1997 seems like the year that the presses stopped. It appears that three hobby publications have stopped printing - PCM Report, The Collector’s Advantage, and Telecard Times. This really reduces the access by non-computer collectors. There is now only one printed price guide for U.S. cards, Moneycard Collector.
What will happen in 1998? I see a status quo concerning publishing. Moneycard Collector announced recently that they will be changing their format to make it less expensive for advertisers, so perhaps there will be some sort of expansion through their publication. 1997 also saw the release of Moneycard’s 800+ page catalog, which really is a boost to the hobby. There is already talk of a second edition. I don’t see any new publications on the horizon, and I doubt any of the publications that have stopped publishing will come back. Perhaps some of the industry publications can take up the slack, and start promoting the hobby (and thereby increasing their readership)
Concerning the internet, I feel that is the driving force behind this hobby in the U.S. - 1997 saw a large expansion of internet phonecard sites and businesses. Back when I started in 1993, there was practically no web, there were a few dial up BBS’s for phonecards, and of course there was CompuServe. 1997 saw the Phonecard area on CompuServe move from a section within a forum, to its own forum! CompuServe will start allowing access to their forum via the web in 1998, opening it up (at least with limited access) to almost anyone with internet access. Rec.collecting.phonecards, a newsgroup on the internet, continues to see more posts to it on a daily basis. Chat rooms are becoming more widespread on the internet as well, With the IRC Phonecard Channel, hosted by Ivan White, seeing a lot of activity. A club on AOL also was started this year, which appears to be active and thriving.
Outside of the internet, phonecard collectors seem to be in isolation. It appears the only successful club in the United States is on the East Coast. Several collectors have written about forming clubs, but I have had few reports if any of any successful meetings. Unlike most other hobbies, we are still without shows, or any sort of National Show. This definitely has something to do with the size of the hobby, which is still a lot smaller than most thought it would be by 1998. There doesn’t seem to be any unified effort to get a show going. Even if a site were picked, there would still be the major problem of getting the public to attend. The closest we have come to a National Show was the B&B show held in Anaheim in 1996. While the dealer turnout was tremendous, there were very few collectors in attendance. I don’t see this situation changing in 1998, in order for there to be a successful show, we need more collectors! Perhaps the way to go is to attach ourselves to another hobby show, such as the Long Beach Collector’s show, which has a built in collecting audience.
1997 was also a tough year it appears for phonecard companies, especially for the Network Marketing companies. As of this writing, Destiny and STS appear to be dead. Amerivox is stagnant as well. With the major issuers, NYNEX halted their program (with much controversy) earlier this year, and Frontier is out of the business as well. Scoreboard will probably not be making any more phonecard packs, which means that the trading card industry has completely divorced itself from phonecards.
1997 also saw fewer phonecard promotions. This is a trend that does not make sense to me. There were a ton of holiday promotions in 1995, when the average person had not heard of a phonecard. In 1997, thanks to companies like 7-11, there is a tremendous growth in awareness of prepaid cards. However, few companies are using phonecards as a way of enticing customers into their stores.
So overall, what should 1998 be like? I expect there to be growth as far as collectors go, but I would not be too surprised if there were further cutback in print magazines, as well as major phone companies and Network Marketing companies. The big events of 1998 are the Winter Olympics, and the elections here in the U.S. With the Olympics about two months away, I don’t see that being a large event as far as phonecard collecting goes. I thought that 1996 would be a breakthrough year, because of the Olympics in the US, as well as the elections. Neither events increased awareness of phonecards as much as I thought they would. Maybe 1998 will surprise me. For now, this will continue to be an internet driven hobby, with many collectors and dealers doing a lot of their transaction through the medium.
Buy in sets of three or 6, and save lots of $. CALL 1 800 457- 2114 to order, or check out the cards on the LCI website at http://www.lci.com.
Not only are they collectable, but they make perfect stocking stuffers for your friends, family, and loved ones! Both designs come individually gift-packaged, with room for you to write a personalized greeting.
