THE BUY & Sell 1 classified ad
‘paper, launched in November 1971
by Mike and Meagan Abbot, is cur-
rently celebrating its 25th anniver-
sary,.North Shore:News publisher
Peter Speck reminisces about the
Buy é& Sell ‘ Auuble beginnings. ‘

_ ABOUT 24: years ago I first.
met Mike Abbott, the publish-
er.of the Buy & Sell. .

By Peter Speck
Publisher.

If was in ‘our hippie days, We

both wore beards ‘and sandals, but —

Mike had more hair than me.
‘, -He still, does.

News pub

i
Sel

[ remember that it was raining
buckets the day Mike first came to
the little white jiouse where we
published, off Pemberton on Sth.

‘He was soaked to the skin and
his beat- -up Volvo station wagon
was groaning under the weight of
part of his press run.

‘Like me, he was’the back-up dis-
~ tribution person as well as the pub-
lisher.

Mike had an idea for a paper that

carried free classified ads and made

its revenue from newsstand and
store sales. ;

He and his wife Meagan
‘scrounged about 1,600. free ad list-
ings from bulletin boards and word-
of-mouth leads.

The paper sold for a ‘quarter.

isher tips hat
il founder

Tt is now one of the thost sige”
cessful publications of its kind in’
the world, and Mike is internation
ally recognized as the “King of the:

Free Classifieds” and the originator
of the idea. ;
There wre now over (50 similar
Papers in existence.
Alony, the way, the Buy & Sell
has touched the fives of thous: ands

_ of people.

Almost a- hundred people work
for the Buy & Sell at its: new
30,000-square-foot office in down-
town New Westminster.

“The paper handles 40,000 clas-
sifieds a week,” says Ken Conquer,
the publisher (Mike is now the
chairman), “but our lifeblood is still
our free-ad customer.”

Sign up before December 29th, 1995 by calling”

1. 800- 591-SAVE

GUILDFORD TOWN

* LOUGHEED MALL

~ Presenting

Three Ways

To Engage
Her Attention.

a.

£1,995

» Who ‘could ¢ say no too one of thesd exquisite ring
from our Class ical Collection? .

a} The Exclusive “Carmen” Diamond Solitaire . .
Engagement Ring. 0,38 ct. diamond enhance od a
by a unique scroll. design," < °

b): Manon” our exquisite Pear Diamond |
E ngagement Ring. 0, yi ct. dw,

) The classically styled “Tosca” Diamond:
Engagement Ring. 0, 30 cl. tdw.

All of these exquisite rings are
“beautifully set in 18 ket: gold.

? COQUIFLAM SEVEN OAKS SHOPPING €

CENTRE 464-3636 ”
, THLLICUM MALL!
(VICTORIAY 385-1321
— PARK ROYAL, NORTE
PAD ee

CENTRE 584-1584

(ABBOTSFORD) 833-8324