Community Team Question Store Billboard Change or Test or?

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

devon@ebay 

I recently looked at some ebay storefronts, including my own (Using a PC and Chrome, in case that matters)

I created a store billboard ages ago. And I have a video of sorts, and an "About" description on the About tab page.

Now, imagine my surprise and confusion, when, with no announcement and no explanation within the store help pages or the "Edit Store" page, my previously static billboard now scrolls, showing first my actual billboard image, then a clickable link to a pop up if my store video, and then partial text of my About description and a button to link to the whole thing.

Now, I actually like the scrolling billboard idea. But....

Seriously, once again, despite our never ending pleas, no announcement? And in the middle of Q4?

OK, that said, a couple points: 

1. There appears to be no seller choice here. I see nothing that indicates I can choose a static billboard OR a scrolling billboard. This seems to be scrolling, period. (At least, if the seller has a video and/or an About text description). Why no choice?

2. My video was made as a slideshow, and the slideshow photos have had their dimensions altered to fit the pop up video size. So, tops and bottoms of some of the items are cut off in the pop up video, which is not the look I want. 

3. Obviously, there is a character limit for the text in the final video, and since as sellers, we have no warning about this, it cuts off the text abruptly. If ebay indicated the character number, we could probably revise the "About" text to fit better.

So, what's going on here?

Is this a test? Is it an unannounced change that is in a gradual roll out? 

Are we going to be given any information about this? 

Not advertising my store, just an easy link to my store front for those who want to see the scrolling Billboard at the top of the page (might not work in all browsers): 

https://www.ebay.com/str/mycottagebooksandantiques

[mcdougle4248]

@my-cottage-books-and-antiques 

Thanks for sharing and asking for information from Devon. That is pretty cool!

FYI I had to go incognito using Chrome to see it. 

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

@mcdougle4248  I'm on Chrome and not incognito, but I do see your store has it too.

[mcdougle4248]

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@my-cottage-books-and-antiques wrote:

@mcdougle4248  I'm on Chrome and not incognito, but I do see your store has it too.

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Thanks for checking! I cannot see it on my store no matter which browser I use, incognito or not.

Oh well, I added a short video (just a slideshow of photos with music) and shortened my "About", so hopefully, it looks OK for anyone who sees it.

[wastingtime101]

I don't like the carousel at all.

Header flashes every 2 seconds between billboard / about, over and over.

I wouldn't mind the carousel if it scrolled through once, went back to the billboard then paused on its own.

[mcdougle4248]

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@wastingtime101 wrote:

I don't like the carousel at all.

Header flashes every 2 seconds between billboard / about, over and over.

I wouldn't mind the carousel if it scrolled through once, went back to the billboard then paused on its own.

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I did not notice the header flashing every 2 seconds, but then again, I only took a brief look at the OP's store. Now I cannot see it on the OP's store anymore...so maybe a test?

[wastingtime101]

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@my-cottage-books-and-antiques wrote:

3. Obviously, there is a character limit for the text in the final video, and since as sellers, we have no warning about this, it cuts off the text abruptly. If ebay indicated the character number, we could probably revise the "About" text to fit better.

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The About text doesn't have a fixed character limit as far as I can tell.

Looked at one store that ... after 101 characters. Looked at another that cut off after 88 characters, another 103 characters, another 92 characters, another 90 characters. You get the idea.

@mcdougle4248 - yours shows the full 89 character about blurb with no cut off. Like your new holiday billboard, by the way.

[wastingtime101]

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@mcdougle4248 wrote:

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I did not notice the header flashing every 2 seconds, but then again, I only took a brief look at the OP's store. Now I cannot see it on the OP's store anymore...so maybe a test?

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OP has a video. Look at a store without a video. Goes: billboard to about, around and around every 2 seconds.

https://www.ebay.com/str/ebayshippingsupplies

If you don't see it moving, click the arrow on the bottom right to trigger play. Once you trigger it, it won't stop until you hit pause. And if you refresh the page, it will auto-play every time.

At least that's what I'm seeing.

I'm not seeing it on every browser. I noticed it a couple days ago.

[mcdougle4248]

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@wastingtime101 wrote:

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@mcdougle4248 wrote:

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I did not notice the header flashing every 2 seconds, but then again, I only took a brief look at the OP's store. Now I cannot see it on the OP's store anymore...so maybe a test?

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OP has a video. Look at a store without a video. Goes: billboard to about, around and around every 2 seconds.

https://www.ebay.com/str/ebayshippingsupplies

If you don't see it moving, click the arrow on the bottom right to trigger play. Once you trigger it, it won't stop until you hit pause. And if you refresh the page, it will auto-play every time.

At least that's what I'm seeing.

I'm not seeing it on every browser. I noticed it a couple days ago.

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Nope, not seeing it anymore using Chrome, Firefox and Edge...

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

@wastingtime101  Thanks for looking at that....I'm not sure which is worse, an undisclosed maximum, or a completely random number LOL

[wastingtime101]

The latter.

[moretreasures4you]

Is this a marketing banner, because mine is just a plain banner and is not scrolling.

I did see this link:

Create a clickable marketing banner

You can add a clickable marketing banner to your storefront to grab the attention of your Store’s visitors. You can choose whether a click on the banner will redirect them to a category in your Store, a single listing of your choice, or a promotion page.

Here's how to create a marketing banner:

1. Select the Store tab in Seller Hub.
2. In the Use a Marketing Banner section, select Add a banner.
3. Under Choose a banner destination, select promotion, category, or specific listing.
4. Add a banner image, enter a title and description in the appropriate fields, and then Save.

Your clickable marketing banner image should be 640 x 640 pixels and less than 12MB.

To remove or edit your banner, select the pencil icon beside the image.

[wastingtime101]

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@moretreasures4you wrote:

Is this a marketing banner, because mine is just a plain banner and is not scrolling.

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No, not a marketing banner. This is the store header @moretreasures4you . eBay is testing a carousel. Not everybody sees it. I can only see it on some browsers, not all.

This is what yours looks like. I'm not going to make a gif or take a video so here's a still screenshot- it scrolls between your store banner and your about blurb every 2 seconds (literally).

I can only disable it if I click the pause button highlighted below, and even then it will restart if I refresh the page. It's really annoying.

FYI @my-cottage-books-and-antiques - above example is 106 characters before the cut off. Yet I have a store with a 100 character about blurb that cuts off after 90. Why it's not showing the full blurb on mine I can't figure out.

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

@wastingtime101  As to the About cut off, it might be ebay is using some of its razzle-dazzle state of the art Magic AI to determine the cut-off. After all, we've seen what ebay's AI can do when it comes to drafting a listing description.

@moretreasures4you 

And just for clarity, ebay calls it store header a "billboard".  If you want to see a banner, go to my store home page---see the big section that says I'm running a veteran's Day Sale, with a photo of a plate with a WWI monument? That's the part of the store home page that is called a "banner".

By the way, I'm seeing your billboard as a scrolling billboard as well (with Chrome browser)

[moretreasures4you]

And with Safari there is no scrolling billboard. UGH