had a full line of unopened material, and people would come by and open a pack - They had fun! Used foreign cards again were popular, I must have handed out over 100 free British cards, and sold other ones. Sports phonecards moved, I made a point of purchasing some cards from the local AHL team, and almost sold out.

Some dealers did okay, others not okay. It was really interesting to meet so many people that I know only from on-line communications, I now have to erase my mental images of them and now associate with what they really look like. I brought a camera with me, next week a full photo display will be available at the Card Mall. Dealer to Dealer purchases was high, which was what I expected. I did better than I anticipated I would, I spent more than I thought I would as well. I even met a couple of readers of this newsletter! I’ll keep everyone up to date when my next show is, I hope it will be a mall show in Ithaca, I will at least try Binghamton once more.

NECTA / NAPCO / IPC / IPCO?

A major incentive for me to attend this show was the organizational meeting that was planned for Sunday morning. Currently, the interests of people in the telecommunications / phonecard industry are being represented by the United States Telecard Association. While this group is working hard on creating standards for the industry and protecting the consumer, there is a consensus among collectors, dealers, and small issuers that the USTA is really representing the interests of the phone companies and major issuers. The name for the new organization is "International Phonecard Collectors" Officers were elected/volunteered, and they are:

My first motion should be to extend the day to 29 hours, so I can get some sleep! There are many other people working behind the scenes to make this organization great. Our first goals are to create by-laws and a charter. We will also be incorporating, and of course trying to recruit members. As part of my post, I will be creating a web site where all information will be posted. I’ll probably send out information via this mailing list, as well as everywhere else I can think of. Hopefully we can get a newsletter started, but that will not be my venture.

Some ideas tossed around at the meeting are to eventually sponsor collector oriented shows, create an information pamphlet that can be given to collectors by members of the organization on what phonecards are, why to collect, and most importantly, different ways to collect. With Bruce Harmon at the head of the organization, look for some strong lobbying efforts to push for the viewpoints of dealers/collectors to be heard. The meeting was very pro-USTA, everyone on the board supports the USTA and what they are doing, we just are not happy with what they are not doing: representing the interests of the collectors/dealers.

The prime example of this is the Atlanta fund-raiser dinner. The cost for this dinner, expensive in the past but not unreasonable, has skyrocketed to $180/$200, depending if you are a member of the USTA or not. Howard Segermark wrote a letter last week acknowledging that the price range was a mistake, and one that would not be repeated. However, I feel that if they really thought it was a mistake two weeks before the show, why not change the prices? I can understand acknowledging the mistake after the show, but if you know it is a mistake before, why not correct it? For large issuers and phone companies, $200 is pocket change, if I were to go to Atlanta, I would not be able to afford this dinner. One thing I can say about IPC (International Phonecard Collectors) - No $200 dinners!

One closing note about the IPC, although I will be focusing on the progress of this organization in future weeks - Join! If you are a novice collector, if you are an issuer, join and support an organization that will support you. Annual membership is only $15, and a 15 minute limited edition phone card is being produced and will be distributed to all members. Be a part of history, and join an organization that is made up of collectors and dealers, who hopefully will have a long history. Until the name is incorporated, you can send the checks to our treasurer, made out to our treasurer. They can be sent to:

James Wertheimer
PO Box 632
Miliwood, NY 10546

Collector's_Advantage

The New Collector's Advantage

The Albany show saw the unveiling of the new format of the Collector's Advantage. What used to be a newspaper format publication is now a partially color magazine format. I think the change is 100% in the right direction, it looks good and is a good read. The annual cost is only $20 (It is a monthly magazine) and is well worth the cost. I will also be writing a column about on-line collecting in the near future (Make that earlier request a 30 hour day) Call their toll free number at (800) VALUE-01 to subscribe!

Negro Leagues Phonecards

PRESS RELEASE

Negro Leagues Commemorated With Prepaid Phone Card Collectibles Sports enthusiasts, sports history buffs and collectors are eagerly anticipating the release of the first edition of prepaid phone cards honoring the men who played in the Negro Baseball Leagues. "The collectible phone cards are a tribute the Negro Leagues players," said Don E. N. Gibson, Senior Vice President, Business Affairs, for Major League Baseball Properties. "We are delighted with the success of our Negro Leagues licensing program as we continue to strive to preserve the legacy of the Negro Leagues and their players." The cards are part of the Negro Leagues Baseball Licensing Program, administered by Major Leagues Baseball Properties as a pro bono program, with royalties given to former Negro Leagues players, the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and the Jackie Robinson Foundation.

The first edition, issued by Sportscosm, is a limited edition release of 6,000 cards. Subsequent issues will feature images of some of the Negro Leagues stars, logos of the various Negro Leagues clubs, and special releases in conjunction with Major League Baseball's All-Star Game and the World Series.

For More Information, Call:
Donna D. Fuentes
I-Contact Media Inc.
914 761-4328

Bell Atlantic / NYNEX Merger

For those who have not heard, these two Baby Bell companies are merging. The new company will be called - Bell Atlantic. Looks like NYNEX and the name is history. I don't know how this will affect the phonecards, especially since NYNEX is so involved in the phonecard market (i.e. NYNEX Collector's Club) while Bell Atlantic dropped out. Should be interesting to see what happens.

