Your Digital Commerce Learning Library
We've spent years building practical guides and exercises for people starting their journey into online retail. Most of our students come from completely different fields — teaching, manufacturing, healthcare — and find these resources help them bridge the gap between traditional commerce and digital selling.
Everything here comes from actual challenges our students faced. When someone got stuck setting up their first online catalog or struggled with inventory tracking, we created a resource for it. Real problems, practical solutions.
What You'll Find Here
Product Setup Guides
Step-by-step walkthroughs for listing your first products online. We cover photography basics, description writing, and pricing strategies that make sense for different markets.
Platform Comparisons
Honest breakdowns of different selling platforms. We compare features, costs, and learning curves so you can pick what fits your situation instead of following trends.
Customer Service Templates
Email responses, refund policies, and shipping notifications written in plain language. Edit them to match your voice and save hours of writing time.
Analytics Worksheets
Simple spreadsheets that help you track what matters without drowning in data. Figure out which products move and which ones sit collecting dust.
Starter Toolkit for New Sellers
When Irena Koskinen joined our program last spring, she'd never sold anything online before. She ran a small pottery studio and wanted to reach customers beyond her local area. This toolkit is what helped her get started.
It's not comprehensive — that would be overwhelming. Instead, it focuses on the first two weeks of setting up an online presence. Just the essentials you need to go from idea to actual storefront.
- Platform selection checklist based on product type and budget
- Product photography guide using just a smartphone and natural light
- Pricing calculator that factors in materials, time, and platform fees
- First-month inventory tracker to see what's actually selling
- Basic shipping cost estimator for different package sizes
Irena launched her store in three weeks. Not everything was perfect, but it was functional. She's adjusted things as she learned, which is exactly how this should work.
Explore Our ProgramHands-On Practice Exercises
Theory only gets you so far. These exercises walk you through real scenarios you'll face when running an online store. Work through them at your own pace.
Writing Product Descriptions That Convert
BeginnerTake five everyday household items and write three different product descriptions for each. One focusing on features, one on benefits, and one telling a story. Compare how different approaches feel.
What You'll Learn
Most people think product descriptions are just lists of specifications. This exercise shows how the same item can appeal to different customers depending on how you frame it. You'll also spot which writing style feels natural to you.
Building Your First Pricing Strategy
IntermediateChoose a product category and research three competitors. Calculate their apparent markup, estimate shipping costs, and figure out where you could position yourself. Then adjust your numbers based on realistic sales volume.
What You'll Learn
Pricing isn't about pulling numbers from thin air. This exercise teaches you to look at the whole picture — costs, competition, and volume — so your prices actually make business sense instead of being wishful thinking.
Handling Difficult Customer Situations
IntermediateWe provide six realistic customer complaints — damaged items, late shipping, wrong products. Draft responses that solve the problem while protecting your business. Then review examples of how experienced sellers handled similar situations.
What You'll Learn
You can't avoid problems in retail. This exercise prepares you for common issues before they happen, so you're not figuring things out while an angry customer is waiting for a response. Preparation reduces stress significantly.
Inventory Planning for Seasonal Products
AdvancedUsing historical sales data we provide, forecast inventory needs for a seasonal product over six months. Factor in lead times, storage costs, and the risk of being either sold out or stuck with excess stock.
What You'll Learn
Buying too much ties up cash. Buying too little means lost sales. This exercise teaches you to balance those risks using actual numbers instead of gut feelings. It's more math than most people expect, but it's worth learning.