As I wrote in a column during the summer months, here at Trajan Media, we have been busy working behind the scenes on a number of new initiatives to launch over the fall and winter months. Our first major initiative this fall is a new website where numismatist and philatelists can meet at one online marketplace to buy and sell numismatic collectibles including coins, medals, tokens and paper money as well as stamps, postcards and first-day covers.
This new online marketplace is called coinstampclassifieds.ca. While the venue is new, selling classifieds has been part of our DNA since our beginnings.
We have been in the classified business since the launch of our first magazine – Canada Coin News – in 1963. Within three years the trickle of requests for stamp and antique news became a flood, so on Aug. 20, 1966, Canada Coin News became Coin, Stamp and Antique News. Then, 10 years later, interest had grown so much in philately that we launched a new magazine devoted entirely to the hobby: Canadian Stamp News.
Over the years the most stable and popular pages in all of our magazines, and to this day, are the CCN Marketplace. It is on these pages where collectors and dealers meet through word ads to buy and sell a wide variety of numismatic materials. While the CCN Marketplace is holding its own, we have all seen and experienced the migration of classified ads to the Internet, such as the very popular eBay. Since eBay’s launch in 1995, many other e-commerce-focused companies have risen to the forefront, including Kijiji and Amazon.
As the popularity of these sites have grown over the years, classified pages within newspapers and magazines have been rapidly decreasing. Canadian Coin News is no exception. While the CCN Marketplace remains popular with collectors and dealers, we recognize there is a need in Canada for a website devoted to numismatic and philatelic materials, thus, the birth of coinstampclassifieds.ca.
The new website is in its infancy. We are doing a soft launch over the coming weeks to ensure the back end is doing what’s been intended by the web developers. As well, it’s an opportunity to garner input from our users on the features currently offered and, just as importantly, to seek feedback on their experience in using our site. We appreciate your feedback and yes, patience, as we strive to make this site an enjoyable and rewarding experience for buyers and sellers.
All listings are free, and one of the nice features is the ability to upload up to 12 images per listing. Potential buyers also have the opportunity to “make an offer” to sellers. Trajan makes its money by taking a commission, but only when an item is sold as outlined in the buyer’s agreement.
This new classified website is an extension of what we have been offering collectors and dealers for the last 52 years. However, it is also a great opportunity to reach a new, larger audience from across our continent. I encourage you to check out this new Canadian venue to buy and sell numismatic materials. List your items, make a purchase, and share with us your experience and feedback on a website that will be heavily marketed to promote and support Canadian numismatics.