Signaling more change, eBay cancelled next year's user conference, scheduled for June 11 - 13 in Atlanta, Georgia. The event had been booked in 2004, but eBay cancelled the conference 2 years ago.
eBay Live has been held each June since 2002. The conference provides small and large sellers alike the opportunity to have face time with eBay and PayPal executives, network with colleagues and take classes, while buyers and die-hard eBay fans could enjoy eBay's hospitality.
In an announcement to users today, eBay executive Lorrie Norrington said eBay would be focusing its energy next year on smaller venues "to facilitate more face-to-face interactions with our customers and community."
After eBay Live 2008 is wrapped up in Chicago in June, the next conference will take place in Orlando in August 2010.
The cancellation of eBay Live 2009 came as eBay began shifting its focus on the needs of high-volume sellers. We learned through a source that eBay Live 2009 was booked 4 years ago at the Georgia World Congress Center to run June 11-13, and was cancelled in February 2006, a month after eBay held its first Ecommerce Forum invitation-only meeting of 200 of its top sellers.
The focus on large-volume sellers became even more evident last week when it was revealed that eBay has entered into a deal with online retailer Buy.com to place all of its new and in-season inventory on eBay in a first-of-its-kind partnership.
