My EBay Life
(A series of essays about what it is like to sell stuff on EBay)
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I am finally getting around to writing about EOL in Denver (May 24th and 25th). Overall it was a great experience and I am so thankful that it was in my own backyard so to speak. They only have two events a year so those of us living in Denver were very fortunate. Over the last couple of years I have had good intentions to make it to other EOL events, particularly when they are in fun and sunny beach locations like San Diego. Alas, I never made the trips before. But after attending this event I will be more diligent about getting myself to another one. I presume it may be awhile before Ebay brings this event back to Denver so I had better start saving my pennies now.
To be honest I didn't really know what to expect. I am not the most gregarious outgoing person. So I was a little intimidated to go to a big event where I didn't really know anyone. I am sure that I am not alone in those feelings but I still entered into the whole thing with some trepidation.
You know those personality tests that ask, "If you are at a party you:"
A) Try to meet everyone in the room
B) Talk to a few new people but mostly hang with people you know
C) Talk to only the people you know
D) Hide in the corner and hope nobody talks to you
E) Don't go to parties to avoid any uncomfortable situation altogether
Well after maturing for more years than I like to acknowledge and the memory of my mothers prodding I have worked my way from answer E all the way to a B. I can't imagine ever being an A but who knows. Anyway my point is that while I was more than a little uncomfortable walking into this situation I knew it was going to be beneficial, educational and well worth my time and the measly $59.00 I paid to attend.
Here is a brief run down of what was covered in that $59.00. Of course if you weren't local there where travel and accommodation expenses but still well worth it I believe.
1) Friday night dinner at the Sheraton Hotel in Downtown Denver.
2) A chance to see John Donahoe (Ebay's President and CEO) and Devin Wenig (Ebay's President of Global Marketplaces) have a conversation with Griff about the future of Ebay.
3) A funny and inspiring guest speaker Mark Scharenbroich.
4) An after party hosted by Pay Pal at Katie Mullen's. Free food, drinks and band.
5) An after after party hosted by Kabbage at The Yard House. More free drinks.
And that was just Friday night.
Yes I did say up a little too late but, look Mom I made some new friends!
6) Monday morning bright and early at 7:00am we had a continental breakfast.
7) Three morning sessions (More on these later as this is the meat and potatoes of the whole event)
8) Bag lunch
9) Two afternoon sessions - Here is a brief list of the available options.
10) Lots of vendor booths to visit as well as Ebay and PayPal staff on hand to answer questions and help troubleshoot specific problems.
Oh and....
11) A goodie bag with notebook, letter opener and a baseball cap. :-)
It was well worth the price tag even if you didn't get the early-bird discount. I probably won't make it to the EOL Event in Philadelphia in September. But I'm definitely in if they have one in Phoenix or Southern California next year.
Happy Ebaying,
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