Newsgroups: alt.business.multi-level

In alt.business.multi-level, howard@Redwood.XAIT.Xerox.COM (Howard Bernstein) writes:

> Product is telephone calling cards.  Good for usage currently in the 48 US,
> Hawaii, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, Canada, proposals out to
> major european countries.

No guarantees yet about worldwide acceptability.

> Card has no setup charge (typically 75 - 80 cents for MCI,ATT,Sprint).  Flat

MCI has no set up charge.  You can switch your phone to MCI for free (they
reimburse you for the charge you receive).  Calling cards come with it.

> per minute fee starting at .249/minute.  Drops with accumulated usage (no time
> limit) as low as .149/minute.  The rates for calls to/from Canada are expected
> to be slightly higher. Per minute rates lower with calls made within some
> states.

How can they have a flat rate?  They ultimately hook up into the long
distance lines already in use by AT&T,MCI,Sprint.  So, they must pay
for access.  .249/minute must be high enough to cover the majority of
calls made, meaning, you will ultimately pay more for your calls since
your high average is much higher than most calls you make.

Think of your call costs as distributed over a bell curve.  The flat 
rate must be towards the high end of the curve in order to avoid losing
money on those calls that are most expensive.  So, on those calls that
are cheaper (80%) you pay more than you would with AT&T,MCI,Sprint that
have a graduated charge scale.

> Card is pre-paid in $20/50/100/250/500 amounts.  Customer may renew with

So its a debit card.  

> Fraud proof/resistent.  Two people cannot use the same pin number at the same
> time, unlike major carriers.  If not automatically renewing, face amount runs

At the same time?  How fraud resistent is that?  I watch over your shoulder
as you dial and enter your pin (see TV shows covering phone card fraud),
you leave - I have the number now for good.  I'm free to use it anytime I
feel like it, and quite long odds that it will be the same time you are
using it.  Am I missing something, or did you leave something out here.

> Cards may be customized with camera ready artwork.

Pretty, but what's the benefit here?  I never take my calling card out of
my wallet (I memorized the number), so I would never see the artwork.

> Can be marketed for fundraising.  Fundraiser receives between 2 and 6% of
> usage, depending on volume in specific month.

Nice touch.

> I will not mention the company, so as not to jeopardize my situation if I have
> misrepresented them in any way (although I have not).  The company has been
> in business for over a year, and the service has been available since March of
> this year.  There are currently less than 7000 representatives.

Congrats on looking into MLMs.  MLMs capitalize on the marketing wave of
the future (and now): networking  (read _MegaTrends_ & _MegaTrends_2000_).

FYI, Amway distributors can sign up people on MCI long distance.  They
receive 1.25% of all long distance calls made by people they sign up
(including themselves) in two forms:  1) 1.25% cash back   2) 1.25%
volume points.  MCI of course has many nice money saving features for
customers (see multiple advertisements).  Many Amway distributors 
specialize in selling MCI to individuals and businesses to get these
bonuses.

Compare this reward to what your MLM offers and choose wisely.
Newsgroups: alt.business.multi-level,alt.config,alt.personals,alt.self-improve,alt.sex,misc.education,misc.entrepreneurs,misc.jobs.misc,misc.misc,sci.misc,sci.psychology