Third-Party Sales - Adoption of guideline changes

At the July 2006 board meeting, the board of directors adopted a change to three third-party sales guidelines. They are as follows:

• If any third-party sales transaction involves more than a simple purchase of newspapers by the purchaser, then the newspaper must prepare a spreadsheet listing all items being exchanged between both parties identifying each as a debit or credit to the newspaper. The end result should be a clear debit/credit schedule affirming that a qualifying price, net of all considerations, was collected from the purchaser.
• ABC staff must be notified of all third-party sales programs at least 14 days in advance of the beginning distribution date. In order to submit a program to ABC, the standard “Notification Form” must be completed and submitted to your Publisher Relations Manager.
• If barter is used as the method of payment for a third-party circulation program, an attestation from the purchaser is required, regardless of the volume of the sale. (Prior guideline only required attestation from the purchaser if the transaction was for $10,000 or more.)

Posted 09/18/06