Lesson Plan
Buying & Selling
Online
A student understands the basics of shopping and selling things online.
Lesson Objectives
At the end of the class, the student will:
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Be able to identify and navigate to several trustworthy online buying/selling sites.
Understand how to evaluate which site to use to sell items online.
Know the primary differences between four popular online selling venues.
Know where to find help.
Understand how to stay safe buying and selling online.
Lesson Prep Work
(30 min, at a minimum, prior to student arrival)
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get in early to test for technology failure, because it will happen :-)
login to commoncraft account
login to yahoo account
login to craigslist account
pre-load web pages
○ http://pages.ebay.com/paypal/
○ http://ebay.com/help/sell/fees.html
○ http://amazon.com (then click on “sell” during class)
○ http://etsy.com
○ https://support.google.com/voice/answer/115061?hl=en (Google Voice video)
print handouts
Lesson Prerequisites
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Good basic computer skills.
Lesson Outline
The lesson is completed in one 90-minute class session.
(10) Introduction
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Introduce instructor, students.
o Ask students at introduction, first name and: What’s your experience either buying or selling
online, and what were you hoping to take away from today’s class?
Let students know it’s okay to take phone calls, but ask them to put their phone on vibrate and answer
calls outside the classroom.
Inform students that they can sit back and watch if the class is too advanced.
Inform students they can go to the bathroom, they don’t need permission.
Show order in which class will happen. Explain scope of class.
COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY CENTER
10 W 14th Ave Parkway | Denver, CO 80204 | 720.865.1706 | http://denverlibrary.org/ctc
11/12/13
mrc
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(10) Buying & Selling Basics
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The Big Four
o Explanation
 Although there are many places to buy and sell items online, this class will cover a few
of the most popular sites.
 Explain briefly what each site is for:
 Craigslist: online classifieds only (not a marketplace)
 Ebay: online auction (other features too – focus on auction)
 Amazon: books and new, discounted items (focus on books and new)
 Etsy: vintage, handmade and supplies for handmade
Pros of Online Marketplaces
o Explanation
 When shopping, things are delivered to you.
 When shopping, there’s more opportunity to find unique/handmade items.
 When selling online more people will potentially see your items for sale.
 When using Craigslist, you’re paid in cash, immediately.
Cons of Online Marketplaces
o Explanation
 When buying, you must have things delivered to a safe location.
 When selling, you need to ship or arrange for shipping of items.
 Except Craigslist, you pay fees to post your items online.
 When using Craigslist, you have to meet people face to face, possibly in your own home.
o Activity: What’s right for you?
 Step 1 – Ask students to discuss whether or not they have a place to put packaging
supplies. How close is the nearest post office, UPS or FedEx store?
 Step 2 – Ask students if they’d be comfortable having a buyer come into their home to
look at a large item advertised on craigslist.
 Step 3 – Ask students to think about what other considerations there are:
 Do you have a camera/phone that you can use to take photos?
 How comfortable are you expressing yourself online?
 Do you have friends/family who could help you with selling online?
 How much time to you have to commit to selling online, and what’s your
availability to show items if advertising on craigslist?
(15) Safety
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In Person
o Explanation
 Only applies to craigslist – all other websites, transactions will take place online.
 Craigslist doesn’t take any responsibility for interactions gone wrong – it’s simply
a place to post and reply to ads.
 Meet in a public place when buying/selling smaller items.
 Go to a bank to have buyer withdraw cash in public for expensive items (cars,
jewelry, etc.)
COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY CENTER
10 W 14th Ave Parkway | Denver, CO 80204 | 720.865.1706 | http://denverlibrary.org/ctc
11/12/13
mrc
Page 2
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Take a friend when looking at items in someone’s home – or a cell phone at the
very least. Let someone know where you’re going and when you expect to return.
Ask if students have any questions about in-person safety.
Online
o Explanation
 Consider creating a separate email account for buying/selling online.
 Don’t have to sort through personal emails to get to buying/selling emails.
 Your real personal email address won’t get shared with third parties.
 Don’t use any identifying information in this email address.
 Consider a Google Voice account to keep real phone number anonymous, receive
transcripts of voice mail messages.
 Show video: https://support.google.com/voice/answer/115061?hl=en
 Discuss phishing:
 Scammers are looking for your personal information (name, address, phone, ssn,
etc.) to create false identities or get your account information.
 Log into commoncraft and show phishing video:
http://www.commoncraft.com/phishing
o Activity: Protecting against scams & fraud.
 Step 1 – Go to denver.craigslist.org and have students follow along.
 Step 2 – Click on avoid scams & fraud.
 Step 3 – Go over these sections:
 Who should I notify about scam or fraud attempts?
 Actual scam emails sent to craigslist users.
o Tip: Only focus on examples related to selling.
o Ask students to explain how they would tell these examples are scams.
 Person is overseas, can’t meet in person.
 Request for online payment on craigslist (acceptable for other
sites like eBay & Amazon, not acceptable for craigslist).
 Step 4 – Have students hit the back button to get back to craigslist home page.
 Step 5 – Have students click on personal safety tips, then go to onguardonline.gov from
this section of craigslist (also found on Where to Get More Help section of handout) and
show them what’s there related to buying & selling.
 Step 6 – Ask if students have any other questions about safety, and have them click the
back button to get back to craigslist home page. (Will use in next section.)
(45) Selling Sites
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Overview
o Explanation
 Will demo four very popular selling sites.
