An entry in eBay's corporate blog last week indicated that the site is now encouraging sellers to link to videos that showcase their wares. Auctioneers can only go through five of the biggest video-sharing sites -- Google (Nasdaq: GOOG), Google's YouTube, News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) MySpace, Microsoft's (Nasdaq: MSFT) Soapbox, or AOL -- but it's an interesting strategy.
Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO) isn't on the list. The search-engine giant has been a strategic partner with eBay for nearly a year now. Even if many of the clips available through Yahoo! are actually hosted on smaller third-party sites, it's a slap in the face to ignore a business partner that also runs one of the more popular video-sharing sites.
Still, it could be a revolutionary step for the site. The ability to see items in action -- assuming that the seller has the time to make a clip in the first place -- is far better than text descriptions and the occasional snapshot or two.
However, like any true revolution, this isn't a battle that can be won overnight.
Hitting the pause button
eBay thought this through. It contacted a few eBay members who were handy with camcorders, webcams, and video-editing software packages to showcase six different items on the site. OK, so maybe eBay fibbed as to how dedicated these aspiring filmmakers are to the eBay cause -- half of the listings are from sellers who have zero feedback.
However, you can follow the blog entry to check out the six listings. Some of them are pretty amusing, like the guy trying to sell his acoustic guitar in a highly unorthodox way. He strums along as he brushes his teeth on the guitar neck, makes out with the tuning keys, and even plays a few chords while he's on the toilet. Other ads feature stop-motion prowess in pitching a bike, Lego figures, and a 1996 Saturn.
The clips are slick, as expected. The members all chose to host their videos on YouTube, a good move since it may bring in auction-listing traffic through folks who stumble on the videos first.
But there's a rub, my friend. The six auctions have been running for nearly a week, set to end between today and Thursday. Despite eBay's promotion and the viral allure of some of the clips, the bidding battles just aren't taking place. Let's check into the six auctions, as of last night.
- The humiliated Martin acoustic guitar has just the opening $800 bid.
- The 1996 Saturn, star of its slick stop-action clip, hasn't received a single offer despite its reasonable $999 opening bid.
- A copy-room stapler with a compelling back story has been bid up to only $11.
- The vintage Lego figures have had enough activity to take the bidding up to $45, but the listing's reserve price has not been reached.
- A loaded Apple G4 is fetching just $84.50.
- A Surly Steamroller track bike has failed to nab its $300 start price, perhaps because the Brooklyn-housed bicycle must be picked up locally.
Thinking outside the screening room
Encouraging clips to promote eBay auctions may be a new strategy at eBay, but it isn't an original move. Intuitive YouTube users are already using video to direct traffic to their listings.
Val's Art Diary, the woman behind it is an oil painter who works her craft on canvas, documenting the artistic process with a camcorder along the way. She then auctions off the paintings on eBay. The promotional video diary clips are available through Apple's iTunes and her own website, but it was only after she was featured on YouTube that her cottage industry really took off.
The entrepreneurial spirit is starting to creep into the seemingly noncommercial YouTube site. Someone who was featured after demonstrating a self-stirring coffee mug quickly edited the video description to include a commissionable link to where the mug can be purchased.
Most people don't see YouTube that way. The legitimate video resumes aren't getting the kind of page views that the ridiculous, over-the-top ones are garnering. Clips of cars for sale will never draw in users the way fender-benders do. That's just human nature, but I still think that more and more people will begin tapping into the free multimedia promotion that is available through sites like YouTube.
What is getting in the way right now? A big factor may be a lack of education when it comes to shooting and editing videos. The learning curve isn't all that steep. A Windows-powered PC has the free Movie Maker editing application, and Apple users have access to even better editing software packages.
For investors, this trend will open up portfolio opportunities. Stocks like Logitech (Nasdaq: LOGI) and Adobe (Nasdaq: ADBE) that will thrive in a video-friendly future. Logitech is the webcam leader, while Adobe is the star of publishing software, as well as the company behind the Flash platform that the leading video-sharing sites use.
Will eBay buy ExpoTV?
1 comment:
eBay buy www.ExpoTV? Sweeet.
And you’re right. The learning curve for video doesn’t have be steep. Nor do you have to be a member of Gen X or Gen Y to upload a decent video. Our members, including many thousands of stay-at-home moms, have figured out how to incorporate decent sound, bright lighting and most importantly compelling story telling.
You don’t have to be Spielberg to be a reasonably well-spoken “consumer reporter”. It turns out that even for the uninitiated creating video product reviews is appealing. We just completed research that determined that after seeing one of our video product reviews 41% of consumers were jazzed enough to want to contribute their own.
So canoodling with your guitar might make for a funny video but doesn’t actually tell someone else why they should buy it.
Post a Comment