Using EBay to Teach Basic Education Skills

This guide will provide an overview on how to teach entrepreneurial as well as basic education skills to youth.  Most EBay sellers had entrepreneurial spirit before becoming a seller on EBay, but EBay provided the launching pad to start their own business.  EBay is more than just the World’s Largest Marketplace.  It is also a great hands-on learning laboratory to teach youth skills needed in school, the workplace and for social interaction, formerly known as courtesy.  There are a number of ways to use EBay for learning purposes but due to space limitations we will cover only one, project based learning.

Project Based Learning - This is just what the name states.  By planning, implementing and completing a project, learning happens. Project based learning can be taught in a classroom, individually or with teams.   Project -based learning is particularly effective with youth who may struggle or become bored in traditional classrooms.  One example of EBay project based learning would look like this: 

Students are all required to start with a certain amount of money, say $50.00.  Their first task would be to familiarize themselves with EBay from a seller’s perspective. Students should be exploring such aspects as hot items, profit margins; the clicking will do much more than exercise their fingers.  It will expose them to the infinite expanse of the global market place. 

In the next step, students will select from the areas of interest that they have identified which is the most profitable for them to sell in.  The products can be anything, student artwork, reclaimed art made from salvage, donated items, items found at garage sales or personal belongings that they have outgrown such as rock, dinosaur or Barbie collections.

 Students will need to develop an Excel sheet that will list each item and its original cost, additional listing costs, the amount of time invested either totally or on each item, shipping and profit or loss. To get to this point, students will have learned how to conduct research using the internet, how to conduct comparisons, compile data, and produce an Excel spreadsheet.

The next steps students will photograph their auction items, write descriptions and develop policies and procedures for their businesses. Higher skill levels are needed to complete this phase.  Students will learn how to use a digital camera, use multiple computer files, write descriptively and develop procedures and policies.  Students should be encouraged to review each others photos and descriptions and offer constructive feedback.  This step also teaches or increases student’s basic computer applications skill levels since so many are used in registering as a seller on EBay. 

  It’s show time! At this point students will roll out their products, descriptions and terms of sale for their EBay site.  I recommend at least 10 items for sale over a four week period to allow a number of transactions and communications.  Students will learn how to manage their site and also how to improve their item descriptions by responding to the types of questions or comments posed by buyers, a part of a continuous improvement process.  Posting for a period of four weeks will allow them to make revisions to their plans from their seller experiences.

   The next step is one that trips many sellers up.  Packing and shipping can be tedious and frustrating but are a part of doing business.  More computer skills and internet resources are learned through the packing and shipping processes.  Students should consider how much to charge for handling based on what other sellers are doing plus the amount of time and materials.  Great lessons are learned here in cost and time estimations and also in the basic skills needed to work in shipping and receiving departments

 There is one last step on-line for the students.  They get to post and receive feedback.  In addition to acquiring customer satisfaction skills, students get the wonderful opportunity to learn about the capricious nature of the internet shopper, the dangers of flaming, instant karma and other important lessons in life.  

   
Time to pay the piper, the four weeks of EBay selling have come to an end, items have been sold, weighed packed in boxes, sent to faraway lands, received cheers and maybe even jeers.  BUT, did they make money, lose money, was it worth the time invested?  In addition to the bottom line, youth should figure out what their hourly wage would have been by dividing their hours into the profit or loss, a practical application of math skills.

    
Youth should also reflect on the experience and determine what they did well, what they should change to be more profitable and the main lessons learned.  I also recommend that youth make a portfolio of their best work to use in job interviews to demonstrate their abilities in spread sheets, digital photography and writing.  This exercise will teach or reinforce a minimum of fifteen valuable workplace skills including technical computer applications.  It also encourages entrepreneurship, creativity and teamwork.  The entire process has had youth making decisions, assuming responsibility and engaged in the outcome for immediate gratification.  One last note, this guide was planned to include nine to ten smart, funny, snazzy photos to illustrate the skills learned.  The moral of that story is even guide writers should leave a little margin for things going off schedule.  That skill is called planning.  Cheers!