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Spice Up Your Online Auctions with Video
By Scott Koegler
September 29, 2004

Continued from Page One.

AuctionVideo is available in different levels, depending on your volume of usage. The basic setup includes one "recording room". This means you can store one 60-second video clip and display it on one auction item for $9.95 per month.

Of course, you can replace the clip as many times as you want, and attach that video feed to another, future listing. Additional recording rooms are $9.95 each, up to 5 rooms, and a Power Seller package includes 30 video clips at a discounted $199.95 per month. All the packages allow an unlimited number of views.

"Un-Video" and "On Air" Versions
If video isn't for you, AuctionVideo offers a similar Show & Tell package. This option lets you upload either 30 or 60 still images to create a slide show. You also can add voice narration synchronized to the slides to make your presentation descriptive. Show & Tell is priced at $10 per month per recording room.

AuctionVideo's latest (and most interactive) offering, AuctionVideo Live, is geared primarily for use during the last portion of the auction, when the bidding activity is most active. AuctionVideo Live lets you broadcast sound and video to bidders who log in to your video cast. Bidders can then use the text chat function to pose questions, and you can either chat back to them privately, or reply verbally in the video to all viewers.

Does it make a difference?
A full minute of video with voice would seem to be an enormous advantage over a few still shots of a product. AucPro's Thoreson is in the final stages of testing AuctionVideo's standard video package now and is enthused about the possibilities.

"If the results are positive, this technology has the potential to revolutionize the online coin market," Thoreson said. "Coins are extremely difficult to scan or photograph. The full luster cartwheel effect on uncirculated coins is sometimes flat and one-dimensional with scans and photos. Having the ability to video a rare coin will certainly add another dimension to the presentation."

Certainly other products are likely candidates for video display and some may benefit even more. The Recording Academy auctioned "Spend A Day With JC Chasez" as part of its promotion leading up to the Grammy awards ceremony. The Academy had done this kind of promotion on eBay before and got about 5,000 bids with a winning bid in the neighborhood of $5,000.

But for the most recent sale, video was added to the mix. Chasez recorded a 60-second video for the promotion and the video brought more than 17,000 views -- resulting in a winning bid of $13,601.

Clearly that suggests that offerings like AuctionVideo have the potential to take online selling to a new level of presentation. Of course, you will need to evaluate the added cost and effort involved in the process, but the additional credibility and visual impact may help to differentiate your listings and increase your sales.

Scott Koegler is a contributor to ECommerce-Guide.com.

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