June 19th, 2008 by Skip McGrath

This is the smallest and least exciting eBay Live since the first one In Anaheim.

I always look forward to eBay Live. It is a chance to meet and greet many old friends and make new ones, see the latest third party technologies and services, talk to key eBay employees one on one and basically recharge my eBay batteries.  But this year has been a big yawn so far.  OK – It’s only the first day and yes the big announcements are scheduled for tomorrow, but what happened to all the people?

I was really looking forward to Chicago –its central location in the US should have made it as big a draw as Las Vegas –but not so.  This is easiest the smallest eBay Live since Anaheim in 2002. There is just no one here.  If I had to guess I would put the number of registered attendees at around 5,000 –far less than the 10,000 who went to Boston and the 15,000+ who were in Las Vegas.  Las Vegas was so popular that people were scalping tickets.  If I had extra tickets here I couldn’t give them away.

At previous eBay Lives’ the registration lines stretched on forever. This morning we were in line and registered in minutes. The solutions floor used to be huge with over a hundred exhibitors…It took all 3 days to see all the booths. Today there are so few exhibitors you can see the whole floor in a couple of hours.

The biggest difference is the lack of energy and excitement. There used to be such a high level of energy –people in funny hats and people elbowing each other out of the way to get pins and collectibles.  When we went to Vegas, New Orleans, San Jose and Orlando there were signs at the airport and welcome signs all over town. Everyone knew eBay was in town.  In Chicago no one seemed to notice. We didn’t see any welcome signs at the airport and there was nothing outside the convention center.

The seminars were the one bright point.  There are plenty of really great sessions with great speakers and topics so eBay Live is still a great learning event.

You are probably reading this and thinking “Skip, you are telling me to sell on eBay, but it sounds like eBay is over.”  No – I think eBay is still very viable. I am meeting plenty of sellers who tell me business is great –and although my business was down it is now coming back strong.  So eBay is far from over. What I think has happened here is that so many sellers have been turned off by the new policies they just didn’t care. Basically eBay has a PR problem and it’s not with the general public –it is with the community. I will be talking about this over the next few days and in my newsletter next week.

There is some news and there will be some announcements tomorrow.  And some of the news is important to sellers. I am not a news blogger, but the de-fatigable, Ina Steiner is. I suggest you go to Auctionbytes.com where Ina is covering all the important news and headlines. Ina is blogging several times a day so you can get the latest news. Then I will be giving you my analysis of the news a few days after the show.

World Wide Brands Rolls out their new product.

‘It’s live. You have to move fast…

It’s finally here. Today you’ll get the 6th and final video in the ‘Beat the Recession with eCommerce’ series by Worldwide Brands. You can view it here:

In this video, you’ll see why the members of the Worldwide Brands community are among the most successful eBiz owners on the internet. And you’ll finally get a chance to take a look at a new educational product that I’m very excited about. These past few weeks, you’ve seen the free videos by Worldwide Brands in the ‘Beat the Recession with eCommerce’ series. So you know what kind of ‘top-notch’ material they produce. But what you saw was just the tip of the iceberg. They’ve spent the past 12 months creating new videos, tools and resources to grow your internet business.

Way more than what could fit in a single video series. Worldwide Brands took every single trick, technique and strategy they’ve learned in the past 8 years and poured it into something that will have a major impact on your business. It’s called ‘The Whole Sale’. Click here to see it:

It cost over a quarter of a million dollars to produce and it’s literally an encyclopedia of product sourcing information. There is nothing like it currently available. If there was one resource I would say is ‘absolutely vital’ for your internet business, it would be ‘The Whole Sale’. Here’s why:

The two main questions everyone always asks is ‘what do I sell and where do I get it’. ‘The Whole Sale’ answers those questions and more from the #1 provider of product sourcing information online. Here’s what you’ll get with ‘The Whole Sale’:

1.  19 Separate eBiz and Product Sourcing Video Courses The video courses will walk you though step-by-step how to build real internet profits. It covers everything they’ve learned the past 8 years working working with thousands of wholesale suppliers and eCommerce business owners.

2.  19 Comprehensive Online Workbooks The workbooks expand each of the subjects covered on the videos in much greater detail. Each of the courses have real world exercises and interactive self testing modules, so you’ll be able to see exactly what you’ve learned and what you need to review.

3. Worldwide Brands’ eCommerce Insider Report The world of eCommerce is always changing. So they teamed up with the research giant, Forrester Research, to bring you this ongoing report. Every single issue is jam-packed with specific, targeted information you can use to grow your online business. This report will give you insights on eCommerce and consumer behavior that 99% of your competitors will never have. It’s a huge unfair advantage for you in any marketplace you enter.

4. Worldwide Brands eCommerce Industry Forum In this forum, you’ll be able to ask questions and get answers from the real experts, that are specific to your business. This is the personal access that is rare online. Plus, they have a large collection of extra bonus material that you’ll get when you buy ‘The Whole Sale’, including a special bonus from Amazon.com Worldwide Brands has partnered with Amazon to give you 2 FREE months of ‘Selling on Amazon’ services. This alone is worth $79.98 and will allow you to expose your products to Amazon’s millions of buyers.

You also get liquidation deals from two of America’s largest B2B liquidation suppliers and inventory specials that are only available to ‘The Whole Sale’ owners. Just one of these special deals could easily pay for ‘The Whole Sale’ many times over.

All in all, it’s one impressive package and I believe it will be a key resource that can get you going if you don’t already have an online business or improve your current internet business dramatically.

Yes –as you can see from the link that this is an affiliate program that I earn money on when you buy, but if you have been one of my readers for a while, you know I never recommend anything to you that I wouldn’t recommend to my sister. I have seen the product and can say without reservation that I personally endorse this new product and that it is well worth the money.  Best of all, we are now in a multi-channel world. If you want to make money online and enjoy the benefits or working from home you need to move beyond eBay and this product will help you if you sell on eBay, Amazon or your own website.

You’ll be able to get ‘The Whole Sale’ at a discounted price today, Thursday, at 3 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. But, you must move fast because in addition to the other bonuses I just mentioned, we have some incredible fast action bonuses lined up for the first 125 people who purchase.

Click Here to see the final video and get a preview peek at the new product with some great bonuses for those who purchase early.

I think you’ll agree, that with everything you get with ‘The Whole Sale’, this will be one of the biggest bargains you’ll see all year. Let me know what you think.