Category Archives: PeSA ECMTA Summit 2008

PowerSeller's Impressions – Part 3 ECMTA PeSa – eCommerce Summit – John Lawson's Final Cut

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John LawsonThis is the Grand Finale of John Lawson's 3 Part series of commentary derived from his notes from New Orleans - eCommerce Summit 2008

Hey guys, here is Part III and this is the final in this series. So let's get into it!

First I want to go over the little notes I listed in Part II of this series.

I'll go through it and give you my personal feeling about what Lorrie Norrington said and how what she said in her speech might affect my business and as a PowerSeller on eBay.

I want to respectfully say that I am basically just a guy trying to feed my family with an eBay business. My business is a business that I started at the kitchen table, literally. It is a business that I actively run and the day to day operations of it are handled by myself, my partner and a small virtual staff. I think 3rd Power Outlet has come to the point now where we would be considered small to medium eBay Powersellers, experienced sellers, and primarily eBay-centric sellers.

When Lorrie started the speech and said primarily that eBay wanted seller's business and considered us sellers as partners, my initial reaction was, "OK, this is different". I was not really used to hearing keynote speeches from eBay Presidents speaking in these terms. Continue reading “PowerSeller's Impressions – Part 3 ECMTA PeSa – eCommerce Summit – John Lawson's Final Cut” »

PowerSeller's Impressions of eBay President Lorrie Norrington's Speech @ PeSA ECMTA Summit NOLA 2008 -3rd PowerOutlet Part Deaux

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Morial Convention Center

Guest Post by: John Lawson - 3rdPowerOutlet.com

Wow, the intro that Scott wrote on Part I was very flattering. I really appreciated it, and he made me sound smart…way smarter than I am. I really am glad he wrote it though, because others may start to believe it, in spite of the glaring contradiction I will detail in these next entries of blogging about the conference. I got my own style, so do not get too offended.  This is only me having fun.

Part II – Conference Day

We left off at 2:00 AM this morning. That is when I got my crazy butt in a cab to the hotel and got to bed about 2:45 AM or so. As Scott said about the fine liquor in his intro, I am glad it was fine because the sting is a lot less in the mornings.

Note to self…Top shelf means fewer hangovers. Continue reading “PowerSeller's Impressions of eBay President Lorrie Norrington's Speech @ PeSA ECMTA Summit NOLA 2008 -3rd PowerOutlet Part Deaux” »

PeSA ECMTA eCommerce Summit 2008- Attendee Perspective – Guest Blogger John Lawson 3rdPowerOutlet.Com

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We have a new Guest Blogger....

John Lawson is the President and driving force behind 3rd Power Outlet www.3rdPO.com

If you are already a member of PeSA ECMTA you may already know of John. I mean, he is hard to miss! I don't say this just because he knows how to attract attention with his branded 3rdPowerOutlet clothing...

John Lawson

I say it because John is a active member on the PeSA ECMTA Forums and as the first first African American member of PeSA he is a trailblazer who adds real value to the community.

John adds value on the discussion boards and in person. John asks the questions most attendees at events like Catalyst or eCommerce Summit wish they had thought of asking. The fact that he is a straight shooting, successful business person and a pioneer who brought Hip Hop successfully to eBay just adds enormous credibility to what he says and lends value to the answers he gets from speakers at these conferences.

It did not take long for John and I to hit it off when we met at Catalyst in Pinehurst, North Carolina. I felt we had a connection both in business philosophy and as friends. I do not come from John's background, and to be honest I do not know much about Hip Hop. I would never presume to relate to John on that plane and he is fine with that.

I can relate to John as a business person, entrepreneur and a good guy. I appreciate hearing what John has to say and I thought my audience here at the Trading Assistant Journal would also appreciate reading John's perspective.

So after plying him with fine liquor and offering to make him even more famous than he already is... I have successfully convinced John Lawson to add to our conversation here at The TA Journal as a guest blogger.

What follows is what I hope to be the first of many entries from my friend John. Please read and enjoy. Check out his store and learn how this man views the world of eCommerce. You could only stand to learn a thing or two...and that can't be a bad thing.

eCommerce Summit - View from a PeSA Attendee - Part One - by: John Lawson

You guys can read about the eCommerce / PeSA sessions from a real blogger as Scott has done wonders capturing it on this blog. I met Scott for the first time at the ChannelAdvisor Catalyst event earlier this year. At that time he asked me for my input and chatted about it. I mentioned that I would be going to the PeSA event in New Orleans and he asked if I would be interesting in a guest blog about it. So I agree to give it a try and I am not a pro at all, so here is my story.

This is a personal perspective of my trip to New Orleans and my perspective of the events at the summit. This is written by me and for me mostly, but I thought I would capture my thoughts here and you are welcome to follow along.

Part I.... (The arrival) Continue reading “PeSA ECMTA eCommerce Summit 2008- Attendee Perspective – Guest Blogger John Lawson 3rdPowerOutlet.Com” »

Review – eCommerce Summit ECMTA PeSA 2008 vs Catalyst Pinehurst 2008

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The eCommerce Summit in New Orleans wrapped up the event today with a Habitat for Humanity volunteer workshop.

