The E-Sylum:  Volume 11, Number 9, March 2, 2008, Article 8

THE BAZAARE: E-SYLUM POLICY CHANGE PERMITS ADVERTISING

Before starting The E-Sylum I gave a lot of thought to what
the editorial policies would be.  The decisions have served
us well in the nearly ten years that have passed.  One choice
I've re-examined periodically is the ban on advertising.
As the official email journal of a non-profit organization
I wanted to steer The E-Sylum away from commercial concerns
and keep the focus on our core topics of numismatic literature
and research.

But now that our little newsletter has grown to deliver
15-30+ pages of information weekly to over 1,100 knowledgeable
numismatists, there is more than enough content to balance
some ads, and plenty of readers to make it attractive to
advertisers.  So with the approval of the NBS Board, we're
going to take the plunge.  In keeping with the bibliomania
theme, we'll name this feature The Bazaare (a Bizarre Bazaar!)

First, let me emphasize that that our editorial policies
remain unchanged.  You'll continue to get the same interesting
E-Sylum content as always, but with some additional messages
that I hope and expect will also be welcome and interesting
to many readers.

As always, numismatic literature dealers continue to be
welcome to send their sale announcements, and we’ll continue
to publish them prominently at no charge.  The same goes for
reviews – we’ll publish any and all literature reviews received
from anyone as long as they add something to the discussion.
Any ads would be in addition to our normal content.

Although The E-Sylum is open and free to all, only members
in good standing of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society may
place ads, subject to the editorial policies.  Publishing
firms are exempt, since we don't really have a "corporate"
membership category.  But it is preferred that an officer
or employee be an NBS member.  Should complaints arise
against any advertiser, the NBS board will deal with them
on a case-by-case basis.

The ads would be clearly delineated in the body of the email.
I wouldn’t push them all to the end, but would intersperse
two or three ad sections at different points, assuming we
have that many ads.  The top section (“above the fold” in
newspaper jargon) will remain ad free – this will include
all NBS news and announcements and numismatic literature
sale announcements.

Ads should reflect and augment the content and theme of
The E-Sylum.  Ideally they would be just as interesting
and useful to a subset of users as the regular E-Sylum
content.

We will NOT accept “institutional ads” that never change
from issue to issue.  Advertisers should mix it up and
provide fresh ads.  A recommendation for dealers publicizing
auctions or price lists is to highlight a different item or
lot of interest in each promotional ad.  The ban is only on
unchanging CONSECUTIVE ads - ads which rotate weekly or
appear nonconsecutively are OK.

To avoid direct competition with auctions we will NOT accept
"price on request" or "make an offer" listings.  Advertisers
offering material for sale MUST list a price.

Don't ask me to email a preview of an issue's ad section -
everyone will get their copy the same way, once it's published
through our email list server.  Our web site posting and RSS
feed are delayed, so don't count on them for getting a first
look at an issue - email is still your best bet.

All advertisers should list a mailing address and an email
address. A phone number is optional.

I often get requests for Book Wanted ads.  Until now I've
always had to refuse, but also offered an alternative –
write up a submission saying WHY you want the item – for
what research purpose.  Nearly everyone takes me up on it,
and we’ve gotten some interesting discussion threads out
of some of these.   I will still make the same suggestion
to anyone placing a Want ad.

How might this new venue for buying and selling numismatic
literature affect our dealer members?   Well, we reviewed
our plans with regulars George Kolbe, Fred Lake, Charlie
Davis, Karl Moulton, David Fanning, and John Burns, and
they're supportive.

For one thing, the number of ad listings per issue is small,
and could never displace the volume of listings found in
dealer catalogs, fixed price lists or online listings.
If we find that we have a backlog of more ads than will
fit in one or two E-Sylum issues, we may adjust our price
upward to scale back demand.

E-Sylum ads would work best for offering one or two items
– if you have a whole library to sell you’d probably still
prefer consigning to a dealer.  Like eBay, these ads still
require WORK for a seller – you have to catalogue and price
your items, field email queries, then pack and ship the
items.  Those are all things a literature dealer does
best for you.

For sellers with just a few items to list E-Sylum ads would
be less work than eBay and faster than consigning to a
literature auction.  Unless an item is super rare, a
single-item consignment is often more trouble than not
for an auctioneer.

To keep things simple, the cost is the same to all - no
special rates for NBS members, no multiple-ad discounts,
etc. - just a flat rate per 70-character line.  We're
starting at just $1.50 per line, payable by check or PayPal.
We also offer standalone "boxed" ads of up to 10 lines at
a flat rate of $20.

To place an ad in an upcoming E-Sylum issue, simply Reply
to this message or email me directly at whomren@coinlibrary.com
and include "E-Sylum" in the subject line.

Every issue of The E-Sylum is a test run – what works stays,
what doesn’t goes.  We’ll evolve our policies on ads over
time as we gain experience.  Together we'll learn what works
best for all involved and move the craziness of The E-Sylum
to the next Bazaare level.

  Wayne Homren, Editor

	coinbooks.org Web

The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization 
promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org.

To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor 
at this address: whomren@coinlibrary.com

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