Does ebay allow sellers to post youtube links on their listings?

[inhawaii]

If i want to show how a product works, does ebay allow sellers to post youtube links on their listings?

[golfingaddict]

under certain conditions  read the policy

Links policy

Videos must be embedded within item descriptions and are only allowed from sites on this list

• YouTube
• Vimeo
• Brightcove
• Ustream
• Screencast
• Kizoa
• DailyMotion

[ed8108]

Not really being strongly encouraged at this time

[eleanor*rigby]

@inhawaii 

I strongly recommend you read the entire policy to confirm your compliance.

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

BTW, I located the above page with about a two-second internet search for "eBay links policy."

[coffeebean832]

@eleanor*rigby wrote:

BTW, I located the above page with about a two-second internet search for "eBay links policy."

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I'm a big fan of doing ones own research, but I think every seller here knows that eBay policies can have many unwritten caveats so sometimes it's better to ask posters here that have experience rather than rely solely on an internet search and a policy page. eBay policy pages are notoriously lacking- incorrect or incomplete. Sometimes it's better to make sure you're not risking a listing take-down for something the written policy didn't make clear. YMMV

inhawaii- In addition to the links policy page, you may find this website from shipscript to be helpful-

https://www.isdntek.com/tagbot/YouTubeConverter.htm

[eleanor*rigby]

Thanks for the reprimand.

And if you think it's a good idea to rely solely on the answers received on the discussion boards, you're sadly mistaken.

[coffeebean832]

Reprimand?? Wow, post taken out of context for sure. No reprimand was implied, let alone intended. I offered another point of view and it's fine if you disagree. There was no personal attack made.

I also never said it was a good idea to rely solely on posts from this board. I said I wouldn't rely solely on policy pages. In other words- get research from several places that are all relevant and make an informed decision.

[Anonymous]

Thanks, the converter worked like a charm!

[inhawaii]

coffeebean832:  You're right.  I'm just lazy.  😃

[inhawaii]

I read up on it and i think i meet the guidelines.

I only have 2 listings with a link.

Thanks guys!

[shipscript]

@inhawaii 

---

@golfingaddict wrote:

under certain conditions  read the policy

Links policy

Videos must be embedded within item descriptions and are only allowed from sites on this list

• YouTube
• Vimeo
• Brightcove
• Ustream
• Screencast
• Kizoa
• DailyMotion

---

I've asked the policy team to rewrite that page since it is worded incorrectly. eBay's policy allows videos, but there are two types (embedded and linked), and they are treated differently.

Embedded:  A seller may embed a video directly in the description if it is inserted using HTML5 video tags. (Not all browsers support an HTML5 video codec to play those videos, but most newer systems support MP4). The video can be hosted on any website and must be delivered over a secure (https) connection. The embedded video can be played within the description. This is called "embedded media."

Linked: Many of the popular video hosting sites do not support clean HTML5 embedding because they earn revenue by bringing visitors to their own sites or because they need to run scripts to determine which player/codec the visitor has installed. Because they often run scripts, they won't pass eBay's Active Content policy, and YouTube is the most popular and the most guilty of browser-snooping scripts. Thus, eBay has a short list of sites where linking is allowed (even though all other external links are banned). The seller may include a link in the listing, that, when clicked, will open a new browser window to play the video. The reason the video must open in a new page is because the Active Content blockade on the description page would prevent the video from running inside the description. (The link must include the attribute target="_blank" to force the browser to target a new blank page.)

Mobile App Issues: We have also seen that videos fail to perform in the Mobile App. The linked videos fail to launch an external browser page, so the visitor must copy/paste the URL into a browser page outside of the App. Because the Apps are always changing, I don't have the currect status for videos in the App and don't know if embedded HTML5 videos are running correctly in the App.

I'll try to keep this page updated as eBay's capabilities change.

https://www.isdntek.com/tagbot/YouTubeConverter.htm

[golfingaddict]

@shipscript 

Delete my post if I am wrong.

[shipscript]

@golfingaddict Your post is fine. eBay's policy page is just a bit off the mark, but not wrong if a user knows the intention. The original question was whether YouTube links were allowed, and eBay listed YouTube on the Links Policy page as an allowed site (but incorrectly mentions embedding), so you answered correctly by quoting links policy.

[Anonymous]

I don't have the app either but item #223834131769  displays and plays fine on my phone without it.

[fashunu4eeuh]

@shipscript thank you so much for this helpful information!