Regards,
ShipScript has been an eBay Community volunteer since 2003, specializing in HTML, CSS, Scripts, Photos, Active Content, Technical Solutions, and online Seller Tools.
A lot of people still have questions on this topic (http://pages.ebay.com/sellerinformation/news/sprupd16/view-item.html) and a handful of you asked me to create a dedicated thread, so here goes...
For a while now eBay has been optimizing item descriptions for small mobile screens by showing small portions of the full descriptions based on keywords - the full description is still viewable but the link can be hard to find.
With the new changes (which I think are good) eBay is giving options for sellers to optimize their own descriptions for mobile listings and they are also making the link to view full description much more prominent.
Here's how it works:
eBay, based on keywords, will automatically select a limit of 250 characters (not words) from your description to show on mobile view. This is something they have been doing for a while now. In the example they provided via the Seller Update, that description was just 139 characters. They could have included the second sentence in the provided example and still only hit 230 characters, but the bots only picked up keywords in the first sentence so only 139 characters were displayed. So again, they will show UP TO 250 characters.
Mobile view is also being enhanced by including a prominent "Read more" link at the bottom so buyers can easily click through to view the full description. here is a screenshot as provided by an eBay Blue:
If your full item description is less than 800 characters (I am reading that as 799 or less) and uses HTML, CSS, or text-only then eBay will, by default, show the entire description of up to 799 characters instead of pulling out text to fit within the 250 limit.
Some people have asked if eBay can pull 800 characters for mobile why are they defaulting to a limit of 250 if your description is more than 800? Faster load time would be my guess.
You don't need to do anything and eBay will optimize your descriptions as noted above by default. Again, for a while now eBay has already been pulling summaries of up to 250 for mobile, but now the link to view full description is going to be more clear and if your description is less than 800 characters they will show the full description by default. More info about how to optimize your listings without customizing text here: http://pages.ebay.com/sellerinformation/news/sprupd16/view-item.html#tab=what-you-need-to-do
eBay is adding the option for you to choose your own text for optimized mobile views. If you DO want to customize then keep reading.
If your listing is 800 or more characters you have the option of using html tagging to choose which part of the description is optimized for mobile but the text needs to be consecutive - like you can't choose a sentence from the top of the description and another from the bottom. If you choose to do this, the html that can be used is shown on the FAQ page. http://pages.ebay.com/sellerinformation/news/sprupd16/view-item.html#tab=faqs&faq=faq-vi-q09
General html tags (like tagging for a bold font) do not apply towards the character count. HTML tags that use up space (like a space between characters or a line break) do count in the 800 character count. A line break counts as 50 characters since that's about how many characters will display across a line on the mobile view. If you are using something like a Word document to count characters for you (no word yet on whether eBay will provide a character counter), please keep in mind how many characters a line break takes up.
If you tag more than 800 characters, eBay "will truncate the selection to below 800 characters. We will remove whole words to get below 800 characters, not partial words."
The official roll-out is this summer (I believe May 1st), but if you start html tagging now there will be "no visible impact on your listings". So if you want to start tagging now you can, it just won't go into effect yet. Do keep in mind that eBay has said they are going to provide some tools to help with this. They have not said what those tools will be yet. I made a suggestion that eBay implement these types of tools (and I hope they will take it under consideration): http://community.ebay.com/t5/2016-Spring-Seller-Update/Suggestion-for-Mobile-Optimized-Descriptions/...
I honestly do think this is a good change. It's enhancing the way mobile is currently handled and it's also giving sellers the option of customization if they so choose. Now, if only they would fix that "free shipping" glitch... 🙂
@sandypurins wrote:
@mr_lincoln wrote:
@prefontained wrote:I don't think font and size in your descriptions would matter - for mobile I think eBay would default them to a font/size that is optimized for mobile viewing. If you have access to a mobile device (either yours or a friend/family/neighbor), perhaps you can check out one of your listings to see how it's currently displaying in mobile in that regard.
To answer your second question - yes, eBay encouraged this in the spring update. If you go back to my lead post you'll see where I linked to a page from the update about how to optimize for mobile without using any html tagging. Click there and read through - if I recall correctly it does mention making good use of item specifics.
So glad this thread has been helpful! @magsmg101
Like a laptop or computer wouldn't font size on a mobile be set by the user and not be driven by eBay?
@mr_lincoln @blackbird*singing
Based on the screenshots shipscript posted in post #20, eBay is changing the font style and font size for the 250-character and 800-character descriptions on mobile devices, but is not changing font style or size for the full item description on mobile devices.
Thank you Sandy!
@prefontained wrote:Thanks Sandy. I did see that post pop up after I had replied to Mr Lincoln already. I figured in reading through he would see the screenshots that were kindly provided by shipscript. 🙂
10-4 Pre!
@tealt wrote:I have another question.
Although such a thing does not appear in the illustrations in post #20 above, when I view my own items (and some of those of other sellers) on my iPhone, I see something labeled "Seller Notes". This Seller Notes text has been pulled by eBay from the Condition box that I filled out when I listed the item.
Both Seller Notes and eBay's 250-character, bot-generated Item Description appear on my smartphone screen.
The Question:
Does anyone know if that Seller Notes (aka Condition box text) will continue to appear (as it does now) on mobile devices when eBay introduces its changes this summer?
I went back to the Spring Update and couldn't find any information about this. As a seller of antique/collectible/used stuff, it would be nice not to have to use some of my 800-character Custom View to address item condition.
