There is a promotion going on to encourage people to register (There is no obligation to ever participate in an auction if you register, it will just allow you to bid or start an auction of your own at any time. Each week, a $10 Gift Certificate for the Phone Card Store ( http://www.phonecardcentral.com/store ) will be awarded to one person drawn from all that register.
Date: June 6 - Dimanche, le 6 juin Time: 9AM - 5 PM - L'heure: 9h - 17h Free Admission - Entr9e Gratuite LOCATION: -(MAP)- Ramada Hotel 1677 Wilson Ave. Toronto Exhibitors: Bell Collectors Club Bell Telebec Collectors Club Ben's Phonecards Com Gal Daniel Deslaurier Joe De Freitas John Okrent Leslie Brooks Louis Kurowski Mondo Telecards Phonecards del Mundo Rosemary Warren Steve Raskin Tom Frater Torsten Weller
The second annual show is again taking place in the beautiful secession-style palace of Prague4s Fairgrounds in Holesovice. 150 exhibitors from the Czech Republic, Russia, Canada, China and 20 other countries will be exhibiting and selling their goods. A post office with commemorative stamps will be set up at the exhibition. Saturday, 11 September has been declared United Nations Day (with a commemorative stamp from the UN Postal Administration).A new catalogue of all Czechoslovak and Czech phone cards will be issued for the show.A representative catalogue will be issued for the show.
Exhibitors have the opportunity to sell not only to visitors but also to wholesalers. The Collector is the only opportunity to meet collectors from the Czech republic and surrounding countries and to appreciate the beauty of the Czech capital city - golden Prague.
Opening Hours: 10 -11 September 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
12 September 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Entry Fee: single - day ticket 40 CZK ( 1,00 Euro )
three - day ticket 70 CZK ( 1,80 Euro )
For more information and an application kindly ask:
Progres Partners Advertising, CZ - 111 21
Praha 1, Opletalova 55
tel.: +420/2/261063,
fax: +420/2/24218312,
e-mail: info@ppadvert.cz
The research found the following percentages of adults use: credit cards, 89 percent; ATM cards, 61 percent; membership cards, 59 percent; debit cards, 37 percent; prepaid cards, 33 percent; prepaid phone cards, 29 percent; loyalty cards, 25 percent; and smart cards, 5 percent.
Standard Register, which provides comprehensive services to card issuers, commissioned the telephone survey of 1,202 randomly selected adults to determine consumers' awareness, opinions and usage of plastic cards. Results of the survey, which was conducted in conjunction with Card Marketing, were released at the CardTech/SecurTech trade show in Chicago.
``The survey reinforces our expectation that usage of debit cards (linked to bank accounts), gift and other types of prepaid cards will increase significantly over the next two years,'' says Susan Kraus, marketing manager, Imaging Services Group, Standard Register. ``With results showing the number of people aware of debit and prepaid cards is more than double the percentage of those actually using them, there's tremendous potential to increase usage by educating consumers about the financial benefits, ease of use and other advantages of debit and prepaid cards.''
Half of adults (50 percent) reported regularly carrying one to three plastic cards on a regular basis, while 30 percent say they usually carry four to six. However, the survey indicated that the number of cards people actually have used is significantly higher.
``Consumers reporting that they carry such small numbers of cards was a key finding of the survey,'' says Kraus. ``It points out that people think only of those cards they use on a regular basis, such as credit and ATM, which indicates that other types of cards are being underutilized. Card issuers can increase their overall effectiveness and consumer awareness by linking more benefits directly to card usage.''
Prepaid and Debit Cards
Prepaid phone cards rank number one among cards for prepaid services and have been used by 29 percent of Americans. Slightly more than one-half (52 percent) of people who use prepaid phone cards report using them while traveling. Compared to a three-minute call made via payphone, traditional calling card, collect or person-to-person, prepaid cards can save travelers between a dollar and as much as five dollars per minute on long-distance calls. Other situations cited by prepaid phone cards users include placing long distance calls from home (20 percent) and making calls from a payphone (16 percent).
``As the survey makes clear, prepaid phone cards offer tremendous potential for consumer growth and acceptance,'' says Kraus. ``By 2002, approximately ten years after prepaid phone cards were introduced domestically, we expect consumer usage to be above 50 percent. Retailers and promotional marketers will drive growth by issuing prepaid cards for promotional giveaways, sales incentives, survey tools and a host of other special purposes.''
Other services for which people use prepaid cards include gasoline, cellular service and Internet services. Approximately a quarter of consumers reported giving or receiving a prepaid card as a gift (25 and 29 percent, respectively), with prepaid phone cards cited as the most frequently given or received card.
``Gift cards issued by retailers represent another opportunity for growth of prepaid cards,'' says Kraus. ``Gift cards are convenient alternatives to paper gift certificates. They can be used more than once, which means the recipient can shop at a store until the specified dollar amount has been spent. Retailers appreciate that all of the money on a card is spent in their store, and we look for the number of retailers issuing gift cards to increase significantly in 1999.''
Debit cards tied to checking accounts, introduced by banks over the last two years, are used by 37 percent of adults. Debit functions are available as stand-alone cards or included on an ATM card. 40 percent of consumers who own debit cards use them more frequently than their ATM card, 33 percent use debit cards less often than ATM cards, and 21 percent use the two types of cards about the same.
Smart Cards
Smart cards, or plastic cards embedded with a microprocessor chip for multi-functions, continue to have low levels of usage (5 percent) and awareness (25 percent) among consumers, the survey shows. Even after consumers were given an explanation, only 28 percent reported having heard of smart cards.
The survey revealed one of the key reasons smart cards haven't caught on in the U.S. -- 64 percent of consumers reported having no interest in a card that combined frequent flyer or other loyalty benefits, credit and debit functions, medical information or other features on one card. Of those who would be interested in such a card, medical alert information was given as the most important service feature (29 percent).
Loyalty Cards
Used by 25 percent of Americans, 36 percent of loyalty cards owners report shopping more often at stores where they participate in a loyalty program. In addition, the influence of a loyalty card on shopping preference was most evident with younger consumers.
Methodology
A total of 1,202 telephone interviews with consumers throughout the U.S. were conducted during the first two weeks of March, 1999. The interviews were collected using a ``National Probability Sample,'' which allowed the results to be projected at the 95 percent confidence level with an error of only plus or minus 3 percent.
The interviews were introduced as public opinion polls about plastic cards that many people carry. Respondents were asked a series of questions on plastic card awareness and usage. In the course of the interviews, Standard Register was not identified as the sponsor of the study. For more information on the survey and detailed results, go to www.standardregister.com/products/cardsurvey.
Standard Register (NYSE:SR - news) is a recognized leader in delivering document management systems, products and services to healthcare, financial and general business markets. Headquartered in Dayton, Ohio, the company operates a nationwide network of printing facilities and sales offices. Standard Register reported 1998 revenues of $1.397 billion. For more information, call 800/755-6405 or visit www.standardregister.com.
Until Next Time,
Alan
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