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

[valueaddedresource]

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@wastingtime101 wrote:

Not necessarily @valueaddedresource . I feel like I've seen it before on others' screenshots. Could be wrong though. My brain feels like it's operating at 50% today so don't trust what I say. haha

I know that's not supposed to happen to AI bots and word on the Community street is I am one. Guess I need some reprogramming and a reboot. 🤖😂

Maybe it doesn't show AI description on mine since I've had descriptions in there for years.

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@wastingtime101 no worries and no need for reprogramming - if you were an AI bot you're exactly the kind we need around here. 😂

For what it's worth the store which supplied the screenshot also has had a description in there for years, I just removed it for anonymity purposes.

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

@wastingtime101 Ah, OK, my mistake. I now have the carousel live in my store. I read the top part "Enhance your billboard with two additional slides" to mean I would be able to CHOOSE two additional slides. But, you are correct, there is no real choice: Choosing carousel (as they make clear in the smaller box) means you have the static billboard as one slide, ebay chooses a certain amount of your About statement to display as another slide, and , if you have a store video, ebay displays that as well.

So, the points I made in my post to devon remain, and apparently were ignored by whatever team he checked with. The only difference is, now that this is (apparently) no longer a test, we DO have a choice between standard billboard and carousel, but within the carousel, we have no real choice , and no way to customize anything.

So, an improvement over a static billboard? Probably. But it could be better. Hopefully, this is just a first iteration, and we'll see some improvements....

[wastingtime101]

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@my-cottage-books-and-antiques wrote:

I read the top part "Enhance your billboard with two additional slides" to mean I would be able to CHOOSE two additional slides.

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😂 Knew you were gonna say that. I thought the same the first time I read it. Then I read it again and got it.

Also you only get 2 additional slides if you have a video. So that will be confusing for some.

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

@wastingtime101 Yep. They could be a little more clear: The carousel consists of your billboard, your video (if you have one) and a part of your "About" text (If you have an About text) If you only have a billboard, your carousel will be , well, a static billboard.

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

@jerseyboymusic  I think he's waiting to hear back. Heck, it hasn't even been three months yet. We wouldn't want to rush them. 

[mcdougle4248]

I let AI take a stab at writing my store's description. 🤣 I clicked the undo button as fast as my fingers would fly...

Current store description

AI store's description...not even close 🤣

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

@mcdougle4248  LOL!

thanks for confirming what I expected----it is laughably bad.

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

@mcdougle4248 

"Welcome to My Cottage Books and Antiques, your charming destination for all things nostalgic and collectible. Dive into our extensive selection of Movies & TV, where classic films and beloved series await to transport you back in time. For the savvy professional, our Business & Industrial section offers unique finds that inspire creativity and innovation.

Explore our treasure trove of Collectibles, perfect for enthusiasts and casual collectors alike. Music lovers will enjoy our curated assortment, celebrating the rich tapestry of sound across genres. And for the sports fans, our Sports Memorabilia, Cards & Fan Shop features a variety of gear and collectibles to showcase your team spirit. Visit My Cottage Books and Antiques and uncover the stories waiting to be discovered!"

No. Just, no.

[wastingtime101]

Your product is too specific, that really missed the mark @mcdougle4248 . Kinda funny though.

I saw another one earlier that was better, and while not great, at least it was mostly relevant and I could see grabbing a few nuggets from it to integrate with one's own text.

[mcdougle4248]

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@my-cottage-books-and-antiques wrote:

@mcdougle4248  LOL!

thanks for confirming what I expected----it is laughably bad.

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I was hoping for better. I use eBay's AI descriptions for my social posts. They are good and save me a lot of time.

[fern*wood]

The only thing those AI store summaries left out was ...this store is a must-have for all collectors of stores.

[mcdougle4248]

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@my-cottage-books-and-antiques wrote:

@mcdougle4248 

"Welcome to My Cottage Books and Antiques, your charming destination for all things nostalgic and collectible. Dive into our extensive selection of Movies & TV, where classic films and beloved series await to transport you back in time. For the savvy professional, our Business & Industrial section offers unique finds that inspire creativity and innovation.

Explore our treasure trove of Collectibles, perfect for enthusiasts and casual collectors alike. Music lovers will enjoy our curated assortment, celebrating the rich tapestry of sound across genres. And for the sports fans, our Sports Memorabilia, Cards & Fan Shop features a variety of gear and collectibles to showcase your team spirit. Visit My Cottage Books and Antiques and uncover the stories waiting to be discovered!"

No. Just, no.

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I wonder if that whole block of text would actually show up on the slide or would it just have the first one or two sentences with ... and the button to Learn more?

[mcdougle4248]

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@fern*wood wrote:

The only thing those AI store summaries left out was ...this store is a must-have for all collectors of stores.

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🤣🤣🤣

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

@mcdougle4248 

Pretty sure just the first words...you can take a look at my store to see how much shows of my present About.

[trinketsandtreasures]

I was hoping to find a solution to this new feature as well. I personally find it distracting to have anything moving or blinking when viewing a web page, and was hoping to find a way to turn off this scrolling billboard. I did see the previous post with screenshot to leave it static, but am not seeing it in my own controls.