We interrupt our not so regularly scheduled postings for a quick report on the eBay On Location, Atlanta event.
I went with a reluctant husband in tow. A husband who has been sick with a cold or allergies for three weeks. He’s not up to par. We’re in east central Alabama, a 2-1/2 hour drive to Atlanta and this short trip was typical of our “vacations”. The trips where these things only happen to us and the Clark Griswold family. I’ve shared some of those trips with you before.
We didn’t get three miles from our house before it started. Sitting at a stop sign, Ricky let his foot slip off the brake the tiniest bit and we rolled into the car in front of us. But no harm was done to either vehicle, so we went on our merry way, each of us wondering if this was just a one time thing or if it was a sign of things to come – and afraid it was probably the latter. We took our cat to Erin’s thinking she’d be happier there than being left home alone. Big mistake. She pooped on me, on the console and the back seat on the way. Said poop was patiently scooped it up in an Advil box and thrown it in the garbage can at the gas station. We dropped her off at Erin’s hissing at her cat brother, the one she used to get along with very well. So we had the concern that our baby wasn’t happy all weekend. (She wasn’t. Poor little thing was miserable.)
But on we traveled. Running late. Got almost to Atlanta and there was a wreck making the last 8 miles take an hour. The hotel we were staying at should have been easy to find, but we kept missing our downtown turn. At last, we checked in and took off for the Omni for the promised finger foods at the welcome reception.
Now, we live in the South, but I think I can speak for most of the rest of the US when I say that we’ve grown accustomed to being able to make a meal off finger foods. Finger foods usually means Momma brings pigs in a blanket and chicken salad sandwiches, Aunt Rose brings cucumber sandwiches and cupcakes, Grandma Beulah brings a pound cake, or two, Cousin Millie brings veggie pizza things…. You get the picture. What a surprise we got when we began to look for the food! Broccoli, carrots, squash slices, celery and dips. And some crackers and I think some tiny bread pieces. That’s it. Not even a cookie! Maybe it was because we were late. Maybe everybody had eaten all the good stuff already. Not that that’s not good. Broccoli is one of my favorite foods, but I personally didn’t care for the dips and it was hardly a meal for hungry folks. Strike one for eBay. We had to go in search of food.
There were a couple of parties going on afterward, but my tired, grumpy guy wasn’t up to going to anything, so I can’t report on those. eBay had nothing to do with them anyway and they might not be at every event. However, not going turned out to be a wise decision for us. We Could Not Get back to our hotel 4 blocks away. The simple route we took (or tried to take) to the Omni, didn’t work going back. One way streets, then the street that was the right way said no turns, then one would say buses only and there was massive road construction going on blocking Peachtree. It was a royal mess! Literally took another hour to get back to our hotel. (Lesson learned – stay at the hotel of the event if at all possible. It wasn’t possible for us. I waited too late to book.)
Why have I spent so much time on everything that happened before the event? Because it was so much more interesting. I found the whole event to be disappointing.
Saturday, they redeemed themselves with food. Fed us breakfast, then the sessions started.
Let me say that if you’re a beginner or you’ve just piddled with selling on eBay, you might get a lot out of the event. I’ve been doing this 12 years. I truly wanted classes that would help me to learn more how to do my business better, more efficiently, and how to use the system to make more money. What I got was them telling us what tools are available. (This can be found anywhere on the site.) They preached to use online shipping labels. (I do that.) They told us the different stores we can have and how much they cost. (How hard is that to find on the site?)
I wanted to be motivated. There was one motivational speaker, Mike Michalowicz, The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur, that I’d liked to have talked to and learned more. Thank goodness he gave us all a transcript of his presentation since I’ve now forgotten everything he said. I’d also have liked the opportunity to buy his book at the event, but apparently he wasn’t allowed to sell it there.
