I also agree with Andrew's last post. Again, looking at the genealogy database websites that I'm familiar with, these websites typically give full disclosure of their database contents and will allow the user to select a subset of that database to
search. The genealogy sites also update users regularly as the database expands. The reason for this approach is that many genealogists are doing their own searches of datasets, manually and through other means, and they need to manage their searches so they are not inadvertently searching the same information twice.
Applying this approach to Ex-Nvmis, I would prefer not to pay for "blind searches" of a database that has only been generally described to me. I would like to see Ex Nvmis add a full list of their database:
auction houses and years/auction numbers/FPLs covered. I'd also like to see them enable directed searches, so that users could (1) focus on material they don't otherwise have access to, or (2) exclude material they already know about (i.e. known
provenance).