Current Promotions

Teeth Whitener Promotion

I was at the local CVS store yesterday and low and behold...another promotion! Here's the scoop...

The Card: Plus+White One Step Teeth Whitener
LD Carrier: Frontier
Time Avail: 3 Minutes
Pin Number: No scratch off (10 Digit)
Expiration Date: 1/31/97
Calling Range: US only (Hawaii & Alaska also)
# of issue: No info
Graphics: Nice looking card...
No pictures just print.
Card is printed in 4 colors
top third is silver with yellow lettering & blue shadow...
"Free 3 Minute Pre-paid Phone card"
Middle third is navy blue w/ white lettering...
"Plus+White" (largest of all type)
Bottom third is red w/ white lettering w/ blue shadow...
"One Step Teeth Whitener"

Please note that this is NOT the tooth paste... it is the Whitener! (2 oz. package) The price was $3.48
From: Rick Marsh

Shell Gas

Shell Gas stations just started selling their "Shell TransCard" card. provide by Teletron. $10, $20., and "I think" a $30 card . You can get them at any Shell station ..............here in the Chicagoland area. (Nice looking card)
From: Robert Smith

Western Union / Mexico

Western Union has a promotion going on for Mothers day geared to the Hispanic population to call their mother in Mexico. Send a Western Union moneygram to Mexico and receive a $10 card for free. Note: Minimum cost of sending Moneygram to Mexico is about $16. I guess you could send a $1.00 to anyone there and get the card "at time of purchase", but it's still going to cost you $16 form Western Union to send the $1.00 Total price for card...$17.......not to good! "But then again one never really knows !
From: Robert Smith

Pigly Wigly

A local small chain of Grocery supermarkets called "Pigly Wigly here (Chicagoland area) is offering a 15 min. "Pigly Wigly" card for every (Get this) $150.00 worth of "selected" purchases. Send in your circled purchases and receive the card. Most of the items are things that you would never buy or only buy once in a while . Unless you have a cat and want to stock up on cat litter and cat food.. We have three cats, but I'm still thinking about it. !!!!!!!!!!!!!! A $150 worth of cat food and liter .........I don't know !
From Robert Smith

L'Eggs On-Line

Fill-out the L'Eggs pantyhose "In the Loop" survey on the World Wide Web and you may receive a L'Eggs phonecard and money-saving coupons. The address is

http://www.leggs.com

From Anthony Janakas

Library Pac Bell

There is a brand new Library downtown San Francisco! It was inaugurated yesterday April 18 and Pacific Bell has issued a $5.00 phonecard to celebrate the new building. The card can be purchased through the phone at 1-800-600-0094, along all their other phonecards. The woman I talked to over the phone also mentioned that Pacific Bell is working on a club for collectors.
From: Annie Petitjean

Waiting to Exhale

Just saw in this mornings ad for Best Buy that there is a Free 10 minute phonecard with the purchase of video. There is a picture of the phonecard & it looks like the front of the video. I missed the movie at the theater, but I know it stars Whitney Houston & Angela Bassett. Ad says while supplies last, if I get near a Best Buy today I'll provide more details on this promo.
From Terry Windholz

Canadian Promotion

Efferdent (Denture Cleaner) is offering a "free" $5 Hello Phone Pass with mail-in of 2 proofs of purchase from either the 72 or 108 tablet packages. The $5 Phone Pass is for 5 minutes of calling time which is the standard Hello Phone Pass rate.
From: Thomas Esplen

Amoco Promotion

You get the card by purchasing 10 gal (min.) of Amoco Premium gas. The card is paper and has 5 minutes of talk time from Sprint which expires 12/31/96 and comes wrapped in cellophane.

The card is issued in connection to a sweepstakes for a car. You must open the cello and get the pin to see if you qualify by calling the access no. and keying-in you pin before the first call made. Then you will be told if you "qualify" to be registered in the sweep.

The car image (and sweep) is a red (pictured) Mitsubishi 3000 GT Spyder. Don't know if you can choose a different color should you win.

The contest runs April 12 to May 15. Some stations seem eager to issue the cards and some stations don't want to give them out! This is based on at least 5 stations, one claiming on April 14 that the promo didn't start until the 15th, while the card states contrary. One other claimed they weren't sure if the received any, pretended to look all over the booth, including the safe, then in the back, only to find one sort of bent one under the counter since it was then clear I wouldn't leave without satisfaction! I *think* some are holding on to the cards, in other words (if only for the free time).

From: David (I don't have your last name, Sorry!)

Afrin Promotion

Afrin 12 hour moisturizing spray Inside the carton is a coupon for a 15 min. phonecard, send receipt, coupon, and upc. In Atlanta found at Bruno's supermarket

From: Mark Thompson

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.cardmall.com

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

If you wish to be removed from this mailing list, or find yourself with two subscriptions (It does happen), please reply to the ORIGINAL message that was sent to you - This will assist me in removing your name