[Please reply directly to me, <david.batterham_at_virgin.net>, and I
will summarize for the list.]
Dear Colldv-l:
As an Antiquarian Bookseller specialising in the Fine and Applied Arts
I am exploring the internet alternatives to the increasingly expensive
mailing of printed Catalogues. I feel it may be possible and more efficient
to target small selected groups with short lists of interesting material
using the internet.
As an experiment I sent an email to all the customers for whom I
have an email address (by no means all), inviting them to look at a
Catalogue sent in the form of an Attachment. This was a success in that I
had a number of replies and a few orders, But of course I don't know the
reaction of those who didn't reply ; either because there was nothing on the
list to interest them of if perhaps they follow a strict rule of not opening
Attachments from unknown correspondents. I wonder if people uneasy about
opening Attachments would feel equally uneasy about seeing a catalogue or
list incorporated into an email????
I have noticed that there is an emphasis among Listers' comments
focusing attention on book-selling sites such as ABE or Addall (as well as
individual booksellers websites) as sources for books. This assumes that
purchases for libraries are mainly made by librarians who already know what
they are looking for.
As a book-seller I am more interested in offering books which
librarians had not known about before and would therefor not be searching
for.
Like other bookseller I have built up a sort of rapport and
confidence, over many years, with certain libraries/ librarians who are on
the same wave length, as it were - and vice versa, The kind of people who
now look forward to receiving my lists. Of course I would like to find more
of these people!
I would be interested to receive Listers' comments - or advice - about what
some might consider intrusive "spam" emails offering specialist books?
And more practically can anyone suggest a directory from which I might find
a list of email addresses for Acquisitions Librarians?
Again, Please reply directly to me, <david.batterham_at_virgin.net>, and I
will summarize for the list.
Sincerely,
David Batterham, London, U.K.
Received on Mon May 19 2008 - 01:37:53 EDT