Greetings fans of SURGE and welcome to the 81st edition of SaveSURGE News! We’re the #1 hangout for those who crave that sweet citrus taste.

Have you contacted Coca-Cola today??? Call them toll-free at 1-800-GET-COKE and let them know that you want SURGE! Also be sure to check out our Coca-Cola Directory to help you get in touch with your local bottling facility.
Visit: http://www.savesurge.org/surge/help_coke.shtml

Sightings Report
There were 2 new SURGE Sightings reported since the last edition of SaveSURGE News. They are in Chesterfield, MO and Findlay, OH.

The Chesterfield, MO listing is for bottles and cans. Of course, we all know that there are no bottlers currently producing them so they are most likely expired and probably on a limited supply. Those of you in the Clearfield area may want to call Gator Flats store at (636) 537-8545 (toll charges may apply) to see if SURGE is still available.

There were no deletions this week, woohoo!

Currently, there are 145 SURGE Sightings listed. Thanks to all of you who have seen the SURGE!

Visit SURGE Sightings at: http://www.savesurge.org/surge/sightings.shtml

Websites Develop a Taste for Selling SURGE
Two websites have started to sell expired cans of SURGE online recently, but be prepared to pay top dollar for a taste of your favorite soda. Please note that SaveSURGE.org in no way profits from or is affiliated with the below websites. We are simply providing their links as a service to our thirsty (and rich) readers. Enjoy!

First, there was Scotto’s American Grocery (http://www.scottos.co.nz/) which is located all the way over in New Zealand. Theirs is a website that specializes in selling American grocery products to hungry consumers in NZ. SaveSURGE.org first made contact with Scotto’s during the fall of 2003 regarding their stockpile of SURGE but at that time the representative we spoke to (Scotto himself) was unsure if it was worth his while to ship the drink all the way to the US. We now know of at least one American SURGE fan who has purchased a few cases at a hefty price (remember that shipping heavy cans of soda from the other side of the world is bound to be expensive).

For those of you who’d rather order some SURGE from a little closer to home may want to check out Soda Towne (http://store.sodafavorites.com/). Soda Towne was brought to our attention this week by George, who is the website’s owner. His website specializes in finding rare, and in some cases discontinued sodas and sells them to the thirsty masses who miss them. The site is still under construction, but SURGE is among the products you can now purchase. The cost may be quite prohibitive to most SURGE fans, as a single can costs $59.99 and a four-pack weighs in at $219.00.

In my conversations via e-mail with George, he says he is a big SURGE fan and he is willing to give a 25% discount to anyone who mentions SaveSURGE.org when ordering from his site. Since the site just opened, we do not at this time know how many people have ordered from Soda Towne.

If you are willing to shell out big bucks for some SURGE, there are a couple of things you’ll want to ask BEFORE you buy.

1. Ask about the specific expiration dates of the soda you are buying. While expired soda that is a couple of years old is often safe to drink, it is a good idea to make sure your soda isn’t “too old”. Just for reference, the Dr. Pepper/7-Up company notes on its website: “All soft drinks tend to lose flavor over time. Beverage flavor quality can be affected by the type of sweetener, type of package and storage conditions.” Specific information on SURGE’s shelf life was unavailable.

2. Since your soda purchase will no doubt be a costly one, definitely look into postal/shipping insurance for your order. In general it only costs a few dollars more and it will protect you in case something unexpected happens during shipping.

Realistically, it’s hard to imagine that too many people can afford to spend this much on soda. However, even if most of us don’t spend the big bucks on some old cans of SURGE, we all know there are fans that have paid large amounts of money for their favorite soda since it hit the endangered species list. Auction website eBay has been home to some bidding wars for SURGE, including a 12 pack that went for a whopping $152.50 just last year.

All of this is continuing to prove that the demand for SURGE is there. It’s our job to bring it back at a price that everyone can afford.

Birthday Greetings Contest – Only a week to go
There is just over a week to get your entries in for the SaveSURGE.org Birthday Greetings Contest. We will only be accepting entries until 1/24/04 so it’s time to get moving and get creative!

We are looking for SURGE Fan(s) who finds the most creative way to say “Happy Birthday” to us. The winners will get some fabulous prizes from the SaveSURGE.org Store.

For more information, along with the contest rules and entry guidelines please visit:
http://www.savesurge.org/surge/birthday_greetings.shtml

Tell Subway to Feed the Rush
SaveSURGE.org is continuing to request that Subway Restaurants begin serving SURGE as part of their new agreement to serve Coca-Cola products in its more than 20,000 stores worldwide. We are asking each and every SURGE fan to contact Subway and let them know how much we would like to purchase our favorite soda from them.

There are several ways SURGE fans can spread the word:

You can write to Subway via their website at:
http://www.subway.com/subwayroot/Applications/CustServ/frmCustomerService.aspx

Find your local Subway and let them know how much you want SURGE:
http://subway.com/Applications/locator/index.aspx

You can even call them, toll-free at: 1-800-888-4848

We can make a difference, but we need your help!

Save SURGE Live Journal & Save SURGE Soda Club still going strong
SURGE fans, be sure to check out both the Save SURGE Live Journal Community and the Save SURGE Soda Yahoo! Club. Along with the official SaveSURGE.org Bulletin Board, they are great ways to connect with other fans.

Visit the Save SURGE Live Journal Community:
http://www.livejournal.com/community/savesurge

Visit the Save SURGE Soda Yahoo! Club
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/savesurgesoda/

Visit the SaveSURGE.org Bulletin Board
http://www.karks.com/surge/phpBB2/index.php

Poll Results – If it has a citrus taste, I’ll try it!
The latest SURGE Poll asked you: Do you often try new citrus sodas hoping that they will taste like SURGE?

89.2% - Yes
10.7% - No

Total Votes: 93

The overwhelming majority of SURGE fans do like to check out that fancy new citrus soda on their store shelves in hopes that it will taste “fully loaded”. Sadly, nothing tastes quite like the real deal.

That’s all the time we have for this week. Thank you SURGE fans for your continued support!

Sincerely,

Eric Karkovack
Co-Webmaster
www.savesurge.org