So eBay covered the basics. We paid $35 each, plus our room, plus a couple of times we ate out, plus the gas to get there, to learn things we already knew. But I’m glad I went. I’d rather regret going than regret not going and wondering what I missed. But if you’re contemplating attending one near you, if it’s in your city and you’d only be out the registration fee, by all means go! Don’t miss it! But if it’s going to be an expensive trip, you’d better be ready to network, because if you’ve been around the eBay block for awhile, that’s where you’ll get your money’s worth. Not what eBay is bringing to the table, but what the other sellers are bringing.
We did get to see them interview Elvis, though. My picture, naturally, is crappy, but maybe you can see the sideburns?
And they did feed us a good lunch.
I totally understand what you are saying. I regret not going, but am pretty convinced I would have learned more from the networking with others than the actual workshops.
So this year, I made the decision to go to the Ecommerce Summit in Vegas where the discussions are more around multi-channel selling.
Thanks for sharing this! I hate to leave my cat when I go away myself so I left my cat with my husband on this trip! Worked out great!
All else aside, I am glad you were able to attend and see a bit of Atlanta and network. This is why it is called “On Location” as it is just that for the local folk that need not drive far!
I agree, it is perfect for the beginner and for those of us selling a long time, it was the perfect networking opportunity as I sure enjoyed speaking with people. I especially loved talking with the “newbies” all excited as they were catching the eBay Bug!
Wishing you all the best, LOVE YOUR BLOG!
I am now a facebook fan!
Danna
Wow, you have really revamped your blog and it looks GREAT! This was so interesting about the Ebay thing. Best of luck with that – sounds like you’re really getting off on the right track and getting all this training. I wish you the best with that – will have to check back and see how you’re doing!
I hope you won’t mind, but your cat poop fiasco caught my eye and made me laugh because it’s happened to me so many times with our kritters. I included you in my post and just wanted to give you the heads up and the credit! Come by for a visit! Thanks for the laugh! Vickie
I’m going straight to your store. Sand Flat Farm sent me. I already knew about the cat stuff in your lap…so sorry for that. But I saw a sugar bowl or something like that go by that I think matches my husbands granny’s china that she gave us. **squeal***
Vickie at Sand Flat Farm sent me over. I enjoyed visiting and I will certainly come back. Feel free to come say hello at my blog. I love it! Thanks!
Your trouble in Atlanta caught my eye, so being a native of almost 20 years I thought I might pass along a couple of suggestions if you visit another event here.
1. Don’t drive downtown if you don’t live here. It’s not only confusing and stressful it can be downright dangerous. Taking a wrong turn in downtown Atlanta can leave you in a very unsavory neighborhood in only a few minutes. That doesn’t even account for the crazies on the road here. Your best bet if there isn’t a hotel directly at your event is to use the MARTA light rail system. The fares are reasonable, and the trains and stations are reasonably clean, and reasonably safe. You could even stay at a hotel outside of downtown and catch a train in from the 285 bypass area. Your stay would be less expensive, and probably safer and the suburban train stations usually have free parking too.
2. I can’t quite tell where the event took place because the Omni was torn down years ago and replaced by Phillips Arena. My best guess is that it was at the Omni Hotel or Georgia World Congress center which is right next door to Phillips(where the old Omni was). If so the World Congress center has it’s own food court if the food at your event is not up to snuff. Like all the downtown locations the Omni Hotel is massively overpriced IMO. The entire complex which includes CNN and the Georgia Dome also has a Marta train station at it’s front door. You literally never have to set foot on the street if you take a train in from the suburbs.
3. If you do come back to town you are welcome to drop me a line and ask about a specific area, restaurant, hotel or whatever. I’ve played tour guide for out of town guest many times and even worked for a time in the downtown area so I know a little about the area.
4. Last piece of advise, invest in a GPS. They can be had for around a $100 these days and are invaluable in avoiding snafus like the one you described with the one way streets. When I visited Charleston SC last year I even walked around with mine. The one time I left it in the car I felt naked without it.
5. I’m sorry the event turned out to be kind of a bummer. I find that there is a lot more fluff out there when it comes to information about running a business on eBay then actual hard data that can be useful to anybody who isn’t a neophyte or slightly below average. I often wonder if there aren’t more people earning a living from the “how to” industry then their are earning it from the actual business.