Over the course of the semester, you will be planning, designing and managing an eBusiness operation which integrates eBay auctions, direct sales from your eCommerce site, and a back end MS Access database to capture sales and customer information. You should begin planning your operations now so as to be well prepared for the design and management phases of the project. Due to our size, short time frame, available design tools and very limited financial resources, there are several Constraints within which we must work. They are described in the following section. You will also have access to the resources of Murray State's eBusiness Incubator Club, which you will find describe below. However, within these constraints, we do have substantial room for creativity and innovation. The Decision Factors section below describes some of the decisions you must make in determining the strategies and tactics you will implement in your site. You should begin discussing these issues in your team IMMEDIATELY so you will be ready to begin your eBusiness operations on schedule.

These are the constraints within which you must plan and implement your eBusiness operation,

E-Business Incubator Club

Mission Statement

The graduate student members of the E-Business Incubator Club of Murray State University 
are committed to exploring opportunities in E-Business.  We seek to actively learn and 
participate in the various aspects of E-Commerce and E-Business.  We will pursue these 
actions by buying and selling items over the Internet as a club for experience and 
fundraising opportunities that will help sustain future club activities.  The E-Business 
Incubator Club is NOT seeking to operate as a business for profit.  The primary goal of 
the E-Business Club is to foster a greater understanding of the area of E-Business and 
to allow students to actually enter the arena of E-Commerce.  The Club will also seek 
to raise the awareness of E-Commerce in other organizations and clubs in Murray State 
University’s service region.

Club Resources

Inventory - A few miscellaneous items are available for your first eBay auctions
PayPal Account - The club maintains a PayPal account for accepting (and occasionally making payments
Web Site - The club maintains a Bizland.com Web site with email accounts and links to your team's site

There are several decisions you must make before implementing your site. Ideally, you would determine your eBusiness business model and marketing strategy prior to making tactical decisions related to products, transactions and fulfillment. However, given our resource base, we must address the following issues simultaneously and quickly.

What will you sell?	Normally, this decision would flow from the following questions. However, our limited time frame dictates that it be the primary decision you will make. You have several options here, including, but certainly not limited to the following. Items belonging to team members, you would be a "Garage Sale" site Items you purchase from the Wholesale category of eBay Items you acquire from a local source (MSU Art Club, MSU Ceramics Club, MSU International Students, etc) Items purchased from the MSU eBusiness Incubator Club Ideally your source of products would allow you to identify a theme or identity for your site
To whom will you sell?	Follow Morley's planning model to identify: your target market and marketing objectives
How will you sell?	Which items will you offer on eBay? on your independent site? How will you integrate these parts of your eBusiness? How will you use eBay to encourage users to visit your independent site
Who is responsible for each item?	Each item you offer for sale, whether on eBay or your independent site, should be assigned to one team member. That person will be responsible for: managing the sale, answering questions from users/bidders/buyers, confirming receipt and amount of payment, arranging shipment, and confirming shipment to the buyer of the item.
What payment methods will you use?	You must make arrangements to accept credit card payments from buyers, whether they purchase on eBay or from your independent site. The best way to do so is through a PayPal Business Account, though you are free to use other systems of your preference which meet this requirement. If you wish to manage this function on your own, you may use any option which meets this requirement. You may also use the MSU eBusiness Incubator Club's PayPal account to accept (and occasionally make) payments. If you select the latter option, you must coordinate your plans with the professor and graduate assistants for the course so they can make the necessary arrangements.
What shipping methods will you use?	You must arrange for prompt, reliable shipping of items sold. In the resources for designing your site, you will have access to templates incorporating UPS rate determination and tracking functions into your site. These tools are optional. You may use whatever shipping method you think best. You must, however, communicate your shipping policy and costs to users in both your eBay and independent sites.
How will you promote your eBusiness site?	Chapters 13 and 14 of the text describe the most common methods for site promotion. You have access to some of these services through the listings on the Web Authoring Resource page. You must decide how to attract users to both your eBay auctions and your independent sites. Obviously, you will also be using eBay as a promotional method for your independent site.