Unfortunately, there are a lot of shady calling card vendors out there, so your first priority is finding a reputable vendor to buy from.

Finding good vendors is not too hard -- if you know what to look for. Once you've found a good vendor or two, then you can focus on choosing the right card.

Below is a list of factors you want to consider in choosing a reliable, reputable calling card vendor. If you have difficulty finding a reputable vendor, we suggest you consider our recommended calling card vendors.

1. Type of Calling Card Provider

There are several types of calling card providers operating in the market today.

• Calling card resellers
• Telecom carriers
• VoIP carriers

Calling card resellers are far and away the most common type of vendor. There are probably hundreds of resellers operating in the market - though most are very small. There are fewer VoIP carriers or telecom carriers, but these firms tend to be larger and more established.

Any type of company can satisfy your needs, but it is important to realize that resellers don't actually deliver the underlying calling service - they just market the card. The service is provided by another company - a telecom carrier or a VoIP carrier.

more about types of calling card companies >>>>

2. Operates in the Right Countries

If you are likely to be originating calls in more than one country, check to be sure the company has access numbers in the countries you will be in.

If you are likely to be originating calls in more than one country, check to be sure the company has access numbers in the countries you will be in.

Keep an eye out for companies that specialize in the regions you are calling. In some cases, such companies offer better pricing.

3. Offers Competitive Rates

Next check to see that your potential vendor(s) has good per minute rates and reasonable fees. At this stage, don't micro-examine this - we do that in next step where you pick a specific card.

For now, just keep the lower priced vendors and discard the higher priced ones. Check here for more on rates and fees.

4. Has Full Disclosure of Rates and Fees

Look carefully at the vendor's rate and fee disclosures. You want somebody with full and open disclosure. The disclosure example here is a good standard to expect, though not too many vendors are quite as organized as these folks.

We strongly recommend that you eliminate vendors that do not clearly state their fees. Far too many vendors are a bit sneaky, if not outright deceptive, about their fees and you don't want to be doing business with them.

5. Provides Advanced Features

Next look for vendors who offer advanced features like PIN-less dialing, speed dialing, auto-recharge, and online account management. These items are especially important if you plan to use phone cards on an extended or on-going basis. More on calling card features here.

Most of the better vendors will offer these capabilities for all or most of their cards. If a firm offers fewer advanced features, that's a potential flag.

6. Offers Online Account Management

As noted above, we recommend buying cards online in part so you can take advantage of the vendor's online account management tools. With an online account, you can easily see your current card status (e.g., remaining credit and/or minutes), track your call history, recharge your card, enter your PIN-less and speed dial numbers, etc. Again, this becomes more important the more you plan to use your card.

7. Has 24/7 Live Customer Support

We recommend using vendors with 24/7 live customer support, ideally including direct dial phone lines as well as online chat. Inability to reach customer support when problems arise is one of the major complaints people have about calling card vendors.

And since some vendors advertise unmanned phone numbers, it can't hurt to actually dial the number to see if there's anyone there. Lack of readily available customer support is a negative.

8. Good Reputation / No Complaints

Checking a calling card vendor's reputation and complaint history is not easy because there isn't any authoritative source that we know of. Still, it is easy enough to Google 'company-name complaint' or 'company-name settlement' to see if anything troubling comes up.

For instance, such searches for the company Alternatel would highlight separate complaints filed with the Florida Attorney General and with the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC), including this article from Sun-Sentinel.com on a recent Florida calling card settlement.