January 5, 1997
Issue 61
Phonecards On-Line is written and distributed by Alan Cohen
Return to POL Index
News and Views
Finding Phonecards at sportscard shows
I figured I would start out with a lighter lead story this week, or at least one that generates fewer e-mail messages protesting what I have written! This past weekend was a fun one for me, as I attended two card shows. No, not phonecard shows, only sportscard shows. However, both presented great opportunities to find cards. For those who call themselves phonecard collectors, sportscard shows can be great opportunities to buy cards at good prices.
One thing you will find are lots of sports related cards at inflated prices. (Classic Assets at half guide are still too expensive in my opinion) As stated in an earlier issue of POL, sportscard dealers have not been into phonecards as much as many of us thought they would be a couple of years ago. Dealers who started to dabble in phonecards can be found at these weekly shows, and their prices can be amazingly low. I’ve picked up a number of great cards at even greater prices. This weekend I purchased used phonecards for 5 cents each! It takes a good eye to find these cards at times, the ones I picked up for a nickel each (and there were 17 at that price) were hidden in stacks of football cards.
Most towns have sportscard shows - A great resource to check out when these shows will be held, and more importantly where, can be found at http://www.beckett.com - Coin and Stamp shows often have phonecards, but it has been my experience that these dealers will have higher prices than you might pay at a sportscard show. If any readers have any great find stories, please send them in and I will print them!
Phonecard Resources Revisited.
Last May (Issue 31 of POL to be exact) I listed resources that I felt every phonecard collector should have. I am going to republish this list, as I get many e-mail messages asking about phonecard magazines, and which ones I prefer (I have even been asked which one was my favorite, which is something I will not publish here!) Some of these publications may offer a free sample copy, you can inquire via phone or e-mail if they do.
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
Web Address: http://www.csmonline.com/moneycard/
E-mail Contact: toris@amospress.com
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
Web Address: http://www.pcmreport.com
E-mail Contact: sandy@pcmreport.com
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
Web Address: http://www.cardmall.com/tca/
E-mail Contact: 102662.3501@compuserve.com
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
Smith’s Promotion
Smith’s Supermarket is having a phonecard promotion. They are available in random 12 packs of Coca-Cola. The odds of winning a phonecard is one in every 12 packs. (That is a lot of Coke!) They are available at Smith's in Nevada, Idaho, and Wyoming, residents of the U.S. can also enter to win one of ten 10-hour Coca-cola phonecards.
To do this, on a 3" x 5" piece of paper, hand print your name, address,
zip code, and day and evening phone numbers. Mail it in a #10
(business size) envelope to:
Coca-Cola/Smith's "Phone Home Free" Random Draw Sweepstakes
c/o Scopes-Garcia-Carlisle
P.O. Box 510687
Salt Lake City UT 84151
Entries must be received by 1-31-97. They put the value of one of
these 10 hour phonecards at $240.
The picture of the 10 hour card shows a 1950's or 60's style picture of
a woman holding a phone. It has party streamers, and 3 balloons on it,
and the red one is the coca-cola logo showing the bottle.
Thanks to Deb Trinter for providing this information
McDonald’s Card
I just got back from my local (Dallas, TX) McDonald's and was given
a new unique (to me at least!) concept "stored value" card. It is a new
promotion called a McBreak Card. By purchasing food at McDonalds, and
running the card through a reader/writer of some kind, it store's up points
( 1 point per $1 spent) to be used for future food prizes.
The card itself is standard credit/phone card size, on a thin, almost
aluminum style stock. The back is a flat silver/gray and has the
rules of the promotion in white letters. The front has a red background
sprinkled with reddish/silver Arches. The front also has a silver square
that takes up half of the front and is re-written every time the total changes!
Thanks to Ross Clifton for this story.
Target Promotion
Found at Target, a 10 minute phone card packaged with a Zenith universal
remote control. The card is plastic, blue and black patterned with the
word "Zenith" across the front. If you need to replace a lost or broken
remote (and who doesn't eventually), you might as well get a phone card
with it.
From: Steven Taylor
Phillips 66 Card
The local Phillips 66 gas stations are selling 3 prepaid phonecards, the following is a description: 15($5.99),30($9.99),and 60(17.99) minutes plus tax. Carrier is MCI. All cards have the same picture of a Phillips 66 road sign with a partly cloudly sky. One seems to be sunrise another the middle of the day and the third sunset. They are thick lamiated cardboard, mounted on cardboard and shrink-wrapped. No scratch off. They were giving a free 5 unit card when you buy a card "for the holidays". It is divided in 4 quadrants colors: green blue orange tan with the Phillips 66 shield in the middle. Don't know if this is a national promo or just in Bartleville (Phillips headquarters).
From: Scott Van Metre
Sports Illustrated Contest
This week's Sport's Illustrated Magazine has a contest in which the first person to correctly name the two teams to get in the Super Bowl will get to be on the field in New Orleans this year. Of course I already will be the first. I think the Bears will pummel the Ravens. Perhaps those in this forum would like to be one of 1000 fourth place winners, who will receive a 5 minute phone card (valued at $5) Call 1-888-NFL-GRID by Sunday, January 12th at 1pm. If you wait, you have a better chance of being right, but not likely first.
From: Del Deligianis
Citibank Offer
Enclosed with my last CitiBank bill was an offer form CitiBank for
a free phone card. It is part of a "Thank You" program they are running.
The card is called the Personal PhoneCard and carries 20 free minutes. The
description beside the card states, "Call friends or family members as our
gift to you. You’ll get 20 minutes of free phone time to call anywhere in
the United States. After your 20 free minutes, additional blocks of time
can be conveniently charged to your CitiBank card."
The card has "20 Free Minutes" in large letters across the top
(horizontal). Underneath these words in italics and smaller type are the
words "Long Distance Service". There is a yellow phone receiver in the
background that covers the right half of the card. The lower left has a
picture of the earth that shows primarily the North American continent.
Part of Europe and Africa are visible but appear in red. The North
American part is in yellow-gold. The CitiBank name and logo appear on the
lower right of the card.
Cost is $3.95 per item and you may select up to three of each of
the gifts offered. The cost is billed to your CitiBank account. The
brochure is not clear if this is $3.95 per phone card or $3.95 per gift
selection. Other selections were sport watches, calculator, and pen and
pencil set.
From: Bill Jennings
That’s all for this week,
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
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