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* PHONECARDS FOR SALE: SCANNED IMAGES ON REQUEST - POSTAGE PAID WORLDWIDE:

100 diff. Japan (landscapes and advertising) US$30

300 diff. (as above) US$65 300 mixed Japan US$55

500 mixed Italy (40 kinds - good conditions) US$60

500 as above (40 kinds- little scratches) US$40

100 mixed Lithuania (10 kinds x 10) US$20 4 diff. animals (Italy) US$3

12 diff. football players (Italy) US$9

2 diff. St. Valentin + 1 Mather's Day (Italy) US$4

10 diff. Qatar US$8 10 diff. Ghana US$9

2 diff. Gambia US$2 2 diff. Burkina Faso US$2

2 diff.Benin US$4 6 diff. Mali US$4

1 Nigeria US$2 2 diff. Namibia US$3

1 Myanmar US$4 1 Sierra Leone (Butterfly) US$4

25 diff. Africa US$26 100 diff. Italy US$36

50 diff. U.A.E. US$26 1 Zaire US$8

1 India US$6 200 diff. Singapore, Korea, Malesia US$100

25 diff. animals (Japan) US$13

NEWS / COMMENTARIES

The Chudnow Report: PHONECARDS FOR SURVEYS

by Jim Chudnow (JIMCHUDNOW@compuserve.com)

In September, I attended the Promo '99 Show (run by Promo magazine), at which I learned there was LOADS of "UNKNOWN-to-the-general-public" activity going on in the release of phonecards for PROMOTIONAL purposes:

A representative of SPRINT confirmed that yes, they themselves were issuing around 200 or so NEW cards EACH MONTH for various promotions. (I may well start a multi-part REPORT on various Promo cards I learned about at the Show)...

One of the things that most struck me at Promo '99, was the way a number of companies were promoting the idea of phonecards being used for SURVEYS, as if it was a brand NEW idea. But, the idea isn't "new"-- it simply has been UNDER-PROMOTED:

Around 3 years ago, I had a lengthy multi-part article (September-November of '96) running in PCM MARKET REPORT magazine concerning INTERACTIVE phonecards, & the promise they held. As my article reported, the first extensive "survey" phonecards

were released in May, 1995 by SmarTel out of the Boston area. From the very beginning, such cards showed a tremendously HIGH RESPONSE rate and consumer acceptance-- but few companies seemed "on-the-ball" enough to capitalize on the idea...

I was pleased to see a number of companies working to try to EXPAND the use of such Survey cards at the recent Show: such cards have long proven to be a very CUSTOMER-FRIENDLY, QUICK, and REASONABLY-PRICED way to get information -- while at the same time providing the customer with something of value (namely, phone time for having completed the survey). Perhaps the most energetic promotion of the value of Survey cards at the Promo show was being done by MCI, which used the idea as one of the main thrusts of their exhibit:

MCI passed out specially-made 15-minute "Consider the Possibilities" phonecards highlighting the sky over a sign featuring an arrow facing both left and right. It came attached to a flyer, which urged people to realize they could get a very high marketing-response rate with such cards.

To date, there have been 1500 of the cards distributed (including 200 that went out the 2nd week in December). MCI reports they have targeted the top 1,000 Businesses, Top 50 Ad Agencies, and the Top 50 Promotional Agencies.

" Live The Dream! Promotional Prepaid Phone Cards With Survey! / What Would You Think About? More Than 50% Response Rates / Paying for Only Completed Surveys / Flexible, Real Time Reporting. "When I dialed up the web-site, I saw it gave up-to-the-minute

RESULTS of the questions asked in their card survey (thru the 12/20/99 date I chose). There were 1180 total callers, of which 841 (71.27%) took the time to complete the survey. Here's the "lengthy" (as opposed to the "skinny"):

When you call in to the toll-free number, a recording welcomes you to the MCI Prepaid Card system. When you enter your PIN #, you are told how phonecards can be a "powerful way to get valuable" survey information. You are then asked a series of questions, for which you're to punch in certain numbers to give a "yes" or "no" or similar answer:

Have you ever used Prepaid Phonecards as a promotional tool?...

(60.2% had NOT used cards that way)... When you choose a phone-time vendor, how important is it to choose a "KNOWN" name?... (Not surprisingly, 70.5% felt brand recognition was very important)...Are you aware that a Survey feature could be combined with a phonecard?... (A fairly large 41.1% were NOT aware that surveys could be

done by such cards-- a sign of the lack of proper promotion of the idea, in my opinion)...

