By K.C. JonesInformationWeek
Todd Lutwak, senior director of seller development at eBay, said during an interview Friday that the company expects about 10,000 people to show up for the seventh annual event. He said participants would learn about recent changes at eBay and how to capitalize on them.
In the last year, eBay created new incentives for sellers and changed its search algorithms. Rankings were based on the time remaining for sales. Now they take into account other factors like relevance and seller performance ratings.
"We're working with sellers to make sure they understand a lot of the changes and how they work with their experience," Lutwak said.
With the dollar declining, U.S. sellers are serving more customers from foreign countries. EBay's PayPal unit verifies credit card holders' addresses in 190 countries.
Sellers who attend the online auction company's live event in Chicago can learn how to better market their goods for buyers around the world. They can attend training sessions to find out how to use eBay's tools more effectively. They can also walk into a booth, present their user IDs, and have eBay employees bring up their accounts, receive diagnostic reviews, and obtain tips on increasing sales.
Lutwak's team has developed best practices and seven steps of scalability to help sellers improve their understanding of online business. That can include pointers about which keywords work better than others, insight into how to make a better product, or tips and tricks to help buyers understand what they'll get, Lutwak said.
Partners and developers who have created applications for eBay will demonstrate their products and services on the show floor. Participants can join in question-and-answer sessions and attend briefings from executives, including John Donahoe, president of eBay Marketplaces.
Finally, those attending will be able to network with others who do what they do and swap tales of their trials and successes.
An ACNielsen survey found that 1.3 million people earn part or all of their income by selling on eBay. Some started out with a plan for creating a new online business. Brick-and-mortar business owners sought an online venue for products that were difficult to move through traditional channels. Others started as hobbyists and were surprised to see their passion transform into a full-fledged entrepreneurial undertaking. EBay insiders refer to the latter group as "accidental entrepreneurs."
"They don't refer to themselves as businesses," Lutwak said. "If I ask 'How long have you been in business?' they'll say, 'Oh, no, this is not a business. This is fun."
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