eTail has begun

Today I made my way to the desert for the beginning or eTail. It's pretty big -not CES big, mind you, but a pretty good-sized gathering of eCommerce interests. Retailers, vendors, and "experts" galore have gathered. Especially vendors.

Tonight I was invited to dinner by one of our vendors - they bussed about 40 of their customers and prospects to a local seafood restaurant to wine and dine us. They are genuinely interested in doing everything they can to help us optimize our use of their product, and since we're at the point in the relationship where we're considering our options (and they know it) I received more than my share of their attention. Good for them - I'm glad they appreciate that we have some issues, and they definitely aren't running from them or brushing them off.

The crowd is a lot younger than I had expected - I supposed that only makes sense, as the internet is still a relatively young entity. There are salespeople GALORE here - if they don't outnumber retailers, it would surprise me. And it's kind of gratifying - most of the people I met tonight are familiar with Crutchfield. We may not be the biggest player in the game, but we're definitely very well-respected.