... Are you aware a "blind" mailing of phonecards with free time for completing a survey could give a 25-50% or greater response rate to a survey?... (44.5% were not aware of that)... Rate your interest (1-5, 5 being the highest) in finding out more about MCI promotional phonecards.. (26.5% of respondents were highly interested in such info, with a total of 47% having medium to high interest)...

The recording goes on to say: at this point, your respondent to a phonecard survey could be thanked for participating... If you want more info on MCI cards, you could call 877-809-4212 (or, you could enter your phone #, and they would call YOU... The results showed 16.8% of the people entered their phone # to be called, and 83.2% said they'd call MCI)...

At that point, having completed the survey, my MCI card was now "ACTIVE", with the time expiring 1-19-2001 (a customer-friendly lengthy time period)!...

I must've given some real "good" responses, because I was advised that I actually had 17 minutes available (rather than the promised 15), with the time expiring 1-19-2001 (a customer-friendly lengthy time period)!...

By the way-- by having answered the survey, that brings up "questions" as to the "COLLECTIBLE" situation of such survey cards: Normally, a card is considered "mint" if its PIN # is NOT scratched-off... But, if you DON'T scratch off the PIN # & call in, your

TIME is never really "ACTIVATED" (& thus the card's value is never "complete" phone-time-wise)...

So, is the scratched-off card MORE "valuable" to a collector?... Is it still "mint"?...

Once the calling time has "expired", you COULDN'T CHECK if the card was really "active" even in scratched condition... Would you "trust" that the card was REALLY "activated" by someone's having completed all the questions (-- after all, 28.73% of callers did NOT complete the survey)?... Which "condition" type would you PREFER in such a "survey" card?...Maybe we should use a "SURVEY" phonecard to get ANSWERS to those

questions!...

Other NEWS:

On January 13-19, 2000, they will hold the INTERNATIONAL HOUSEWARES SHOW at the McCormick Place convention center in Chicago. A special limited-edition STORED-VALUE mag-striped card (showing the logo and name of the Show) has been issued for the event by METRA, the Northeast Regional Commuter Railroad Corp. The card (to be inserted in turnstiles) will give holders a complimentary 7-day unlimited-rides train pass to the event.

PRESS RELEASES

BEVERLY GLEN CAPITAL CORP. NAME CHANGE TO PHONETIME INC.

Toronto, December 8 – Beverly Glen Capital Corp. announced that it has changed its name to Phonetime Inc. Shareholders voted in favor of the change at the Company’s Annual General Meeting in October. The Company’s symbol has changed from BGCC to PINC effective immediately.

Wayne Silver, President of Phonetime Inc. said the name change is a logical and necessary step. "The name Phonetime places a clear focus and a message to the investment community that we are a telecommunications company," he said. "The new name accurately reflects our core business, which offers pre-paid, long distance phone cards as well as other telecommunications products and services. We own a high capacity switching network to handle our rapidly growing phone traffic."

"Revenues from our telecommunications sector, Phonetime International Inc. has grown at a rate of approximately 300% over the past couple of years and is now in excess of $10,000,000 and we expect our company’s revenues will continue growing in the next year. To accomplish our goal, we plan to develop Phonetime’s brand name on a wide range of prepaid products. We have also introduced a new stylized Phonetime logo that reflects a more mature company and are launching a new web site www.phonetime.com to reinforce our image. In the months ahead, you will see our site evolve as our company grows with many new and innovative telecommunications products and services," added Silver.

PROMOTIONAL OFFERS

Shell Offer

Today in my Shell MasterCard from CHASE bill was a flyer announcing a special Shell Prepaid Card, available only from November 1 to December 31, 1999. There is only one design but the card is offered in $25, $50, and $100 denominations. The phone number is 1-877-79-shell and the total amount will be charged to your Shell MasterCard. However, I was told on the phone that they will take any MC or VISA card for the order. Allow 7 days for shipping or pay $14.25 for overnight delivery--You might need gas fast.

From: Jim Deligianis

Planet RX Free Phone Card

First time buyers at PlanetRx.com get their choice of 3 free items with

their first order. One of the choices is a 30 minute PlanetRx phone

card with an exposed PIN. Card is plastic and is green and white in

color with the Planetrx.com logo. Other freebies include a shampoo,

for complete list.

From: Richard Heckbert

Until Next Time,

Alan

Distribution

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