When
Stephanie Elsen started selling items on eBay, she was excited to auction off
a golf game to someone in Italy.She packaged up the game and brought it to the post office only to learn that under Italian regulations, she could only send a toy if it was wooden. Elsen had to refund the money to her eBay buyer.
That was just one of the lessons about buying and selling on the Internet trading site that Elsen learned through trial and error.
“Sometimes you have to learn the hard way,” she said. “It is much easier to take the class and learn to do it the right way.“
Today Elsen teaches others how to sell on eBay and will be the instructor of a new “Success on eBay Series” starting March 19 at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
“As more people see others that have success on eBay, I think they want to
learn how to do it themselves,” she said.
Stephen Woessner, business outreach coordinator at UW-L, said the university
will offer beginning and advanced eBay classes as part of the series. While
the beginning class focuses on the basics of selling, the advanced class will
show people how to build a business on eBay.
“There is a misconception that eBay is all about buying little trinkets and
stuffed animals,” he said. “The reality for businesses is that it can help
them liquidate inventory and sell equipment. It opens them up to a global
marketplace they may not have had access to because eBay has that network and
provides them with the e-commerce engine to complete those transactions.“
Jack Socha has been an eBay instructor at Western Technical College for about
five years.
“Eight years ago I began buying stuff on eBay,” he said. “I never
dreamed of doing this with packed classes.“
The Western class is designed for individuals who want to learn to sell, not
businesses, said Socha.
The class will emphasize the importance of well-presented merchandise, he
said.
Elsen, who sells on eBay part time in addition to teaching, said eBay selling
is a good way to make some money while getting rid of clutter around the
house. Once, while cleaning out a jewelry drawer, she decided to sell a small,
silver Filigree pin she thought was “a piece of junk.”
It went for $65.
“Everyone has things in their house that they don’t want or need,” she
said. “eBay provides a safe environment for them to turn those items into
cash.“
Rick Christenson of Onalaska has found eBay a great way to make cash. In fact,
it’s his full-time job.
He sells primarily antique toys. His private label Tonka trucks from the 1950s
and 1960s go for about $2,000 each.
Christenson didn’t need a class to get started. He was well versed in
computer programming and the Internet from a job at Trane.
After he was laid off in 2001, Christenson thought to sell off some of his toy
collection while he looked for a job.
“Selling off my collection turned into a full-time job,” he said. “It
wasn’t my intention, but that’s what happened.”
UW-L Success on eBay Series
What: A full-day workshop covering online safety, creating accounts, pricing,
shipping, returns, photography, PayPal, collecting payments and more.
When: March 19
Where: UW-L Wing Technology Center
Cost: $99*
What: “Advanced Selling on eBay.” (basic computer knowledge necessary)
When: April 19
Where: UW-L Wing Technology Center
Cost: $99.*
*A 20 percent discount is available to those registering for both workshops.
Pre-registration required. For more information call (608) 785-8783 or visit www.uwlax.edu/sbdc.
Western Technical College
What: eBay/Internet for Making Money teaches the basics of selling on eBay:
listing items, setting prices, tricks to make an ad stand out and more.
When: April 14 to May 5
Where: La Crosse Campus
Cost: $31.62; $4 for those 62 and older.
For more information: Call 608-789-6100 or go to www.westerntc.edu/lifelonglearning
Online lessons :
Sky
high auctions .
To make Money online, this is a top notch online educaton, read more at the aboe link or see some insiders videos Selling on Ebay