This is probably a better question for prefontained to answer, I am a learner on this thread. But if the mobile "Seller Notes" feature is similar to Adding a Note on a computer listing then those notes are NOT visible to the public, they are more for your own use. For example, you can Add a Note on a listing that might say "3rd time around" - or "group A" if you have different groups of items you want to make sure are listed together, etc.
@tealt wrote:I'm sorry, Mr_Lincoln, I clicked the wrong Reply button. I was hoping prefountained or shipscript would see my question and answer it.
The mobile Seller Notes isn't a note to the seller.
It's whatever text the seller puts in the Condition box when a listing is created. It is displayed to PC users on the first page of a listing, and, currently, on the screen for potential buyers using a mobile. For reasons know only to itself eBay has labeled this condition text as "Seller Notes".
I just want to know if eBay, after the summer changes, will continue to display that Seller Notes along with the 800-character Custom View.
No problem ... we get that all the time because we look so much alike! Sorry, poor humor. Thanks for the info on Seller Notes, I do not use a handheld but am trying to learn this stuff so I can create listings that work easily on both home and mobile devices.
@sandypurins wrote:Based on the screenshots shipscript posted in post #20, eBay is changing the font style and font size for the 250-character and 800-character descriptions on mobile devices, but is not changing font style or size for the full item description on mobile devices.
In general that is true. eBay will do nothing to adjust the full item description. In my screenshot, you will see that the terms tab block is defining the page width and the rest of the description page shrinks to fit. You can see the actual listing here. Fixed-width elements are the problem with most older templates. If that terms tab block were removed, the description text would appear a bit larger as defined by the iPhone's internal algorithms.
However, the text would have been easier to read had I added one line of HTML code to the top of my description (using the HTML tab of the description editor). This line of code tells the mobile device to rescale the text on the page instead of simply shrinking an exact copy of what would be a desktop page.
<meta name=viewport content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
@magsmg101 wrote:So what does that all mean? i would like to create 1 template and have it be compatible with all platforms
You have a simple listing, so there is nothing you need to change for mobile compatibility. You could even add more design elements if you wish and still remain compatible. I think the only problem you might have come across is that eBay's plain text can run on across the page and be too wide on wide monitors. That is where we see people bumping up font sizes.
In general, I would not bump up font sizes at all. Instead, I would restrain the width of the text to make it more readable. The assumption is that eBay's fonts are already a fixed size, and if yours remain at the default, the visitor will already have adjusted their browser zoom to read eBay's text, and your text will be zoomed as well.
This is the code I use to restrain the width of plain (unresized) text, which should be no wider than about 600-750. You can play with the number to suit the type of text you are using. The code should be added to the HTML tab of the description editor. The text width will adjust to any monitor width, but will go no wider than 650:
<div style="max-width:650px;"> ...description text here... </div>
@tealt wrote:Both Seller Notes [Item Condition] and eBay's 250-character, bot-generated Item Description appear on my smartphone screen.
The Question: Does anyone know if that Seller Notes (aka Condition box text) will continue to appear (as it does now) on mobile devices when eBay introduces its changes this summer?
eBay has not addressed that block of text, and I have seen no reason to remove that text. As you said, it is essential in many listings. Since the Description summary is already in place, and the Seller Notes are already in place, there does not appear to be a reason to remove one in favor of the other. My own opinion of course.
@prefontained wrote:@mr_lincoln I got my last seller newsletter on March 24th. Check your e-mail and see if you have something that looks like the below:
@prefontained wrote:@mr_lincoln I got my last seller newsletter on March 24th. Check your e-mail and see if you have something that looks like the below:
Except no one has given a definitive answer as to what defines a 'mobile device'.
If I use my phone as a wi-fi hotspot for my laptop when I am away, is that considered a mobile device? My guess is that it is.
If I only use the classic site on my phone, is that considered a mobile sale? My guess is that it is. I wouldn't download an ebay app on my phone even if it's the only you could access ebay anymore.
@johnfduda wrote:I must have a misunderstanding of the intent with this:
We need a minimum of 1700 pixels on the larger size of our images. So If I assume 1200 pixels on the smaller side of an average image that gives us over 2 million bytes ( or characters ) per picture. I use Adobe's save for the web option to save my images so mine are much smaller. But let's say we have a half million characters per image. We all know that the more images we have the more likely our listing will sell.
But on the other hand more than 250 characters of text presents a problem on a mobile device. Who's kidin whom here !!!
It's been my contention for a number of years that the controlled views and the removing items from search results is because eBay has a problem presenting the bandwidth needed to present those enormous pictures they themselves demand.
So we'll restrict the text to control the bandwidth problem. Who's runnin this asylum ?!
Yes ... and the "Dick Tracy wrist watch" is now a reality and of course is a handheld device but a much much smaller screen. Maybe no mobile ap for that one yet but who knows. To your point though, NOT using a handheld device for my business is mainly because the screen is simply too small .. I work with AutoCAD drawings, Excel spreadsheets, pdf and Word doc equipment quotes, machinery videos, Power Point, etc. and have online video conferences on certain projects. I also have email, office phone and cell phone ... just don't care to manage yet another method to communicate. A good workable handheld solution for eBay will eventually be figured out. But it may require an option on a computer uploaded listing to "click" something to allow it to be "sized" for a handheld display ...
