World Market Center Las Vegas Could Learn A Lot From ebay

Lisa Stewart of Lisa Stewart Photography at the Las Vegas Market

We used to love being greeted every morning by Precious! Such a great attitude and always made us feel special

The Las Vegas Market at World Market Center Las Vegas used to be a design and furniture resource that I would never miss. I think from the first show, I may have only missed one or two. Their customer service and the wonderful team always took such good care of us, but something has changed. When they were too busy “being at lunch” to find out what had happened to my photographer’s pass and wouldn’t let her in, I decided it was time to do my shopping someplace else.

Donny Osmond at Las Vegas Market

Frank Gehry Tribute Photos by Lisa Stewart Photography

We have so many great memories from the Las Vegas Market, and since Lisa Stewart of Lisa Stewart Photography has agreed to go as my photographer we have captured some very special moments. Her resume is incredible. She was an official photographer for the Super Bowl in Dallas and was even hired to be the photographer at a party with Prince. She also has been the photographer for the USA Film Festival for over 15 years and has photographed such greats as John Travolta, Sally Field, Anthony Hopkins the list goes on and on.

Capturing the Moment in the Showrooms - Lisa Stewart Photography

She is the photographer for the Manufactured Housing Institute and The Texas Manufactured Housing Association and has shot for Dallas Market Center, yet the Las Vegas Market didn’t think that she was worthy of getting a pass for their show. After we registered online, and paid for airfare, hotel, and a car we waited and waited to pick up her pass and we were told that the person who had to take care of it was at lunch and wouldn’t be available for over an hour. When we tried to register her for this show that is happening now we were told that she had never been registered with them, wasn’t in the system, and would have to mail in a ridiculous amount of credentials. All they would have had to do is Google Lisa Stewart Photography and they would have seen how well-known she is, including magazine covers with her work featured on them. Even though we had made all of our reservations for the trip, after all of this she canceled so I canceled. What does this have to do with eBay? Everything.

With all of the COVID concerns, eBay took their annual eBay Open online this year. I am fairly new to eBay, but when everything started to shut down last year and it made it impossible to do my model homes and design business, I decided to sell online.

I tried almost every online shopping resource - eBay, Poshmark, Etsy, Mercari, and more, but my best experiences have been with eBay and Mercari. When they both announced their online conferences I signed up immediately and learned so much at both of them. All of them have great social media groups of resellers that are so helpful and are always willing to share advice and resources, and before both conferences, I got great swag bags of thoughtful, branded gifts like coffee mugs, specialty teas, and collectible pins to get me excited about the event.

Even though they have millions of visitors a day, they made me feel special by making the effort to do exactly that, and it is appreciated. I have been thinking about writing about my Vegas market experience for a while, and just as I started writing this the doorbell rang and there was a package from ebay for me! It had in it a thank you note and QR code where I could access all of the sessions that happened, a t-shirt, hat, and pin - all branded and collectible from the event. They understand that their success depends on our loyalty and successes - a fact that the Las Vegas market seems to have forgotten. You can buy almost everything online these days from manufacturers from the safety of your own home, so making the investment to attend a show should be even more appreciated and not taken lightly by the event management. I always loved this show, but unless things change I won’t be going back.

Reselling and having our Lifestylist Look shops online and at Lula B’s has taught me a lot about making sure that your customers know how much you appreciate them. I write a personalized thank you note and include it with every item I sell - it’s amazing how much that means to people and how often it is mentioned in our reviews. Many have become friends, and have introduced me to their art and collections as well.

This Lifestylist® would love to hear about your experiences and if you think the level of customer service and appreciation has changed, especially since COVID. Fortunately for us the Dallas Market opens today as well, so we will be heading over there, photographer in tow to search out the latest trends in home and design so we can share them here!

*