The most profitable part of eBay Live
Hope you guys are starting to put together your ‘eBay Live Plan’. Before I head to Live each year, I put together the following ‘must haves’ for making the MOST out of eBay Live:
- A Goal Sheet – this includes everyone I want to meet, the classes I want to take, vendors I want to talk to, issues I need to address with eBay, networking I want to do, events I want to go to, etc. If you want to meet Seth Godin, then put it on your sheet. Want to talk to Christy of PowerU about becoming an eBay Education Specialist, then put it down. Want to finally learn how to blog, then add that too! Amazing things have always happened from my goal sheet. Without this sheet, (those of you who have been to Live before already know what I am about to say) you will get pulled in so many different directions and be completely overwhelmed at Live. Even if your list only has on it 2 or 3 things, then you can make sure you focus on definitely getting those done during your trip. Write it down and make it happen!
- A schedule – you can see mine done on Excel here (this is still tentative): www.janelleelms.com/ebay2007 (you’ll need excel to open it) Without this schedule I would be lost each year at Live. Keep in mind that you need to make your schedule flexible…events, people, afternoon naps show up in your life at Live and you’ll need to be able to accommodate them. If you like to go out at night, those party invites happen during Live…you’ll want to keep your ears & schedule open if you want to attend (the private parties is where the REAL networking happens!)
- A Vendor List – my list includes the following – the companies name, their booth number, a link to their site, any promotions they may be doing, a list of questions I have about the service/product, who I need to talk to…and then I also mark it on my vendor map.
- A printout of all the maps – maps of
A Vendor List
The Vendor floor is probably one of the most profitable areas of eBay Live for you to see…these companies can truly make your business happen! However, the #1 question I get each year at Live is…’I only have so much time…who should I talk to?’ Below is the answer to that question.
There are a lot of vendors this year at eBay Live. To be truthful, I wasn’t that impressed with the list. A lot of big names trying to get their branding in front of you. Which I realize eBay needs to help underwrite the enormous cost of Live. But my favorite vendors are the new hot little guys…that will one day be the big guys!
There are some good niche companies on the vendor list…helping you with inventory managements, taxes, shipping and even selling books. I will leave it up to you individually to figure out the specific vendors you want to ‘interrogate’ this year. (my personal list only has 10 new companies on it to talk to!! I was very surprised.)
The following list is made up of the ‘must see and get to know on a first name basis’ companies. Some of these I met at the first eBay Live 6 years ago, and still use their product to this day. I can pick up the phone (or email) the top executives of these companies because of having met them at Live.
First, here is the complete list of the exhibitors: http://pages.ebay.com/ebaylive/exhibitors.html
And more importantly, here is a link to the map for the exhibitors: http://pages.ebay.com/ebaylive/maps.html - click on the PDF version and print it out…make a plan of who you are going to visit and where they are located.
Vendor tips:
- There are a lot of companies here this year who are pitching products – importers, ‘wholesalers’, etc. After getting to know WorldWideBrands, I never take up valuable time talking to these other companies at Live…I let WWB’s figure out if the other companies are legit or not. WWB’s will include them on their site if they pass WWB’s strict policies. Also, feel free to go to the WWB booth and just ask them about the companies there – they will tell you honestly whether they are good or just another ‘middle man’ trying to get your money.
- Go to the websites of the companies you want to visit BEFORE eBay Live. You are looking for their About Us page, or perhaps a company board page… Put these names and a bit about that person (from their bios) down on your vendor sheet. That way you can walk into the booth knowing who you should be asking for (or at least sound like you know what you are doing – lol).
- Prepare a list of questions ahead of time – what do you need THEM to do for you. If they can’t do it, don’t waste your time and theirs by ‘being nice’ and continuing the sales pitch…value your business & your time and move on to someone who can
- Make sure you talk to the ‘right’ person in the booth – not a filler (p/t hired help just for the event)
- Ask if there is a ‘trial’ version of the product. If not, perhaps they could allow you to try it out and make a case study of you and your business. This won’t work with all of them…but it can’t hurt to ask
- Some of these companies are still in beta or just coming out of beta – make sure you are aware of how long they have been in business. I love being part of the wild west adventurers who are learning about & using hot, new companies like Squidoo right now…but as with all ‘new kids’, they will have bugs in them that you’ll have to deal with.
- After leaving a booth, take a moment to write notes on the back of the bc or brochure. I know you think you’ll remember…but you won’t. Trust me on this one!
- One of you should contact vendor Lift Mates (www.liftmates.com) and offer to be their Trading Assistant – there is only one person on eBay selling these cool products…but Life Mates SO needs an eBay Store. (how dare they come to Live and not be on eBay – LOL)
eBay Live Merchant List – here is my recommended ‘must see’ list for eBay Live. Where noted, the merchants have supplied you, readers of OSI, with a running start for the HOT promotions that happen on the floor!
Entrepreneur – 
Rieva Lesonsky (editorial director of Entrepreneur Magazine) will be at eBay Live this year roaming the floors. You can meet her in person at:
· Trend Spotting: How Keeping Up on Trends Can Boost Your Business’s Bottom Line – Thursday, June 14th, at Noon in Room 107B
· Trend Spotting: How Keeping Up on Trends Can Boost Your Business’s Bottom Line – Friday, June 15th at 9am in Room 107B
· Book Signing for“Start Your Own Business”
Auction 123 – Booth 255 – for eBay Motors people
Auction Sound – Booth 128 - eBay Trading Assistant/consignment Software
Auctiva – Booth 1032 – Management Tool - We are giving away t-shirts, commemorative pins, and coupons for custom design work. To get a t-shirt people need to stop by the booth and swipe their badge (1 per person) and if they are seen wearing the t-shirt on the conference floor by a member of the Auctiva team, they get a pin (again 1 per person). Anyone who stops by the booth can take a coupon for a free listing evaluation and a special on our custom design work.
