I put "live" video on my Ebay auctions today,feedb

[brogary]

My ebay seller name is < brogary >. This is an experiment on my part. I'm trying to personalize the Ebay buying experience by showing a live (prerecorded) video clip with a reassurance message.

I have lots of looker an am trying to encourage a few more bidders with the video. Yes, the video is of me, I hope it doesn't scare anyone off.

[snowman2004]

[fast-pack.com]

[Gary H]

I've tested short video clips in my auctions in the past. Every time I do my sales go down. When I get rid of the clips they go back up.

What many of us don't realize is the most of the world is still on dial-up connections. some of which are still old 28,800 bps lines. It can get awfully frustrating to 70% of visitors on dial up, when they either aren't able to view video content or they have to wait several minutes for it to load.

You should also keep in mind that 50% of the computer world still runs windows 98 or older (and these older computers will definitely have difficulty viewing video.)

While, as sellers, we may feel they look 'neat', we need to know that they will actually benefit us. If your customers can't view the clips, it will definitely do you more harm than good.

Just my 13 cents worth.

[Lynn Terry]

Good point, Gary

Perhaps it would be a better idea to link to an off-site page with the video in your auction listing. Ex: "Click here to see video footage of xyz - file size: ---, may take x minutes to load depending on your internet connection".

Permission video'ing

[Mindy]

Video is a great idea, but as it has been pointed out, many internet users may not be viewing it and simply clicking off your auction because of the loading time. Instead, I use a simple voice message on my auctions (you can view my auctions at if you'd like to see how I do it). My voice message is a small .wav file that is about the same size as the photograph of my item! While I haven't noticed a significant increase in bidding or final values since starting to use my voice message, I have gotten feedback from buyers that say it's a "nice touch".

--Mindy