May 4, 1996

Issue 31

Phonecards On-Line is written and distributed by Alan Cohen

News and Views

HT Technologies Law Suit

Dan Tudor, CEO of HT Technologies reported that "On March 4, 1996 HT found Ed Duniven loading HT property, including numerous phonecards, into Jeff Waltcher's car. They have since started "Grapevine Telecards." A law suit is pending, and the progress will be reported here in future issues. A reward is being offered to HT customers who have been contacted by Grapevine Telecards, here is the letter below:

Dear Valued Customer,

Thank you for your loyalty to HT Technologies, Inc. Your business is very much appreciated and we will continue providing you with the finest phonecards in the industry.

HT Technologies is offering a REWARD to all our valued customers. As a special one time offer, HT is offering three (3) HT Collector cards for FREE to any of its customers that have been contacted by, or have received any written information or advertising from: a "Grapevine Telecards", Ed Duniven or Jeff Waltcher.

To receive your REWARD, simply mail or fax the written information, mailer or advertisement along with your name and date that you received the information to:

HT Technologies, Inc.
601 Montgomery Street, Suite 650
San Francisco, CA 94111
ATTN: Customer Rewards
FAX 1-415-421-2622
If you have been contacted by phone, simply call us at 1-800-820-8980 ext. 105.

Thank you again for your business. We look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Dan Tudor
President and CEO

Last week I received a mailing by Grapevine Telecards. After speaking with Dan, I am quite sure that my address was stolen from HT's database - I had no previous contact with these people, and I am careful who I give my home address to. I tend to give a PO Box if I am broadcasting on a list or in the newsletter. It appears that HT has been wronged by this new company.

Other HT News

If you haven't received a Fleet Week phonecard from HT Technologies, head over to their web site at http://www.htti.com/~telecard

Send in your name, address and phone number, and you will get a free subscription to their newsletter, and a nice phonecard as well. A copy of their newsletter will be issued in the next issue of The Collector's Advantage.

Atlanta Telecard Show

This past week saw a major phonecard show in Atlanta, Georgia. Although I did not attend the show, I have been monitoring the reports from collectors, dealers and issuers who did attend. Here is a synopsis of what I heard

The show was somewhat larger than previous shows - Which is a good sign for the hobby.
It was difficult to obtain free cards, and many of the cards were not really phonecards, but samples. Why bother promoting a phonecard related business and not give out phonecards? Considering the cost of setting up at the show, handing out 5 minute cards would seem to be an inexpensive way to get a lot of good PR.
Few dealers were set up - Of course, this was an industry show, and not a collector show. Telecard World shows are never promoted as collector shows. This should change in the future, with the creation of the IPC (International Phonecard Collectors) who will lobby for collector shows. There is no reason why a large trade show can not contain a collector area, and have it promoted as such. Having a large collector base is good for EVERYONE in the industry, from the phone companies to the people who create and maintain switches. The more people who use and collect, the bigger the industry gets. Maybe the concept is too simple?

The next big show will be in Miami in early June. I am tentatively planning to go, as the next group meeting of the IPC will take place there. I'll be working on the web site over the next week or two, and place the minutes of the first meeting there for all to view. More news on that later.

Powell Associates On the Web

Powell Associates has a new web site (designed by me) and can be found at

http://www.powellpm.com

You'll find their complete catalog there, plus an added bonus. They are giving away a limited edition Ameritech card (1100 Produced) to all who stop by and fill out an order form with their name, address, etc. There is no purchase necessary, just stop by and fill the information out. I received a card, and it is quite nice. Additionally, it is a very low print run from a major phone company, quite a nice offer.

Recommendations

Every week I get e-mail from collectors asking my opinions on all sorts of questions - I really do like getting e-mail from people and answering it if I can. It seems a lot of questions are directed at MLM (Multi-Level Marketing) programs that "guarantee success" - I have a very strong view on this. Those that know me are very familiar with my views about MLM's - And it is not a very good one. I feel they prey on the ignorant. Most people who end up in MLM's, especially with phonecards, purchase a lot in hopes of selling, and end up keeping the cards (which at times are worth less than face value) and get soured on the hobby. There is no get rich quick scheme, at least one that can be applied to the masses. As many dealers and issuers will attest to, this is definitely true in the phonecard industry. There is nothing wrong with someone wanting to break into the phonecard industry, but my recommendation, my very strong recommendation would be to read as much as possiblle, and learn as much information about the hobby as you can; on the internet, on the web, on CompuServe, through magazines, etc. I am going to give a list of three magazines that I feel that every phonecard collector should be subscribing to, and one reference book. Since I get asked information on how to subscribe, I will give that information too, and try to remember to have people view issue 31 of POL for the information

Moneycard Collector

This was the first phonecard magazine I subscribed to, and one of my favorites. Produced monthly, Murray Church is the publisher. This is a great resource for collectors, lots of articles on collecting, new issues (with contact numbers for collectors who want to acquire them) Almost the entire magazine is in color, and is a good read from cover to cover.

