Phonecards On-Line© is Published by Alan Cohen

September 9, 2001

Issue #202

Current Circulation: 3,000+

Publisher's Note

I’ve received a few email messages recently that have referenced that phonecard newsletter that I used to publish, so it is time again to put out another issue. I just checked, and the last issue published was on May 20, 2001. I had just found out that I was moving to Oregon, and in all fairness I did mention a long period of silence. 3 ½ months is the longest I have gone without writing a word. It’s no wonder people think that the publication has ceased.

I remember when I last made a big move (From New York to California) and I had to miss a week. (For those interested, you can view these issues at:

http://www.cardmall.com/pol/pol040.htm

I am going to continue to press on with the newsletter, later this month will mark the 6^th anniversary. Now that I have relocated to Oregon, I do find myself with more time than I had in California, so that will be helpful in publishing on a more regular basis. What would be more helpful would be contributions from readers – Anything is really welcome, and that will determine how frequently this gets published. Otherwise, you will get tired of only hearing me ranting and raving!

Phone Card Expo 2001

The 2^nd Annual Phone Card Expo was held July 28-29 in Orlando, Florida. I’ve heard a few reports about the show, but would always be interested in hearing more. Bruce Harmon posted a positive show report, and seemed to think it was more heavily attended than 2000. I’ll try to publish his article next month, I recently upgraded to a new computer, and am still unpacking from my move, so I don’t have access to the article at the moment. Peter Novak, who organized the show, reported that over 100 collectors stopped by (I attended the 2000 show, and this is definitely an improvement) but fewer exhibitors. I was unable to attend due to the pending move, but I do hope to be there for the 2002 show. If anyone has anything to say about the show, please send it my way!

Phonecards in Oregon

One problem I always had buying retail phonecards in New York and California was that the clerk seemed to usually want to charge sales tax. Phonecards are tax exempt, the taxes are already supposed to be calculated in the phone time. One great thing about Oregon is that there is no sales tax here, so that problem has disappeared. Of course, I have not purchased a phonecard from a retail outlet in quite some time, most cards these days are generic cards. One nice thing that I will have to try out is that US West has a presence in Oregon, and I have several of their active chip cards. The payphones I noticed by them seem to accept the chip cards, so it will be an experiment I will try in the near future. I’ve only used chip cards in Canada and Mexico, never in the United States.

Cash Cards Magazine

I’m pleased to see a new publication being produced to cover North American Cards. While it is published in Canada, it does cover all North American cards. I hope the publication succeeds.

That’s all for this issue. I will publish something before the end of this month to commemorate six years of POL. The frequency for this newsletter depends on you, the reader, so anything you have to contribute would be really welcome!

Until Next Time,

Alan

Distribution

Phonecards On-Line© is published by Alan Cohen. It is a newsletter devoted to phonecards - Current news, viewpoints, and reviews of new issues.

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