telecom@eecs.nwu.edu (TELECOM Moderator) (02/11/91)
An easy and financially painless way to test your 900 marketing skills is available now from a fellow here in the Chicago area who rents ready to use 900 numbers. His deal is you sign a one page contract identifying the nature of the line. Your contract is month-to-month, thirty days termination notice required. First month's rent is $300; subsequent months are $200 each. All his lines are passive, or one-way outbound announcements only. All are fed from his voicemail system. Each number can handle up to 1000 calls at a time. The rates are set at $2 per minute for a maximum call of five minutes. You get $1.25, the service bureau gets 75 cents, which they split with Sprint, the supplier of the numbers. You see the man one day, sign the contract and pay the rent. The line is turned on within a few minutes. A separate number is used to call into the machine to record your message, count your calls, etc. As I said, it is not really a bad deal for someone who has considered starting a 900 number for whatever reason but is afraid of losing their shirt financially in the process of getting started. Most 900 suppliers want a grand or more up front and a commitment. This guy says as long as you want to rent his for $200 per month you can. $2 per minute means 100 call minutes per month to pay him off ... if your outbound message is five minutes long that is 20 calls per month to break even ... if you can't do that much in a month you have no business talking about a 900 number. Contact Wayne Barnett, 708-953-6299 for more specifics or to rent your own 900 number for a month or two and see if you can do something with it. Patrick Townson