I am interested in trying to make money from a website which sells
calling cards where the pins are delivered by means of email. There
are a lot of companies doing this or there are a few companies who
have created many websites. There are only a few good websites. I am a
programmer/developer who thinks he can create much better website for
selling these cards (there are a few good ones but most of them are
very bad and inefficient).  But I don?t now if a person can survive
from one such website nor do I know how to buy the product. I fear
that I will buy from someone who is not the source, nor do I know if
this business is even profitable.

Here is what I would like answered:

1. How much do people make from websites which sell such calling cards
(online delivery of pins)? Perhaps there is some trade group I am not
aware about which might have statistics regarding this. Perhaps people
who work for such companies have talked about how much these companies
make.

2. Who are the primary sources for these calling cards and are there
more sophisticated distribution channels? For instance I once worked
in the book business and the best rates for older but unused books was
not always the publisher but what were called remainder companies,
however, it was good to know how remainder companies got their books
(auctions). And there was the issue of hurt books which could be
bought from publishers. So I would like to understand how these cards
begin their life and where they might travel before finally reaching
the final user and how each person marks up the card before it reaches
the end user.

3. What is the nature of this business? What are the risks? For
instance, lots of these cards have a limited lifetime. What happens if
I buy cards and I don?t sell them?   Do the companies usually extend
credit or do people pay upfront?  How is the product delivered? Are
there any trade groups related to this industry?