Habitat

More than 100 of the over 500 eCommerce Summit 2008 attendees and journalists who attended this year's 3 day long conference in New Orleans, dedicated time and elbow grease to help this worthy charity build homes for people in need in New Orleans. Final numbers have not been tabulated yet, but at last count the event raised over $80,000 for Habitat for Humanity.

eBay Donation Habitat

On the first night, Frontier Marketing (one of the main sponsors of this Summit) presented a check for over $30,000 to benefit Habitat for Humanity. Frontier requested $1.00 donations from each active customer and over 15,000 customers joined the cause. To make the gesture twice as impressive Frontier offered a dollar for dollar matching donation. Frontier, together with their customers raised over $30,000 to help Habitat. eBay surprised the crowd prior to Lorrie Norrington's keynote address with a $50,000 donation for Habitat in the name of all eBay sellers. In addition, Genco Marketplace donated many fine prizes for a silent auction benefitting Habitat as well.

ECommerce Summit

eCommerce Summit vs. Catalyst Pinehurst? Catalyst

Recently (yesterday while in the NOLA airport via a Twitter Tweet from a friend) I was asked to compare this year's Summit event with the recent Channel Advisor Catalyst conference held in Pinehurst, NC.

On the surface one could say two events do not match up - based on the premise that Catalyst is primarily sponsored & promoted by a single multichannel solutions provider and the eCommerce summit is sponsored by two connected trade organizations with additional corporate sponsorship from multiple solutions providers. There is an overlap of sponsorship for each event, yet each event had a different look and feel.

Some points of comparison are available to informed observers, I am sure many of my readers could easily chime in with comments regarding the differences, I met with many of them at both events.

The initial impression: Continue reading “Review – eCommerce Summit ECMTA PeSA 2008 vs Catalyst Pinehurst 2008” »

Keynote Lorrie Norrington, President eBay Global Marketplaces – PeSA ECMTA Summit 2008

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Lorrie Norrington greets PeSA ECMTA Summit New Orleans - Keynote Address

The title for this presentation - "Bidding for your business - What eBay is doing to drive seller success". The real title could have been...

eBay - opening up the lines of communication with buyers and sellers.

Today's keynote presentation started with a Katrina hurricane media piece focusing on eBay in the community and eBay itself pulling together in a effort to help victims of the Katrina disaster.

  • eBay donated $1000 to one thousand sellers in the affected area to help get sellers back on their feet
  • eBay sellers posted record numbers of donations for Katrina relief
  • Entire groups of sellers organized caravans of relief supplies for the victims

Jonathan Garris, Director of eCommerce Merchants ECMTA & CEO of Gotham City Online, introduced the keynote speaker Lorrie Norrington after the following brief comments.

  • ECMTA is all about members working together towards a common goal
  • 2008 eCommerce changes rapidly - 2008 eBay shifting to a culture of change

Lorrie Norrington Speaks... Continue reading “Keynote Lorrie Norrington, President eBay Global Marketplaces – PeSA ECMTA Summit 2008” »

PeSA Cocktails & More – 1st Night in New Orleans

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The first evening of PeSA ECMTA Summit really was just a preview of the exhibitor floor.  People enjoyed the cocktail party atmosphere and mingled among one another freely. 

vendio@PeSA

The real progress on this short evening (everyone was encouraged to depart long before it seemed that the business of networking was complete) seemed to be the meet & greet aspect of the evening.  One can never quantify the relationships formed during these types of events.  It is why we attend at great expense in both time and money  - we come to meet people and form relationships.

The glaring conclusion from our first quick evening at PeSA was that eCommerce is no longer all about eBay.  Everything is on the table and everyone is looking for new opportunities. 

Tomorrow (today) we hear from Lorrie Norrington - President, eBay Global marketplace operations as a the keynote speaker of this event....

We will look forward to what Lorrie has to say....

After the small party, everyone dispersed into the playground that is New Orleans.  Gambling and more can be had in the Big Easy... 

More tomorrow from the floor of the Morial convention center in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Welcome to New Orleans – Pesa ECMTA Summit 2008!

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French QuarterI just arrived in New Orleans.  My ride from the airport was bone jarring in an airport shuttle van, but since I was the last stop, my rough and rowdy ride allowed me to get reacquainted with the sights of New Orleans and the French Quarter...in the daylight.

My hotel is on the St. Charles trolley line and I am within 1/2 mile of the Morial Convention Center.  I have a nice room on a quaint New Orleans style courtyard.

I must get ready for the first night of festivities here at PeSa/ECMTA Summit New Orleans - Just a meet & greet Cocktail party, but one never knows who they may meet.

I plan on trying to post here fast and furious over the next few days of the Summit, so let me know if you have any questions for the PeSA Summit presenters or keynote speakers and I will try my best to get them on record!

Anyone want to ask eBay a question?