Are we allowed to embed videos in our descriptions on ebay listings?

[vintagetonow2134]

I feel I would be more accurate in showing my items condition through a video than by writing. I am a sloppy writer I think.

what do you think?

[femmefan1946]

It's allowed.

But having spent more time than I like to admit surfing eBay when I was supposed to be working, having a video suddenly start talking might make the customer/slacker backbutton.

I understand that eBay does require that the customer actually activate the video, so I may be over-reacting.

[momcqueen]

Having spent yesterday morning attending the Listing Optimization that I have three times now recommended to constantine, I can say ebay would actively discourage sellers from adding video content to their listings as it increases listing load time on mobile devices. Ebay wants its sellers to use the Product Catalogue and those associated videos where applicable. 

[goldnideas]

You can only add link to your listing and only from certain hosts. Active content is not allowed.

See Links policy

http://pages.ebay.ca/help/policies/listing-links.html

https://ocsnext.ebay.ca/ocs/sc

[recped]

Using video (YouTube) in your listing has ZERO effect on load times!

Embedded YouTube videos DO NOT auto-start (on eBay or anywhere else).

If you want to embed a YouTube video you should use this code generator:

http://www.isdntek.com/tagbot/YouTubeConverter.htm

[momcqueen]

You might be right but, having participated in the Listings Optimization webinar, I can tell you that ebay wants sellers to keep it simple and that their definition of simple doesn't include links to videos. Best Practises:

At no point did the person running the webinar tell us that embedding links to videos was a recommended or clever idea. 

Don't shoot the messager. Have a look at the webinar yourself:

https://www.gotostage.com/channel/01b9e2c441374319a80014237a315f17

[recped]

Yeah eBay also recommends starting auctions at 99 cents, offering 60 day free returns, giving discounts to buyers because they might possibly vaguely be interested, offering the lowest price anywhere on the internet, offer free shipping and a ton of other recommendations that are generally received by sellers as "eBay should stay out of my business which they know nothing about".

Apparently they are experts on whether a listing would be better or worse with a video included AND that recommendation is supposed to apply to all one billion ebay listings and 25 milluion sellers!

I do think it's a good idea to review suggestions that eBay might make but to simply take them as worthwhile for every thing sold by every seller is completely foolish given that eBay are experts in almost nothing.

[hlmacdon]

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@recpedwrote:

Apparently they are experts on whether a listing would be better or worse with a video included AND that recommendation is supposed to apply to all one billion ebay listings and 25 milluion sellers!

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They must be hiring marketing folks from Uber.

[momcqueen]

"Yeah eBay also recommends starting auctions at 99 cents, offering 60 day free returns, giving discounts to buyers because they might possibly vaguely be interested, offering the lowest price anywhere on the internet, offer free shipping and a ton of other recommendations that are generally received by sellers as "eBay should stay out of my business which they know nothing about....."

Hey, I'm just conveying the recommendations stated by ebay. I didn't preface the post with the title, Mo's Top Ten Recommendations for New Sellers to Get Best Results on eBay. And, as you noted above, ebay does in fact recommend all those practises and, stupid or not, whether a seller adheres to them affects where they rank in search and Best Match.

You don't have to like the rules, you don't even have to play by the rules but at the very least you should be aware of the rules. Or I. Or she. The best defence is  good offence. And about ten other hokey catchphrases apply. 

[momcqueen]

Or is it 'the best offence is a good defence'? Regardless....