OpenSky Blog

I attended the LA Gift Show earlier this month.  It was an interesting experience since it was the first one I went to.  There are 12 floors and I started on the top. By the time I got to the 9th floor I was pretty bummed. Most of the stuff I saw was completely boring – i.e. the kind of stuff you see in small town gift shops that reek of potpourri.  But on the 9th floor , I started to see some cool items and it continued as I went downwards.

My approach with the sales people seemed to work. Here’s what I did. I’d go in and just start talking with them about how a product worked, asking what made it special, if it was as great as it seemed. So, I engaged them in a friendly conversation.  When the time seemed right, I pulled out the little three page packet Mike made for me and gave a thumbnail sketch of OpenSky.  These people are busy and I didnt’ want to get too detailed.  In some conversations, I got into the drop ship thing.  In others I didnt’ go there.   (I only xeroxed the 3 pages Mike gave me 12 times and this was a mistake as I quickly ran out – but I really didn’t realize how much I’d need this to leave people with. It takes some time to familiarize someone with OpenSky and leaving something behind for them to re-read- that’s more than a business card –  is a good idea).  I’d tell them “read this later when you have a quiet moment- but it pretty much goes over the way OpenSky works and it shows my site and some items I’m already selling.”  Then I told them someone from OpenSky would be contacting them and walking them thru it all and answering questions in detail.

Of the 25 or so times I stopped to question and talk – and really got engaged about a product I wanted to sell – only one salesperson curtly told me “no, we don’t drop ship.”  Naturally, it was the best stuff I’ve seen in my life in one place, Roost.com (I’ve shopped all over the world and I’m not kidding about this – the loot was over the top!).   Still she reluctantly gave me a catalog, and I’m hoping OpenSky will convince her to do business with us.  But seriously, everyone I spoke to said “yes, I drop ship” or “that sounds interesting, I’ll definitely talk to the OpenSky people.”  So all in all it was a positive experience. I’m a pretty picky person, so I didn’t think I’d come away with a lot of items. For me, at this stage in life, less is more.  I don’t want crappy things around or devices I don’t use.  But the items I picked out were definitely cool,, unique and I think will sell.  So, the gift show was a plus.  I’m thinking , in fact, of going up to San Francisco on Feb. 6th to see what they have.  I’m wondering if anyone knows the answer to this : will the SF show offer different vendors than the LA show?  If you know the answer , please share.

Linda Grasso is an OpenSky Shopkeeper and writes the online women’s magazine http://www.shesez.com/