Five Phone Card Purchasing Tips
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zBoost YX-510 Cell Phone Signal Booster Dual Band unit for Home or Office Sale Price: Too low to display Average Rating: ![]() |
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Satisfy all your cellular phone needs with the Wireless Extenders YX510-PCS/CEL zBoost zP Wireless Booster, which works with both cellular frequencies (800 and 1900 MHz) and can extend cellular coverage up to 2500 square feet... |
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Motorola RAZR V3 Unlocked Phone with Camera, Video Player--International Version with No Warranty (Satin Pink) Sale Price: $55.00 Average Rating: ![]() |
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Thin is definitely in. At just over a half-inch thick, the Motorola RAZR V3 is the perfect combination of sleek design and powerful features. With long-range Bluetooth, support for video playback, a VGA (640 x 480) camera and a gorgeous color screen, the RAZR V3 is everything you're looking for in a stylish mobile companion... |
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Cellular Innovations A-BOOSTER Universal Cell Phone Antenna Booster Sale Price: $0.01 Average Rating: ![]() |
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CELLULAR INNOVATIONS ABOOSTER Universal Antenna Booster Fits behind battery 1-year warranty |
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Wilson Electronics 815226 Sleek Cell Phone Signal Cradle Booster for All Cell Phones with Mini Magnet Mount Antenna - For Single User Sale Price: $80.00 Average Rating: ![]() |
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Reduce dropped calls, increase 3G data rates in weak signal areas and originate calls from dreaded "dead spots" with the Sleek Cell Phone Signal Cradle Booster from Wilson Electronics. The Sleek and its external vehicular antenna increase any phone's output power to the cell site while improving its ability to hear signals it normally cannot, keeping you more reliably connected... |
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Etón American Red Cross ARCFR160R Microlink Self-Powered AM/FM/NOAA Weather Radio with Flashlight, Solar Power and Cell Phone Charger (Red) Sale Price: Too low to display Average Rating: ![]() |
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Self-Powered AM/FM/NOAA Weather Radio with Flashlight, Solar Power, and Cell Phone Charger |
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Wilson Electronics 801241 MobilePro Multiple-User Cell Phone Signal Booster for Car/Home Sale Price: $203.43 Average Rating: ![]() |
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If you experience dropped calls and poor cell phone signal quality in your car, home, or office, then the Wilson MobilePro Cell Phone Signal Booster Kit is the solution. Increasing your cell phone's power by more than 12 times, the Wilson MobilePro significantly improves the performance of your cellular and data devices by increasing the power output of your cell phone signal where you are experiencing a weak signal... |
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Fisher-Price Elmo's World Talking Cell Phone Sale Price: $10.90 Average Rating: ![]() |
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Elmo's World comes to life for your child with this adorable, interactive cell phone featuring moving eyes and an animated lenticular screen. Choose from two fun play modes. In Mode 1, Elmo identifies the numbers you press... |
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Samsung B3310 Unlocked Cell Phone with 2 MP Camera - International Version with No Warranty (Titan Gray) Sale Price: $94.99 Average Rating: ![]() |
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The Samsung B3310 is a must-have mobile phone to keep you in constant contact with friends in both your real and virtual worlds. Featuring a QWERTY keypad for smooth, quick texting and unique Pop-Up SNS technology, the Samsung B3310 will be your social savior... |
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Plantronics M214C Headset with Adjustable Volume Sale Price: $9.84 Average Rating: ![]() |
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PLNM214C Noise-cancelling microphone blocks out background noise so your calls have better clarity. Features a microphone adjust switch for optimizing transit volume. Combines premium audio performance with sleek, comfortable styling... |
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BlackBerry Skin for BlackBerry Curve (Black) Sale Price: $0.01 Average Rating: ![]() |
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Black colored OEM silicon to fit the the Blackberry 8300 Curve handset. Silky smooth feeling which fits perfectly onto the shape of handset. |
Purchasing a phone card without being tricked can be difficult since phone card sellers often advertise low rates to attract shoppers than charge cleverly disguised "hidden fees" which can more than double the cost of making a call. In many cases, the phone card with the lowest advertised rate also has low quality and is not the cheapest to use since it can be loaded with a variety of hidden charges. It is generally best to make a purchase from a reputable phone card website that discloses all of the details for each card listed. These details should include all charges for making a call (including taxes, fees and surcharges), a customer service phone number, customer ratings on quality and service and a money back guarantee. In addition, we offer the following 5 important tips to phone card shoppers.
1. Purchase a Minimum Denomination. Unless you are familiar with a particular phone card it is usually best to purchase a minimum denomination and make some trial calls with the card to the locations you wish to call before purchasing a large denomination. We suggest purchasing a phone card with a face value of $10 or less before making a large purchase.
2. Check and Compare Rates between Phone Cards. Most phone card websites include a rate finder which shows the cost per minute for making calls from one location to another. The rates listed in these rate finders are generally just the base rate. They do not show all of the added fees and taxes that can vary significantly between phone cards. Therefore, it is important to read the fine print before purchasing a phone card and be sure to include all fees and taxes when comparing rates between phone cards. There are a few companies that charge a connection fee for each call. These can significantly increase the cost of each call so we feel that calling cards that charge a connection fee should be avoided. Some other common fees are maintenance fees, pay phone fees, toll free access number fees, taxes, service fees and surcharges. Other less obvious hidden fees include rounding interval (the increment used in rounding off the duration of a call for billing purposes) and a long call fee. A card with a larger rounding interval is generally more expensive since the length of a call is rounded up to the next rounding interval for billing purposes.
3. Customer Reviews. Websites like Smart Global Call International Phone Cards include customer reviews for the phone cards they sell. We have found that these reviews are useful since they provide a good indication of calling card quality based on the experience of other users.
4. Access Numbers. Check for the availability of access numbers in the locations where you plan to use the card before making a purchase. Toll free access numbers are convenient but some phone cards charge a relatively high fee (more than one cent per-minute) for using them. In some cases toll free access is free or the charge is relatively small (less than one cent per-minute). There is typically no additional charge for using a local access number but some phone cards do not have local access numbers or they only have a few.
5. Phone Card Coverage. Phone cards typically have limited coverage so check the rates for making calls to the locations you wish to call before making a purchase. Also check rates to the type of phone (land line or cell phone) you plan to call. Some phone cards offer great rates to land lines but very high rates to cell phones in the same country. There are honest phone cards that offer high quality and good rates for making cheap international calls to almost any location in the world. However, there are others that advertise super cheap rates but load the product with so many hidden fees that the cost for making calls is actually much higher than normal. The purpose of this article is to help shoppers avoid some common pitfalls and make informed choices.
Bob Graham is the owner/editor of several telecommunication related websites including International Calling Guide and International Calling Guide
















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