Target Blank Links

[bankrobber89]

Hello there.

I'm a record seller and sell second-hand/original records. Since yesterday eBay has deleted all the target blank links I use to re-direct customers to soundclips of the records I'm selling. Now it seems that the policy has changed again with the latest update?

The current HTML code for links it's currently not working:

<a href="LINK" target="_blank"></a>

Thanks for the assistence.

[berserkerplanet]

Links to external sites (with very few exceptions like Youtube and shipping carriers) have been prohibited for years - eBay is just now aggressively enforcing it after warnings didn't correct the issue.

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/listing-policies/links-policy?id=4248

A workaround would be to make* the music clips into videos hosted on one of the permitted video sites on the help page above, and then properly (HTML5) embed in the listing description. shipscript's tool can help with the proper eBay youtube video format:
http://www.isdntek.com/tagbot/YouTubeConverter.htm

*video part could be just a static album cover, but the audio track is what you are after. There are manual ways to turn an image into a video track, then mux it with an audio track, but I'm sure there are easy button programs to do that (I prefer the hard way since I so rarely do it 🙂

[bankrobber89]

It's absurd. It's essential for me and for many other sellers of the field to upload music clips of the records we're selling.

Ebay will lose a lot of sellers for this reason that will prefer to sell on other platforms.

[shipscript]

Is your audio MP3? If so, you can upload a short clip to a website that will host MP3 files and that will deliver content using the secure https protocol. Then embed the audio link in your eBay listing using HTML5 codes, like this:

<audio controls>
<source src="https://yoursite.com/music.mp3" type="audio/mpeg">
</audio>

For audio sellers who don't have access to a hosting site for HTML5 files, using your smartphone, capture a short sound video of the vinyl as it plays on your turntable. That video will display the warp (or lack thereof) as the vinyl spins, along with a segment of the soundtrack.

Upload your videos to YouTube:

• Create a free YouTube account if you don't already have one.
• Create a YouTube "channel" if you don't already have one.
• Upload your video to YouTube.

YouTube will then give you a Share Link or Embed Code.

Paste that code into this Code Converter tool to make it compatible with eBay.
http://www.isdntek.com/tagbot/YouTubeConverter.htm

Copy the code from the converter tool and paste it into the description that you write. eBay's Description editor has a RichText toolbar for editing text, but, instead, you must use the HTML tab or HTML link on the text editor and paste your code into the HTML view. Then, when you switch back to the RichText editor, you will see the placeholder for the video, which is what the visitor would click.

[bankrobber89]

Is Soundcloud OK? https://soundcloud.com/

I always used it, it's a website that hosts audio files for streaming. Can I use the HTML5 code with Soundcloud links?

[shipscript · Accepted solution]

@bankrobber89 

That website looks like it provides its own player system and doesn't offer the direct URL for just the sound clip. If you can't access the direct URL for the sound clip, you won't be able to use the HTML audio codes.  Rather than an audio upload site, you all you would actually need is just a file hosting site that will allow you to upload MP3.