While the newsletter is no longer published on a weekly basis, it is one of the longest running publications in the United States. Circulation of the newsletter has held pretty steady. While off from its high of about 3,500, the newsletter still has over 3,000 people subscribed (3,008 to be exact as of today) - The great thing about this hobby is that it is an international one. While things have slowed down here in the United States, there still is an active marketplace in other countries. Many classic U.S. cards are available at prices much lower than their highs in the middle 1990's, and many of these cards are leaving the United States headed for collectors overseas. There may be a day when gathering a collection of classic U.S. cards like AT&T and NYNEX will be very difficult to do. At the current prices, now is a good time to fill in missing items of your collection.
From Dave Degelman:
I want to say a few words. First and foremost, not enough good things can be said about Peter Novak. This young man did just an outstanding job. I know personally the amount of time he put in on this show. Thank you Peter. For me, the show was a huge success and I mean for more reasons than getting some some wonderful Coke cards. I met some of the most gracious and wonderful people ever !!! Bruce left out quite a few and I would have too. However, Dan and Sophia - Richy - Parvinda - Richard Morelli and Ms Rosas - Veronica and Stuart representing MV Cards - Art Moon and everyone else - THANK YOU for making the show such a huge success. Bill - Al - and Peter -- could we have had a better drive to the show ??????? All the US dealers - Thanks !!!
Location was a problem - everyone recognizes that and acknowledges the next show will be different. Orlando is nice as there are alot of collectors in Florida - but the possibility (only mentioned - nothing firm) of possibly combining with the Metrocard show in N.Y. (which I understand is growing) is also a possibility. A new Club will be born from this show - the Bradenton-St Petersburg-Tampa area.
From Bruce Harmon:
Just thought I'd give you a brief report about the Phonecard Collectors Expo 2000 which took place this past weekend in Naples Florida. Overall it was a lot of fun as dealers and collectors from all over the world were set up or just simply attending. Japan, Canada, Norway, United States, Trinidad, Brazil were just some of the countries represented by dealers and collectors.
It was the first time in many years that a lot of the *old time* US dealers were all together and set up at the same show. Collector traffic through the door was slower than we had hoped and most of us think that it was due to location of the show and the small amount of time that the show was heavily promoted.
I would like to say that Peter Novak did an outstanding job promoting this show with the amount of time he had to work with. Peter did ALL the right things including getting the backing of Howard Segermark and ITA. We're all hoping to do this again next year in a much more centralized location such as Orlando (near the airport) or perhaps even NY. The general consensus however is that Orlando will probably be the place. There will be a lot more time to effectively promote the show as well.
Some dealers did an overwhelming amount of business while other dealers unfortunately did not. Those that didn't however still had a great time and said they would seriously consider coming back next year. The dealers that did do well sold tons and tons of inexpensive cards as that apparently is what most collectors are now interested in. You can draw your own conclusions as to whether or not that's a good thing. My overall sales exceeded my projections as to what I wanted to do and I was extremely pleased. As is always the case, if you have a good selection of cards and you know the market you'll always do well at a show like this if you're a dealer. As a collector, if you've never, ever been to a phonecard collectors show you honestly don't know what you're missing. Just to give you an example, a longtime customer of mine from Chicago sat down at my booth to go through a few boxes of inexpensive cards. Within seconds he had already pulled out a BIG stack of cards that he had never seen before that he wanted (of course we'll never see every card issued) and thought he'd be in big trouble because I had 4 other boxes I knew he just had to look through. I told him that he did in fact need to go though the boxes as there were definitely cards in them he would want when he saw them. I also told him that no matter how well myself or anyone else can describe a card online when we offer cards, there is nothing like seeing the actual card in person. Since who knows when the next show will be, he just had to go through the boxes. Obviously he was worried about what they would all cost and I told him, "don't worry, the more you buy the cheaper they will be and you'll love the price!" Well, wouldn't you know it, when all was said and done he walked away with some great cards that otherwise he might have never seen and obviously never would have owned if it wasn't for this show. He was extremely happy!
In addition to the show, there was a huge BBQ at the main hotel Saturday night and the turnout was fabulous! Basically every Dealer and a handful of collectors hung out at the BBQ, talked about cards, partied and had a great time. Lots of pictures were taken that will be part of a story in an upcoming issue of InteleCard News and as soon as I receive all of the pictures they will be scanned and uploaded to my website for everyone to check out. In addition to the show and BBQ, Steve Eyer had his room open to everyone Friday and Saturday nights with plenty of snacks and drinks and as usual, people were coming and going all night swapping stories and above all having a GREAT TIME!
