eBay Stores - About Video For Sellers
UPDATE 11-30-21
Here's what the About video section looks like in store settings.
UPDATE 11-26-21
eBay Community staff have confirmed the About Video feature began to rollout on 11/17/21.
It looks like it started making a (very quiet) debut last week.
The Help Page has been updated with some details here, and I found an internal document today that said it began a ramp on the 17th of this month, but without much more detail than that.
The stores help page has been updated with the following info:
Add a video to your store
You can add a video to your store introducing yourself and your business. Consider covering what you sell, how long you've been in business, what your workplace looks like etc.Here’s how to add a video to your store:
- Select the Store tab in Seller Hub.
- Go to the About section and select Add video.
- In the pop up, choose your video.
- Once your video is uploaded you'll see a message saying that the file is being reviewed. This review typically takes 48 hours.
- Once your video is ready to be uploaded, select Publish.
The first frame of your video will be the image customers first see.
Your video should be in .MP4 or .MOV format, less than 150MB, and comply with eBay’s images, videos and text policy.
When eBay announced updates to the eBay stores experience earlier this year, one of the promised additions was the ability for sellers to add a short "about us" video that would be displayed on the store page. Sellers who've been asking about the progress of this feature have been told it has been "delayed" but were not given any specific information about when it might be available.
Today I noticed that a seemingly very new store for the seller featured in eBay's first Hard To Find Holiday pop up shop experience has the video in store feature enabled!
Urban Necessities was the featured seller at the event and has a very nice looking eBay store to match. Not only are they taking advantage of the About video feature, but some of their listings are also using the new 3D imaging tech from RestAR.
Interestingly, the video is available on both desktop and in the mobile app, but the 3D image experience appears to be in app only.
Here's what the About video section looks like on desktop.
This is the first time I've seen the about video in the wild - there has been no official announcement from eBay about when it will roll out to the masses, much like the long awaited Video In Listing feature which is finally accessible on the buyer side across all devices but has yet to be extended to sellers beyond those who use the eBay API or select third party listing tools.
Liz Morton
Clearly they have the technology figured out and working - is eBay slow rolling these new features due to bandwidth concerns?
It's no secret that eBay has been heavily focused on key verticals like sneakers, luxury watches, designer handbags, trading cards, and certified refurbished items. In that vein, it's not surprising that the roll out of new features like Video In Listings/Stores has focused on sellers in those verticals as well.
However, sellers across many other categories on the platform have expressed frustration and concern about this focus - calling it "exclusionary" and wondering if it really has a positive impact on the overall marketplace.
Liz Morton
Those sellers are not likely to be convinced that eBay has their best interests in mind of new tools and features continue to be rolled out to those verticals first with other categories trailing far behind - especially during the all important Q4 holiday rush.
Hopefully eBay will make an announcement soon with a concrete date for when all sellers who pay for store subscriptions will be able to access these promised new Stores features.
