eBay Open UK 2023 kicked off in London this morning with an opening welcome from the relatively new Eve Williams, eBay Vice President and UK General Manager. What struck me most was not that Eve was still there at the end of the day to close the event, but that she spent the entire day there, available to talk one on one with sellers, and even after the event ended was still there at the drinks session engaging with retailers selling on eBay.
It’s not often that you can get to meet eBay executives in person, but Eve was revelling in the chance to meet with the retailers selling on eBay, to hear their concerns, (even in some cases to hear from suspended sellers who had made the trip to London to appeal their cases and resurrect their accounts), and it was a pleasure to see her sheer enjoyment at hearing sellers’ unique stories and learn about their businesses.
Meet Eve Williams, eBay VP, at ChannelX World
If you would like to meet Eve in person, your next opportunity will be at ChannelX World on the 11th of October in London and you can get your ticket here. Eve will be on stage in the plenary sessions sharing her thoughts on the blueprint to maintain a healthy marketplace ecosystem.
eBay Open UK
But there was so much more at eBay Open UK, from sessions led by eBay experts and specialist external speakers including the likes of Jane Bell, Hannah Daragon, McGill Motorsports and, towards the end of the day, Andy Gray, co-founder of NFT marketplace KnownOrigin (which eBay recently acquired). Andy delved into the future of blockchain technology and how cryptocurrencies, NFTs and how Web 3.0 will shape the future.
Plus of course there were the one to one sessions where eBay businesses could get expert help from account managers, as well as workshops throughout the day to delve into the more practical sides of running a marketplace business.
And in the expo you could meet Linnworks, ChannelEngine, BaseLinker, Volo, ChannelAdvisor, AdLister, M2E, and My Teamz, all offering solutions to assist businesses to grow.
Finally, possibly the important part, tea, coffee, biscuits, cakes, a superb lunch, and drinks after the event made it a day to remember.
We know that Eve Williams and the team are planning even more eBay for Business events in 2024. We’d encourage you to take a day out of your business to go and immerse yourself in the world of eBay. It’s one of the rare chances you’ll have to speak one on one category managers, account managers and of course Eve herself and these are all contacts eager to help your business succeed on eBay.
One Response
Did not bother going to any of the events this year. As when you speak to category managers in the past who you exchange details with. Follow up after the show only to never hear back from them or push you over to the ads team who are only interested in getting you to pad out their bonus with promoted listings.
When you show no interest in paying ebay more to promote listings they soon lose interest.
If ebay really want to help small businesses they really need to start looking at their shop offering which has not improved for a long time. The likes of Wix and Shopify have come along and provide a much better offering. Way lower fees, ahead of ebay when it comes to technology and shop fees much more attractive.