In a hobby where some people don't always get along or agree on things, this show proved that *most* people can and do come together to have a good time, promote this hobby and even bury the proverbial hatchet with regards to what may have happened in the past. I can say that it was probably one of the most if not the most enjoyable show I've ever done/attended and a lot of new friends were made by everyone. Let's hope we do it again next year and as soon as a date and place is hopefully confirmed, you should really consider attending.
From Steve Schwartz:
The Naples Phone Card Expo 2000 show was a good one for us and for collectors. It was attended by dealers from around the world, and though collector attendance wasn't as good as all had hoped, this first Expo 2000 Show appears to be the beginning of a very good annual event. Our sincere compliments to Peter Novak who organized and agonized, and fretted over the details of the Show.
The Show took place in an old train depot station. It was located toward the end of a high-class street with lots of ritzy shops & restaurants... a rather run-down place in a high-rent district. Who would have guessed the value of the cards that were inside ?
We displayed over a thousand cards worth a total value of many thousands of dollars, as did most of the other dealers. We displayed very rare AT&T TeleTickets and inexpensive topicals, and though we only sold 2 beginner kits... that's a beginning for two more collectors !
We rarely were able to get away from our booth, as there always seemed to be a collector or other dealer talking with us. Sales directly at the show were moderate the first day, but later that night we received 2 rather large e-mail orders based on the items we displayed and the price lists we had handed out (Our 32 page full-color brochures along with our abridged price list). The 2nd day (Sunday) attendance was smaller, and most of the dealers had closed by 2pm. And just this week we completed buying a large phone card collection that was brought to our attention at the Show.Many bins of inexpensive cards were available at the Show, though not through us. Our experience was that we sold some rather expensive Coca-Cola cards, along with some moderately priced topicals like Elvis, Marilyn, Disney, puzzles, sports, and some miscellaneous. We know of at least another booth-holder who traded a valuable collection of Disney cards (and maybe other themes) for a number of very rare Coke cards worth hundreds of dollars each... it seems there's a market for phone cards in all price ranges and themes.
We offered 4 different AT&T co-logod cards with the "MoneyCard.com" name. We printed 250 each, and gave one away with every $25. purchase. We also sold some sets of 4 for $15./set. The people at the Show were the first to see these brand new cards that were delivered to us just days before the Show, and we received many nice compliments.
Dealers & collectors were happily talking about the hobby, the Show, their collections, and there was lots of sharing of knowledge, and enthusiasm. Pictures were taken, friendships were formed, pen-pal e-mail friends were united in person, old relationships were rekindled, and it was a very positive experience. We look forward to possibly seeing YOU at the 2001 Show in Orlando next year !
From Peter Novak:
Phonecard Collectors EXPO 2000 a great start. Naples, Florida on September 9-10 gave host to a truly unique fair for phonecard collectors. The fair was hosted by the International Telecard Association (www.telecard.org) and MVCards (www.mvcards.com). The show was sponsored by Acmetel.com, Phonecardcollector.com and Moneycard.com
Unlike at other international fairs, phonecard enthusiasts from around the world were able to get to know each other well and make long lasting friendships. Exhibitors and attendees came from 5 continents and 12 countries. The barbacue on Saturday was well attended late into the morning. Ways to bring back the North American/International hobby were discussed. There was a clear concensus on the need for a strong English languaged collector magazine.
Naturally there were big deals made. For example over a half-dozen Chorley testcards changed hands as well as tens of thousands of other cards. Collectors and dealers were able to find a wide variety of cards, including cashcards, testcards and more.
The fair's auction featured a full CTST chipcard set, uncut sheets, rare showcards and much more. The winning bid for the CTST set went for an amazing $70! Several unique cards and magazines were debuted and showcased at the fair.
The official showcard, made by Continental Plastics is sent to all attendees. The card is the official Power of Prepaid Telecom showcard, with the logo of the collector fair added to it. Only 200 cards were made.
Communications Design Group tested a snowglobe phonecard for the fair. Only 250 cards were made. The card is in a see-through pouch, in a clear liquid. There were only 250 cards made, with 5 minutes on each card.
Lou Kurowski introduced a unique Canadian phonecard for the fair. Only 100 were made.
9278 Communications debuted its MTV and WWF phonecards for the fair. The entire stock of 100 factory samples/ each design were distributed.
Capcomm Group, together with KODAK featured a unique motion imaging that will be used for some future phonecards. Capcomm also brought the only phonecard that has been in space.
Moneycard.com showcased a brand new set of 4 AT&T Moneycard.com cards. A card was given with each purchase over $25.
Richard Marelli debuted the first Guatemalan catalogue for the fair.
Phonecard Collectors EXPO 2001
Seeing the success of this year's fair, most probably this expo will become an annual event. The location will be either New York and/or Orlando. We will probably offer a complimentary table to those who exhibited this year. Organization of the fair is starting immediately, so that everyone will have time to prepare and put off time for the show. The next fair will probably be in Orlando at the end of August or the beginning of September. Thank you to each and every one of you for attending and making this a great show!