 Students will see similarities & differences.
 Major differences will help students decide which site to use for selling.
 Refer students to front of handout.
 Using these sites because name recognition – good place for new sellers to start:
 Craigslist is best known online classifieds.
 Ebay has best known online auction.
 Amazon has best known book and new item marketplace.
COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY CENTER
10 W 14th Ave Parkway | Denver, CO 80204 | 720.865.1706 | http://denverlibrary.org/ctc
11/12/13
mrc
Page 3
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Etsy is best known handmade/vintage marketplace.
Craigslist
o Explanation
 Only a place to post ads, so not like other three sites discussed in class.
 Only used for local, in-person transactions.
 Sellers can create a free account to help manage their posts (demo only).
o Activity: Exploring Craigslist
 Step 1 – Have students follow along as you look at for sale posts. Ask them to guide you
as you do the search. (Tip: Ask, “What would you like to shop for today?”)
 Show ways to change view (list, tile, etc.) and limit search:
o Price
o Pictures
 A good post to review with students has:
o Photos (more is better)
o A good description of the item(s)
o A way to contact the seller via email, with craigslist relay email address
(demo if you have time – click reply button, and craigslist autofills
information into new email once customer has logged into email account)
 Step 2 – Ask students to share what they like or don’t like about posts, and tell them to
consider those things when writing their own posts. Also tell them this applies to posts
created on Ebay and Etsy too. (Amazon has pre-fab descriptions and photos of new
items for sellers to use.)
 If no one speaks up, guide a discussion on:
o What should the author have included that they didn’t?
o Did the photos fairly represent the item being sold?
 Step 3 – Have students follow along as you navigate back to home page and search for
an item using the search box on the left side.
 Explain that this can be used to find items that may be listed in either furniture or
antiques, for example. Each item can only be listed in one category, so this
search helps resolve that problem for buyers.
 Step 4 – Quickly walk students through the process of creating a post without an
account using post to classifieds on the home page – but DON’T actually create the
post!
Ebay
o Explanation
 Became popular as an online auction site.
 Currently has classifieds and new items for sale also, but not covered in this
class. Auction only.
 Unlike craigslist, which is free for posting items for sale, Ebay has fees. Show
this page http://ebay.com/help/sell/fees.html to show a few of the fees. Don’t go
into too much detail, but just make them aware of:
o Posting fees
o Buy It Now fees
o Selling fees
o Reserve fees (if seller will only sell items for a set price or above)
o Activity: Exploring Ebay
COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY CENTER
10 W 14th Ave Parkway | Denver, CO 80204 | 720.865.1706 | http://denverlibrary.org/ctc
11/12/13
mrc
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Step 1 – Have students go to ebay.com, and follow along as you look at an auction item
listing. Ask them to guide you as you do the search. (Tip: Ask students to name a unique
– maybe vintage – item to search for. A vintage 1940s dress is a good option!)
 Show ways to limit search on the left side of the screen, including:
o Categories
o Product Type
o Condition
o More Refinements
 A good post to review with students has:
o Photos (more is better)
o A good description of the item(s)
o Current bids on the item
o A seller with lots of reviews
 More reviews means more information for buyers
 Will take sellers a while to get established
Step 2 – Review details of post including:
 Shipping details
 Delivery time
 Payment
Step 3 – Show where to place bid.
Step 4 – Click on seller’s name to get more information about him/her.
Step 5 – Click on Seller Information Center way down in the site map at the bottom of
the page. This is where to go to get all the information you need.
Amazon
o Explanation
 Amazon is the most famous place to buy/sell books.
 Also popular for buying new items at reduced prices.
 Amazon Prime – costs buyers $79/yr. for perks, costs sellers to offer it too (demo at
amazon.com/prime).
o Activity: Exploring Amazon
 Step 1 – Have students follow along as you navigate to Make Money With Us in the site
map. Click Sell On Amazon.
 Encourage students to explore this on their own for selling fees, how-tos, etc.
 Step 2 – Then do a search for something new & discounted. (Tip: I use Sonicare
toothbrush head replacements.)
 Show how structure is different from Ebay:
o One photo/one description
o Multiple sellers
 Check out reviews too because at Amazon, reviews are for
product first, then once you find a seller, you can see their
reviews.
 Step 3 – Demo books for sale if there’s time.
Etsy
o Explanation
 Popular site for vintage, handmade, and supplies for creating handmade only.
o Activity: Exploring Etsy
COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY CENTER
10 W 14th Ave Parkway | Denver, CO 80204 | 720.865.1706 | http://denverlibrary.org/ctc
11/12/13
mrc
Page 5
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Step 1 – Have students go to etsy.com, and follow along as you look at an item listing.
Ask them to guide you as you do the search. (Tip: I usually search for “bicycle” to show
the huge range of items.)
 Show ways to limit search, including:
o Type
o Color
o Price
o Location
 A good post to review with students has:
o Photos (more is better)
o A good description of the item(s)
o A store
Step 2 – Explain favorites.
Step 3 – Show how to access seller help by clicking Sell at the top of any page.
(10) Conclusion
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Go over handout, review material, and emphasize contact info & further resources on handout.
Any questions? Final comments?
Remind students they can ask for help, and get help within each of the websites discussed.
Remind to take survey.
COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY CENTER
10 W 14th Ave Parkway | Denver, CO 80204 | 720.865.1706 | http://denverlibrary.org/ctc
11/12/13
mrc
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