Phonecards On-Line - Written by Alan H. Cohen

September 21, 1997


Issue 97


Phonecards On-Line is written and distributed by Alan Cohen


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Disappearing Print

1997 has been a very rough year for phonecard magazines in the US. There weren’t that many to begin with, and at least three have stopped publishing. The Collector’s Advantage went to a quarterly format, although many collectors (myself included) have not seen an issue since 1996. Telecard Times also went to a quarterly format, but again has not been seen by myself and others for a very long time. Finally, PCM report recently announced that they would stop publishing on a monthly basis, and possibly move to a quarterly format. They have stated they will keep their web site up to date though.

What’s going on here? A market collapse or a consolidation? My opinion is that it is just a consolidation. It’s no secret that the hobby has not grown as fast as many (myself included) believed it would. There were probably too many magazines for the number of US collectors. This leaves Moneycard Collector as the primary magazine, with a few others on the market. Is this bad for the hobby? This definitely is a set-back for phonecard collecting. I believe, however, the hobby can thrive and grow with fewer magazines. With the growth of the internet, magazines are having a tougher time staying in business. There has been an explosion of information being available for free on-line, and phonecards are part of this trend. Additionally, this hobby is a hi tech one, with many people having most of their contacts via an electronic medium such as the internet. While I don’t believe that magazines will ever go away (after all, you can’t fold a computer up and read it on a couch) more people will probably get their information from other sources in the future than they do now.

Northeastern Nevada Museum Phonecard

A phonecard has been produced to help raise funds for a Western art gallery at the Northeastern Nevada Museum, In Elko NV. Once they raise $150,000, that will be matched by a corporate donor. The image on the card is that of a Mastodon mural at the museum (they recently found fossilized mastodon bones in the area (Spring Creek) and the bones are exhibited at the museum. Card says "Northeastern Nevada Museum" at the bottom, and is produced by Strategic Telecom Systems.

Limited Edition Series # I has 250 (numbered) cards with 10 minutes of phone time on each card. Orders will be taken until Oct. 31,1997 (any extra orders will be held for series # 2 or refunded upon request). The cost is $10.00 each.

For further information or to order, contact:

Rica M. Asaban (212) 744-4871, fax (212)-744-3517, voice mail 800-422-0056, or via e-mail: RICA2000@aol.com

AIDS International Research Foundation

Capital Communications Group LLC has produced a new phonecard benefiting AIDS research. The first 500 cards will read Inaugural Edition, Houston, TX. Other cards will not have this on them. For further information on this card, contact Ken Streetman at ken@capcomm.com, or phone 713-682-6446. There is a web site for this card at: http://www.theaidsphonecard.com/.

Mistic Beverages

Roslyn, New York, September 15, 1997 – Triarc Beverage Group, producers of Mistic, RC and now Snapple and Stewart’s Root Beer brand beverages has called on Global Telecommunication Solutions, Inc. (GTS) to stir up a goolish and ghastly give-away for a Halloween promotion supporting its Mistic line of soft drinks.

GTS, following a meeting of the minds with their witches and warlocks, a splash of this and a mixture of that, produced the result. A uniquely-designed Halloween collectible phonecards featuring a "Mistical" greeting from none other than Dracula himself offering 10 minutes of free phone time. These one-of-a-kind phonecards, which will be given out to retailers and distributors carrying the line of Mistic beverages, are a unique way for Dracula, on behalf of Triarc, to say: "Fangs a lot for stocking Mistic Brands."

Mistic will kick-off the Halloween phonecard promotion this month. With the limited-edition phonecards available only to retailers and distributors of the Mistic brands, they are sure to become widely sought after on the collectors market.

GTS Contact: Sharon Holle, (201) 236-3933

Washington D.C. Phonecard Group

We met on September 10th after a 2 month break. Lots has happened. We discussed magazines, and we discussed Powell's sale and offer of cigars for sale. One couldn't help but wonder why they don't offer free phonecards with each box of cigars. Or free cigars with the purchase of phonecards.

Art Becker brought many goodies, including part of his bounty from his Las Vegas trip. He may even move there and start the LVPCCG. He also brought some Moneycard Collecting Made Easy booklets and some copies of Steve Eyer's catalog. -- Nice job Steve.

We had two new members June Lee, a former dealer, and Chuck Cornelius, who produced a terrific looking card to commemorate the opening of the new National Airport Terminal. It costs $5 and $1 goes to Children's hospital. I read about it in Alan Cohen's POL report and invited Chuck to attend our meeting. He works at the very Control Tower that is pictured on the card.

June Lee brought an impressive collection of cards including many Hawaiian cards. He has a wealth of knowledge about phonecards.

I brought Kmart cards loaded with $1. the sold quickly at $1 apiece. I, too, lied when I purchased them and said they were gifts for my wife's students. Most of the clerks have no idea what the Cards are about.

All in all it was a fine meeting. Our next meeting will be November 5th, our 2nd anniversary meeting. (First meeting was 11-9-95) Thanks Tom and Susan for putting it together.

From: Del Deligianis

VTC Phonecard Club

The web site of the VTC ( Vilvoordse Phonecard Club Belgium ) has been redesigned. It is available at: http://vtc.devsys.com/

New Ore Ida

I found a coupon inside a package of Ore-Ida potato products for a free 20 minute phone card. It requires filling out the form and including three proofs-of-purchases. Expires: 2/15/98 and limit of two phone cards.

From: Toni Price

Dairy Queen

In Michigan at my local Dairy Queen for the next two weeks you can get a free five minute phonecard with the purchase of a value meal. There are 2 different designs you can get.

From: Dan Freeland

Until Next 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 - All back issues are archived at the web site!

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

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