See the official showcard at WPD's NEWS www.wpdphonecards.com
I started my trip in the Ft. Lauderdale area, where I have relatives. I drove down what is called Alligator Alley (Interstate 75) and realized very quickly that Naples was a rather isolated town in Florida. All along I thought the biggest challenge for the show would be getting collectors to attend. As others have noted, collector attendance was very light, but I do not think many dealers were too surprised by that. Those who were smart used this as an opportunity to network as well as have it be a buying opportunity. I was able to purchase many quality cards at very good prices. Taking me back a few years, Bruce Harmon had boxes of the 1996 National Scoreboard Coca Cola, issued jointly by B&B Cards. I couldn't resist picking up a few boxes, and I had a great time opening them too.
I also really missed getting together with long time friends in the hobby. I've been to several shows, including Tom Hunt's Albany show back in 1996, some of the California shows, and the FUN show in 1999 sponsored by KARS-Unlimited. The mood at the FUN show was tempered by the announcement that Moneycard Collector had folded. After all of 1999 passing, and many months into 2000, I doubted that I would ever see such a gathering of old-time dealers in the United States again. I am glad I was wrong.
Peter Novak is already planning on the next show, and by the opinion of the dealers at the last show, I believe it will be held in Orlando around the same time of the year. I also would expect many of the dealers to display again. When the dates are finalized, they will be publicized here. If you are a U.S. collector, you simply can not afford to miss the show. Orlando is a great place to visit, and airfare is reasonably inexpensive since it is a resort town.
For a pictorial review of the show, be sure to visit:
http://www.phonecardcentral.com/expo2000/
The first is available by joining the Greater Toronto Phonecard Club. They publish a quarterly newsletter that was included with the membership fee. At the expo, I was able to acquire three of the cards that they produced, as well as have a membership. The cost is $10 Canadian to Canadian addresses, $15 U.S. to U.S. addresses, and $20 U.S. for elsewhere in the world. Contact the Greater Toronto Phonecard Club at
GTPC
C/O Pat Evans
145 Renfield St.
Guelph, ON Canada N1E 4N1
The second publication is published by Richard Spartveit, from Norway. This publication is in English, and is published quarterly. The issues I saw were about 20 pages each, and contained articles and collecting information. Richie is a very knowledgeable collector, and this publication is more a hobby than a business. I subscribed, as well as committed a year of advertising.
He has two subscription options. One is for $23 per year, and the other is $38. The $38 subscription will give you a larger format magazine (same number of pages, just larger text) as well as enter you in a draw with every issue to receive valuable phonecards. He can be contacted at:
T.P.C. Magazine
C/O ER.S. Spartveit
PB 184 Fana
5859 Bergen, NORWAY
Three of the charter members got together to discuss the status of the hobby, plans for the sixth anniversary meeting and the well being of each other and our families. Tom and Susan Zelinzki and I met to share some phonecards and cordialities.
We also discussed the transfer of The T &DCJ to Mike McGrath. Best wishes to you Mike. Thanks for picking up where Art left off. We hope you can make it out to one of our future meetings. Next meeting, Wednesday, September 20th, then October 18th, then the big 6th anniversary extravaganza...
Come on the 20th to share your ideas of how BIG we should plan. It will be interesting to hear the reports of the success of the pc show in florida going on this weekend into next week. What is your opinion on inviting a reporter from the Washington Post to our October meeting to generate a feature article on the WDCPCCG? As Howard Segermark says, "The real growth is going to come from collector-driven innovations."December 1999 Intele-CardNews.
The Telephone & Debit Card Journal is a monthly publication. Founded in 1995 in the U.S., it is the longest-running phone- and cashcard newsletter/magazine in the English language in the world. All categories of telephone and smart cards/cash cards are discussed, including Visa Cash, transit cards, gift certificate cards, casino slot cards and silver strikes.Beginning with the October issue, I will become the Telephone Editor of this newsletter. I will be in charge of two monthly columns:
1) "Promotional Phonecards"
News on promotional cards and how to obtain them. (Even if the promotion is regional in nature, it will be interesting to write about.)
2) "Worldwide Phonecards"
Phonecard/cashcard news based on a specific theme or region. October 2000 topic: CANADA For those of you who remember my "O Canada" columns in Moneycard Collector (1995-98), you can expect the same attention to detail and variety of issuers. I look forward to your support. Submissions for the columns should arrive in my mailbox by the 20th of each month for consideration in the next month's issue. Contact information appears at the end of this message. Subscription and sample copy information is available at: http://alcor.concordia.ca/~ra_warr/pcard.html .
Until Next Time,
Alan
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