So we recently did quite a big survey to find out what buyers and sellers really think about video being used to sell things online. Apparently nearly half of all online shoppers (46%) have been disappointed with an internet purchase or have shied away from purchasing because they've been unable to see an item properly.

With online sales expected to reach £13.6bn in the run up to Christmas, more and more shoppers are demanding an end to sites that rely solely on static images and text to sell products and services.

Our Chief Geek commented whilst having his morning coffee; “The rise in popularity of video sharing sites is one of the main pillars of Web 2.0, but retailers have yet to embrace the power of video."

Our survey also revealed one in five shoppers would pay an additional 10% for the reassurance of seeing products and services in more interactive detail. 10%!

"In the busy Christmas period, innovative use of video could really help sites stand out from the competition, encourage trust amongst customers and maximize their profits.” he added when I asked him from across the office.

And our survey didn’t stop there! Additional benefits to sellers sites using video are:
Six out of ten (58%) believe sites using video are more professional
Half of all shoppers (52%) say seeing a video makes them more likely to buy
Four out of ten shoppers (42%) have more trust in a site that uses video

Which, frankly, means that video is brilliant. Video Ho Ho indeed!

Posted by Online Herald at 4:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Yes, it's that time of year again. It's Children in Need time and at vzaar we're doing our bit. Check out our eBay for Charity auctions with videos here.

If you want to know more about selling for charity with vzaar, this video Emma and I made will help.

Don't forget: vzaar is free and it's a great way of raising some money for a good cause.

Posted by Social Wizard at 4:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Manchester. eBay. New Sellers. Talks. Tamebay. Panels. Powersellers. Parties. It was all happening this weekend at eBay’s last university of 2007.

I’d tell you all about it... but why bother...because I made you a video instead! It’s not Attenborough - but hopefully will give you an inkling of what went on or bring back joyful memories of the day if you were there.

Thank you eBay. Another splendid event.

Posted by Online Herald at 5:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

We've made a change to how we find and replace videos, to make it easier for you to put videos in your own templates.

We've had quite a few people come to us and say they have their own templates which they have smartly designed for their listings, and want to position the video properly in them from the get go. Many users have been revising their listings after the video insert to make sure it's positioned properly. If you used to do this, we've just made it a lot easier for you.

We have a block of HTML code you can insert into your template (on eBay, or using any listing tool like Turbo Lister or seller manager pro). Then when you click to insert a video we pull out this code and replace it with your video.

We think this should make it a lot easier for powersellers who we know have some smart templates that make their auctions and listings look really slick, and were concerned about the vzaar video taking away from this.

If you want to know how this is done or how to do this, please check out our help page on HTML & TEMPLATES.

As always any questions feel free to drop us a comment below or a email from the contact us page

Posted by Chief Geek at 5:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)