Phonecards On-Line - Published by Alan H. Cohen

May 24, 1998


Issue 127

Current Circulation: 2,800+


Phonecards On-Line is Published by Alan Cohen


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In This Issue:

Publishers Note

POL will not be published next week (May 31) Ill be off to New York again. Publication will resume on June 7.

NEWS / COMMENTARIES

Long Beach Show

Its almost June, which means it is time again for the Long Beach Collectibles show. This show is held three times a year in Long Beach, California, and is well worth the trip there. One display there will be a wide selection of coins, stamps, sportscards, and most importantly, phonecards. There will be at least five dealers there, including:

Additionally, there always seem to be a few extra dealers there, and some coin dealers with phonecards in stock. Ill be roaming the bourse on Thursday and Friday, so if you attend be sure to ask for me at one of the dealer tables. Additionally, there will be the traditional Thursday evening get together at a local Thai restaurant hosted by Steve Eyer. Its very informal, and a lot of fun.

For anyone who wants more information about the show, they are now on the web. You can visit the site at: http://www.longbeachshow.com/

Toronto Phonecard Club Show

If you are on the other side of the continent, you may want to consider visiting Toronto for their first phonecard show, to be held on Sunday, June 7th. See the press release below for full details.

The Alpha Phonecard Club

Terry Windholz of TW Phonecards has founded a new phonecard club. By joining for a fee, you will be provided with a limited edition phonecard by USACards, special discounts, a club newsletter, and other special offers.

The web site is located at: http://members.aol.com/AlphaClub/main.html or via e-mail at alphaclub@aol.com.

PRESS RELEASES

Toronto Phonecard Club Show

The Greater Toronto Phonecard Club
The Greater Toronto Phonecard Club presents
PHONECARD SHOW

Free Admission
Date: Sunday, June 7, 1998
Time: 10:00 am - 4:00 pm

Place: Ramada Hotel 1677 Wilson Ave. Toronto

Visit the web site at http://webhome.idirect.com/~chesbal/gtpc.html for further information about the show and club.

Argo City Press Release

Argo City appropriately issues Terrific Comics # 5 as the fifth release in their Classic Golden Age Comics Cover phone card series. This image was dynamically created by comics legend Alex Schomburg. Aside from being a wonderful and parallel companion piece to the Suspense Comics # 3 cover, it is considered to be the "Hens Tooth" as it depicts one of the rarest and most sought after esoteric comics of all time.

Just one look is all it takes to see the wondrous imagination of Schomburgs masterful rendering and attention to detail. At first glance we see a dazzling beauty suspended and bonded with chains over a rack of sharp steel blades in the foreground. One throned hooded evil and demonic figure seems to be directing this terror filled moment as our innocent victim is lowered to her torturous death before him. Henchmen wielding machine guns, pistols, even swords take aim at the attempted rescue. Our heroes seem to be no match for the onslaught of villains surrounding this intensely horrid scenario. So much going on and so tremendously detailed by Alex Schomburg!

This classic cover is regarded as one of the more violent and controversial images to hit the news stands in this time period. Even so, Terrific Comics #5 was published in September of 1944 at the height of WWII, and any depiction of our country standing up to such acts of torture was acceptable to the general public. No doubt, if this appeared in general view today, this image would be rapidly subject to censorship. The original actual comic is extremely scarce as estimates have only about 20 copies that exist at all!

Call Argo for more information at 800-345-9155.

Gazelle Telecard Press Release

Looking for a meaningful way of expressing their gratitude for the referrals they receive from their patients, Seahurst Dental Design of Burien, Washington settled on a promotional phonecard created by Gazelle Telecard. 100 cards were produced, with Worldcom as the long distance carrier. There are 20 minutes of phone time on each card, which expires 12 months from the first call, or 18 months after issue.

Gazelle Telecard can be contacted at (206) 935-3576, or via e-mail metalcore@aol.com

Bingo/Gaming Phonecard

SARASOTA, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 20, 1998--Catalyst Communications, Inc. of Sarasota, Florida, (NASDAQ Bulletin Board symbol "CLYC") announced today the shipment to distributors of their new prepaid phone card/sweepstakes product designed specifically for the Bingo/Gaming market.

The card, which retails for $2.00, features 5 minutes of domestic talk time and, at no additional cost, an opportunity to play the "Lucky Call" scratch and win instant sweepstakes game. The sweepstakes offers a 1 in 5 chance of winning prizes ranging from $1.00 all the way up to two grand prizes of $25,000.00.

The initial printing of 2,000,000 cards has been very well received by the marketplace with pre-sales to 22 major Bingo distributors in 17 states who supply products to over 5,000 retail Bingo halls across America.

Sales and marketing of the new "Lucky Call" phone cards is being handled by Stuart & Associates of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, a leader in product design, manufacturing and marketing of products to the Bingo industry for over 21 years.

"We are very pleased with the initial distributor acceptance of our new premium phone card and excited about having a recognized marketing leader, Stuart & Associates, representing our product(s) within the multi-billion dollar retail Bingo marketplace", said Carl Smith, Chairman.

Payphone Surcharge News

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Friday rejected a 28 cent surcharge that pay phone operators began tacking on to 800-number and credit card calls last year, giving federal regulators six months to reassess the rate.

The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia said the Federal Communications Commission, which established the rate, had not sufficiently justified its decision.

The court left the 28 cent rate in place for the time being but said if the FCC decides to lower the rate, the agency may require pay phone operators to make refunds.

Until last year, pay phone operators were prohibited from charging callers who made ``coinless'' calls using a toll-free 800-number, a credit card or other means. But the 1996 Telecommunications Act required the FCC to ensure that pay phone operators would be ``fairly compensated'' for all calls.

In September 1996, the agency said operators could charge up to 35 cents for all calls, made either with or without coins. The decision was based on a market survey of pay phone rates in places where rates were not regulated.

The appeals court rejected that decision last year, concluding that fair compensation for the two types of calls was significantly different.

So last October, the FCC established a 28 cent rate for coinless calls by calculating that the cost to pay phone operators for such calls was about seven cents less than for calls made with coins.

In Friday's opinion, the court criticized the FCC for subtracting the cost of a coinless call from the market rate of a coin call.

``If costs and rates depend on different factors, as they sometimes do, then this procedure would resemble subtracting apples from oranges,'' the court wrote.

PROMOTIONAL OFFERS

Sams Club

15 min phone cards can be found in specially marked boxes of Expert Software at Sam's Clubs. They appear to be a joint venture between Sam's and Expert Software.

From: Mark Rowland.

Fedco/Karl Malone

I saw yesterday at Fedco Free 10min Karl Malone Phone Card inside package of Rogaine Extra Strength for men. Didn't buy so don't know carrier.

From: Ginnie Katchur

Until Next Time,

Alan

Distribution

Phonecards On-Line is published 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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