Annual Subscription Rate (US): $19.95
(800) 645-7456

PCM Report

I subscribed to this magazine from issue one, and as the saying goes, "baby, you've come a long way!" The first issue was folded and stuffed into an envelope. There were few prices and very little editorial. The current issue, the one year anniversary issue, is 135 pages long, has over 12,000 price listings, and tons of editorial. It's the most thorough price listing today for phonecards, and the editorial articles are a very strong added bonus. Look for color pages and more improvements in the near future! Publisher: Sandy Bashover.

Annual Subscription Rate (US): $19.95
(908) 441-1833

Collector's Advantage

A new format for this magazine was unveiled at the Albany show last week - Quite an impressive change. What used to be strictly newspaper format is now a regular magazine with some color pages. This publication has the exclusive US writings of Dr. Steve Hiscocks. Look for more editorial coverage of the hobby in future issues. Publisher: Steve Lowenstein

Annual Subscription Rate (US): $20.00
(800) VALUE-01

H&G Standard Catalog of USA Telephone Cards

This book is THE reference book for US cards. Written by Steve Hiscocks and Chris Garibaldi, over 400 pages of photographs and information about collecting. I love going through the book to see how many cards I have that are pictured. The recommended retail price is $36, and is well worth it. Many phonecard dealers stock this book, you can also order from Telecard Publications Inc. by calling (908) 441-0102

Pepsi Points in Canada!

The Pepsi Phone Cards are described as : up to 15 minutes of free long distance within Canada day or night. Choose from two designs. "Big Ball" or "Blue on Blue" It takes 50 Pepsi Points to get one card. That means Art will have to drink 25 two litre bottles of Diet Pepsi for me to get one phonecard or I can buy additional Pepsi Points at 20 cents each. And of course on top of that, to redeem 1-90 points, there's a $3.00 shipping and handling fee. 91-300 points = $5.00. And these offers expire October 31, 1996.

Thanks to Kathy Ward for reporting the Canadian Pepsi information

Ore-Ida

Send in 3 proofs of purchase (pop-upc) from any Ore-Ida products and the form for a 20 minute phone card.

The offer expires 12/31/96 and is limited to 2 per household/group/organization or mailing address. Official certificate must accompany request. No copies of form accepted.

From: Denise Kellner

Jack in the Box

This is just a note on the cards now being sold by Jack-in-the-Box, but since I haven't been to one yet, and won't be going, this is what I can tell you. The fast-food chain is offering phonecards in some of it's outlets, I have seen the marquee for one on Whittier Blvd. (across from the Quad Shopping Center) advertising them, so I know that one has them. However, the little buggers are 3.99 each and you have to make a food purchase of some sort. One of the dealers told me the price and that if you buy a combo meal of some sort, I think he said they knock a dollar off the price. At 3.99 apiece, that's pretty expensive since I think they are only 5-minute cards. The first 500 of them that came out (now being sold at Frank & Sons) for over $50.00 are sequentially numbered. The rest currently on sale are not. IF, and I say IF, they are only 5-minute cards, that's 80 cents a minute!!!!! Rather pricey for a premium which I assume is to get you to come in to buy hamburgers, etc. Not a bargain as far as phone time is concerned by any means.

From: Randy Bowden

Macy's Promotion

Macy's is having a promotion here in NYC. May be nationwide. I don't really know. Spend $ 50.00 today and they will give you a 20 minute phone card. Seems like a nice deal.

From: John Rodgers

(ed. note: Lenny Rapp reported that these cards are down in Florida as well, through May 4. The cards are generic and do not have Macy's on them, so buy with caution!)

CVS Pharmacy

CVS Pharmacy, at least in the Washington DC area, is offering a 5 minute card inside 4 packs of TDK video tapes. The packages are clearly marked. The card is paper. The price per tape comes out to about $1.25

They might be available in other areas & other stores.

From: Art Becker

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