eBay Live! 2008 Vendor Reviews
June 23, 2008
Without further ado, here are my personal ratings of the vendors I saw at eBay Live! 2008 in Chicago. Keep in mind these are just my opinions, take it for what it’s worth.
- Best New Vendor : IMN, Sales in a Click. Great new service that will help eBay sellers to create an email news letter from their eBay/Prostore customer base and insert custom articles and content written by IMN each month.
- Worst New Vendor: Bling It! Seriously, that was the name of the vendor. It was a product that will take an image with a white background and allow you to quickly and easily add a custom backdrop by removing the white. Think greenscreen technology or Photoshop. $49.95
- Best Booth: Verisign. Clean, Simple and got the point across.
- Worst Booth: Doba: There were so many bad booths this year. Last year Doba had a huge presence. This year it looks like the came without a booth and ran out to the recycling dumpster and grabbed some boxes. No hype, no real thought, no marketing. (probably no sales).
- Best Giveaway/Swag: USPS :There really weren’t any stellar giveways this year, but the USPS spent some good money on stop watches, clipboard, calculators and duffle bags. All good stuff.
- Best Customer Service: UPS: UPS had people everywhere. Very helpful and very knowledgable. Good Job UPS.
- Most improved product/vendor: Auctiva. For a free product, Auctiva really has done a great job. They listen to their customers and have made some great improvements. If they keep this up they will have no choice but to charge because their product is almost too good to give away.
 Best New Vendor: IMN |
 Worst Booth: Doba |
 Worst New Vendor: Bling It! |
 Worst New Vendor: Bling It! |
 Best Returning Vendor: Auctiva |
Best New Vendor of eBay Live! 2008: IMN, Sales In A Click
June 23, 2008
Best New Vendor: IMN: Sales in a Click
There were plenty of vendors at eBay Live! 2008. Some old, some new, some good and some bad. It wasn’t surprising to see new vendors in an ever changing market. Most of the vendors offered similiar services, whether it was auction templates or listing services. There was one vendor that had a truly different product than the rest, IMN, Sale in a click.
Yes, the name is a bit odd. In fact, until I looked at their website I wasn’t sure if the name of the product was IMN and Sales in a click was a tag line or the name of the product. IMN is the company name, which stands for iMakeNews, inc. So, let’s not dwell on the odd product name that tells you nothing about the product. Instead, let’s talk about what they do.
Sales in a Click is a newsletter/email service that will use your eBay/ProStores account and import all of the email addresses from your past customers. You can then send out marketing emails to your customers. Not so revolutionary. However, where IMN has really made is a difference is in the content of the newsletter. In a time where eBay sellers are busy answering emails, shipping packages and listing products, who has time to send out an email let alone type something worth while in it.
Sales in a Click allows you to pick your niche and have original content, written by IMN, inserted into your newsletter for you. Additionally, your eBay listings can be added through the newsletter with buy now buttons and links inserted. eBay and ProStore sellers can add custom products, additional link and their own content.
I had the opportunity to speak with several PowerSellers. 10 out of 10 powersellers told me that the one thing they did not do well, and needed to improve on, was the use of their email lists and newsletters. These are not just PowerSellers, these are eBay’s Top Sellers, Platinum and above. Sales in a Click is the perfect compliment and in my opinion the one thing that will make a huge difference in eBay sellers sales. Starting at only $6.95 a month for 250 email addresses you can’t go wrong. I have paid more to have original content myself and then I still have to manage the email process.
I personally sent at least 30 people to the Sales in a Click booth and have signed up myself. Only time will tell if their product makes a difference, but they were the most original and best new vendor at eBay Live! 2008.
Visit their website at http://www.SalesInAClick.com.
Welcome New Readers
June 22, 2008
Welcome new Readers
I’d also like to welcome all of the new readers and friends from eBay Live. I hope you check back on this blog frequently and share your successes and failures so other can learn from them as well.
Once I get caught up on emails I will be posting my candid reviews of the vendors, including best and worst. The vendor that was my favorite in a previous post still is the hands down winner.I can’t wait to announce the list, but I want to really put some time into it and I should have it posted very soon.
If you haven’t taken advatage of the Free eBay Top Sellers Strategy Guide, you should get it now. It’s located at http://www.webposter.com/eBayLive
Day 3 - eBay Live overview
June 22, 2008
eBay Live Day 3
The third and final day of eBay Live! 2008 is finally over and I managed to find a wireless connection on my way back home to post an update. I know I was a bit skeptical of how well this eBay Live! event would go over. I knew there would be a lot of fuss about feedback and the recent changes eBay has made. I believe eBay executives and staff heard this loud and clear, and I sincerely believe that eBay listened.
The last day I spent most of my time networking with old friends and meeting new ones. This was by far the best part of the event. I always seem to get so much more from hearing each person’s story, their tips, tricks, mistakes. Something that everyone can learn from. I’ve also found that no matter what level seller or buyer you are, you can always learn something new. The main thing I set out to do with this blog was to help people get started on eBay and
provide information that can be hard to find. I remember struggling with all of the details, how and where to source products, how to pick my niche, what tools to use, how often to list, should I use a template… and the list goes on.
The Closing Gala
The closing Gala was amazing and I will be posting some video and pictures of the clapping tunnel. This was truly amazing and the eBay employees were really into it. I had the chance to talk with a few of them and they really were sincere. I know that eBay get’s a bad rap sometimes, but it’s nice to see a company that has employees that care about the customer.
The food was even better than I had imagined. I really had thought that with the number of people attending this function the food would be sub par. That definitely was not the case here. They definately exceeded my expecations. As usual, Griff was a great MC and eBay brought in “The Passing Zone”, the great comedic jugglers that were on “America’s Got Talent” last season. They were hilarious. eBay’s own band, Twisted Lister played and Chris Isaac closed out the Gala. Overall, a great end to a very good eBay Live!.
It’s unfortunate we have to wait another 2 years for another Live! event, but I have some plans of my own to ensure that I don’t lose touch with those people I’ve met over the past few years… stay tuned.