As the largest third part seller solution, Auctiva would like people to know that we have what they are looking for when it comes to listing faster, easier AND cheaper. We are reliable, user-friendly and still 100% free!
BizFilings – Booth 757 – Incorporate your business - Our larger give-aways will be an iPod Nano and a digital camera. The iPod will be given away during the BizFilings eBay Radio interview with Griff (date and time TBD). Barbara Weltman, who may be pretty well-known to many eBayers will be the interviewee for our segment. (One of Barbara’s books is “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Starting an eBay Business.”)
We have not yet determined the date and time of the camera giveaway, but should have details in our booth at the start of the show. All attendees can sign up for both give-aways.
The tote bags the attendees receive will include an insert from BizFilings that offers the following discounts on business formation services.
- $30 off BizFilings’ basic formation service
- $60 off BizFilings’ standard formation service
- $90 off BizFilings’ complete formation service.
The above discounts can be used for corporation or LLC formation in any state.
Lastly, and maybe even the most “fun,” is our theme of “Stop by BizFilings’ ‘tee party’.” We’ll be capitalizing on the rich history of
ChannelAdvisor – Booth 423 – management software
CityMax – Booth 1241 – e-commerce website creation…so easy, so fast
Constant Contact – Booth 1029 – email/newsletter program (not sure why 1shoppingcart isn’t at Live…they are the ones I use and love them!!)
Endicia – Booth 1017 – online postage – I would be lost without Endicia…ask about their deal with Dymo while you are there. We will be offering at least 2 specials. One will be one year of Premium for $150 (normally $15.95/month) and the other is one year of Professional for $350 (normally $34.95/month). We may have tape giveaways (measure those dimensions)…..
Free411.com – Booth 430 – free directory assistance – not sure what they are doing at Live, but fun to have them. Fabulous service!
HammerTap – Booth 933 - Special Offer: Those who sign up at our booth get both our desktop and web-based research tools for just $17.95/month.
Description: With HammerTap, you can remove all the guesswork to increase your sales and maximize your profits. Find out what sells and how to sell it, including the best ending day and listing duration, starting price, title keywords and much more. Get HammerTap today and get the Power to Profit!
Skip McGrath - We decided not to exhibit this year (wanted to actually see eBay Live for a change), but I was just told that my books will be carried in the eBay Live store. I will be making several appearances at the HammerTap Booth to do book signings and to promote our co-branded, low cost web-based eBay research tool, Skip McGrath’s power Web. Here is the link for more information: https://secure.hammertap.com/skip/
MarketWorks – Booth 823 - We have show specials on our various creative packages (eBay listing templates and web store designs) and a whitepaper on the top 10 ways for eBay sellers to grow their business.
PayPal – Booth 1045 – we LOVE Paypal – stop by and ask them how they can help YOUR business grow this year
Prosper – Booth 1133 – peer-to-peer lending – this was one of only two of the ‘new kids’ from my HOT list last year who has made it a whole 12 months!! We love them!
PowerU (eBay Education Program) – Booth 123 - PowerU – eBay Education Specialist - Giving away a free t-shirt (One-Size Only : XL White with short sleeves) to the first 50 paying Program Signups.
SageFire – Booth 833 – Accounting program, great guys…go chat with them
Squidoo – Booth 1132 – 
LOVE Squidoo…phenomenal web 2.0 social networking site with incredible seo ranking results on Google – this is a MUST
Tax Loopholes – Booth 928 – Stop by and say hi to my co-author Diane Kennedy of Tax Loopholes for eBay Sellers (people pay gazillions of dollars to go to
Terapeak – Booth 532 – (I know Denise…so if she says this will be good…this is going to be REALLY good)
I cannot say at this time what our special promotions will be - we’re keeping our cards close to our chest at this point. 
I promise it will be good though!
Really good!!
We’re just really excited about getting to
It will be so much fun to see people in person.
Take care, I look forward to seeing you in a few weeks!
denise hogue
uShip – Booth 333
Promotions:
· uShip will be running its annual promotion – wear the uShip t-shirt (you can get one at the booth) and if you are “spotted” by the secret spotter, you can win $50 cash! So, wear those shirts with pride!
· We will also be promoting the uShip experience — Real Stories, Real Saving, Real Easy.
· Finally, we will have information on uShip referral and affiliate programs so eBayer’s can make money
USPS – Booth 613 – putting this one in so you can give them an earful at Live. They need to know what we are going through so they can figure out ways to better help our businesses
VistaPrint – Booth 126 – www.TellEveryoneAboutYou.com
WorldWideBrands – Booth 751 - Worldwide Brands Inc., creators of OneSource™
Looking for quality wholesale products to sell on eBay? Visit Worldwide Brands and see why OneSource™ is the only source you’ll ever need for DropShippers, Bulk Wholesalers, Liquidators, Importers and more!
Must-Have Freebie! Visit their booth early to make sure you get one of their FREE pocket booklets featuring 40 Genuine Wholesalers, eBay Business Resources and tips to help you avoid wholesale scams. Over 50 pages of great information and it’s FREE!
Worldwide Brands is an eBay Certified Solutions Provider and creators of OneSource™ the World’s Largest Source of Wholesalers for online sellers!
Coming up next…deciding on your Classes!
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