One way to give your buyers a better idea of what your item truly is, is to include a video in your eBay auction. The more your customers know about your items, the more likely they will be to bid on them. If you've never shot video before, do not worry. It's easy, and a little creativity goes a long way.
Before you opt to purchase a new camcorder, though, be sure to check if your digital camera has a recording option. Nowadays, most cameras come with video recording built in and will work fine for all of your eBay intents and purposes.
Now you have two options for how you choose to record your items. You can either do it by yourself, or, if you rather, include your kids (if you have them) and make it a family project. Regardless of what you choose, using a tripod is definitely a good idea. No one wants to watch a shaky video; plus, stabilizing the image with help keep the sound clear.
If you've chosen to do the video yourself, you can either narrate your item's description while you are behind the camera or set it to record while you stand in front of the camera and show off your item. If you choose to include your kids, you can either narrate while behind the camera, or, if you can get them to do it, have them describe the items themselves. Another good idea if you are involving your kids is to let them dress up in your "adult" clothes (i.e. your business suits), which ups the "cute" factor of your videos.
Regardless of what you've choosen, make sure your video includes a 360 degree view of the item. You can accomplish this by rotating the camera around the item or by having you or your kids turn the item in front of the camera, while the camera itself remains stationary.
Remember to keep your video short and sweet and definitely no longer than one minute. Viewers will get bored and stop watching if it is longer than that. Ideally, aim for videos that are between 30 seconds and one minute.
Once your video is complete, upload it to your computer. Next, go to a video-sharing website (i.e. youtube) and upload the video there. This gives you embedded code that you can just copy and paste right into the text of your auction. EBay does offer a way to upload videos, as well, but by using youtube, you are saving yourself eBay's fee; and as we all know, those fees add up!