The seasonal holiday sweepstakes cards, which feature winter scenes and holiday designs, are available in 15-, 30-, 60-, 100-, 200-, and 300-minute denominations, and are on sale through December 31 at participating Chevron stations, Samsonite Company Stores, and AT&T Stores across the country, as well as at participating 7-Eleven outlets west of the Mississippi. The "Life's Easy When It's Prepaid" Sweepstakes ends January 31, 1998.
Consumers who use the special holiday-themed AT&T PrePaid Cards from now through January 31, 1998 are automatically entered in the sweepstakes with a chance to win one of five grand prizes and 1500 other prepaid prizes.(1) Randomly selected sweepstakes winners will be instantly notified on the phone call the first time they use the card.
"The holiday cards not only capture the festive mood of the season, but make terrific gifts, as well," said Mark Evans, director of AT&T PrePaid Cards. "We've even packaged them with a gift motif so gift-wrapping isn't necessary. And whether a person shops at one of our participating retail outlets or contacts AT&T directly, we've made it easy for consumers to purchase our cards."
Holiday cards can also be purchased directly from AT&T by calling toll-free 1-800-437-0973, or by visiting the AT&T PrePaid Card website at www.att.com/prepaidcard. As a bonus for holiday cards purchased over the Internet, AT&T will also send them as a gift with a gift card from the sender.
Life's Easy When It's Prepaid Sweepstakes The five grand prizes, each valued at $5,000, include a 7-night cruise for two, Samsonite luggage, AT&T PrePaid Cards, AT&T Digital PCS phone and service, Chevron gasoline, and dry-cleaning service. The 1500 alternate prizes include AT&T PrePaid Cards and gift certificates for luggage, music CDs, and books.
"Consumers tell us that using the AT&T PrePaid Card is both easy and convenient," said Evans. "And since it's AT&T, consumers also know that it is backed by AT&T's 24-hour customer care service, and they can feel assured that they are purchasing a prepaid card from a company they know and trust."
AT&T Corp. is the world's premier communications and information services company, serving more than 90 million customers, including consumers, businesses and government. It runs the world's largest, most sophisticated communications network and is the leading provider of long-distance and wireless services.
(1) Non-purchasers may send in their names and addresses to receive a one-minute personal identification number, allowing them access to the program's platform.
For further information on this card, Contact Vince Porteous at (206) 935-3576 or metalcore@aol.com
Prepaid is perfect for travelers and makes long distance calling easier than ever. The per minute rate is the same 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; no surcharges for the first minute, no premium pricing for peak calling times and best of all for travelers, no giant mark-ups when calling from a hotel. Discussing the benefits of prepaid, Doug Fieldhouse, CEO of 1-800-PRE-PAID comments, "Long distance pricing is more confusing than ever with the grossly inflated first minute charges as well as region and time specific pricing. 1-800-PRE-PAID offers freedom from unexpected phone bills; in fact it offers freedom from any bills at all. The low $25 dollar price makes this gift ideal for stocking stuffers providing 75 minutes of domestic long distance, convenience, security and a great opportunity to keep in touch."
The 1-800-PRE-PAID Gift Card offers quality international and domestic service. Call to over 200 countries around the globe. When you run short on calling time, a one minute, domestic toll-free call to the customer service center is all that is needed to recharge your card or order additional cards and receive generous mileage awards.
For more information about the 1-800-PRE-PAID Gift Card or other cards that offer AAdvantage miles, Mileage Plus miles or Reno Air QQuick Miles awards, call 1-800-PRE-PAID (800-773-7243) or 503-790-2500 Until Next Week,
From: Theresa McCandless
The card says "The Santa Hotline" and has a neat drawing of Santa looking at a bottle of Coke (with the Coca-Cola logo). The card allows kids to call and leave a list of toys they want, and then parents can call and listen to the list. So, it's not regular phone time. It's by World Com. The funny thing is, you would expect the card to have the Walmart and McDonald’s logos prominently displayed on them, since the cards are available only at those locations. But instead the logos are only on the reverse, quite small. It also says on the back "Get you Coca-Cola Sundblom Santa Hotline Card only at McDonald's in Walmart."
From: Maria Rublee
From: Steven Taylor
Until Next Week,
Alan
2) Direct e-mail. Send a message to: phoneline@cardmall.com
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