Tim Johnston's Selling On The Internet seminar

Greetings!  You have found the web page for Selling On The Internet.  If you have any questions please contact Timothy Johnston at johnston@utm.edu.  Thank you.

Former students have said:  (1) Thorough explanations. Good job! (2) I liked the “hands-on” activities on the computer and interaction with you and the class. (3) I’ve been to a lot of business courses by experts in business; this was a good course. (4) Instructor was easy to understand.  Took lots of time to explain and demonstrate.  Very comfortable atmosphere and enjoyable class. (5) Good & solid info; liked the fact that I got to see the process from start to finish as it happens.

The following is from the UTM Extended Campus Continuing Education announcement:

Selling on the Internet

• Do you want to earn some extra money, or just get rid of some of your "stuff?" You can do both by selling on the Internet. This hands-on workshop covers choosing suitable items, writing descriptions, creating and uploading digital images, communicating with bidders, getting paid, and filling orders. The course will also touch on advanced selling topics such as using auction posting software and auction management software. Workshop participants need a working e-mail account and a credit card (VISA or MasterCard), and should be familiar with using a Web browser to access the Internet. To get the full benefits of the course, participants should visit http://www.utm.edu/~johnston/auction.htm before the workshop and register for online auction selling tools (at no cost). Participants should bring some items (or photos of items) that they wish to sell to the workshop. The instructor is an eBay seller with a feedback rating of over 190.
• Location: Business Administration Bldg, Room 227
• Dates/Time: Saturday, April 21, 9:00 am - 4:00 PM
• Fee: $99 per person; $158 per couple; and $25 per UTM Student
• Instructor: Dr. Timothy C. Johnston, College of Business and Public Affairs, UTM

Contact ECCE at 901-587-7082 or ecce@utm.edu to register.  Do you need a map?

If you have the following "housekeeping" items done in advance, you will be able to get the most out of the seminar.  If you come with an email address, an eBay selling account, and items to sell, you will be in the online auction business by the end of the day.

1.  Working email account.  You can use your existing home or work email account, or you can get a free email address from many sources.  I use an account from MailAndNews.com. HINT:  Register with a username that you will use as your eBay name.  My eBay name is talltim and my email is talltim@mailandnews.com.

2.  Credit card.  You need a credit card to register as an online seller.  I got an eBay Visa card (really First USA Bank) that came with a bonus:  a $10 credit against future eBay selling fees.  The card was approved within minutes, and I received it in the mail within a week.

3.  Familiarity with a web browser to access the Internet.  The best way to get familiar with web browsers, such as Netscape (available as a free Internet download) or Internet Explorer (comes with Microsoft Windows OS or as an Internet download), is to "surf" web sites.  Any computer-literate friend can get you started in minutes.

4.  Register for online auction selling tools.  The essential selling tool for this course is eBay.  Register with your credit card and email address (you must be 18 years old).  

5.  PayPal is an extremely convenient and free way of receiving auction payments, and a tool that is becoming essential.  This is optional for the seminar.

6.  Items to sell.  Bring a few small items that you would like to offer at auction.  Or better yet, bring the items along with photos of them.  Even better, bring the items along with images of them stored on a floppy disk in JPEG format.  Any of these options will work.  Register for free image hosting at Photopoint.com, if you wish.

Done? You are ready to sell!