Livestream selling with eBay Live

With eBay Live you can host livestream shopping events for items in the Collectables, Luxury, Sneakers, Apparel, Sporting Goods, Home & Garden, Health & Beauty, and Electronics categories.

You'll need a desktop or laptop computer to create and manage your events. To stream video, you'll need a stable internet connection and a mobile camera or a camera set up with a third-party broadcast tool such as Open Broadcaster Software (OBS).

Using the Host and Live Consoles

There are two consoles used to manage your events that are accessible by desktop or laptop – the Host Console - opens in new window or tab and the Live Console.

The Host Console - opens in new window or tab allows you to create new events or manage existing ones. When you're ready to go live, use the Live Console to start and end your live stream, configure your item lineup, moderate chat and view real-time metrics.

Creating an eBay Live event

To create a new event, go to the Host Console - opens in new window or tab:

1. Select Create event.
2. On the Event information tab, add event details including the title, description, start time and tags.
3. Add an image for your event (recommended resolution of 1050 x 1575 pixels).
4. Choose your category.
5. (Optional) Choose Save as draft to create a test event and shareable link for testing purposes.
6. Select Publish.

Publishing your event makes it visible to buyers on the eBay Live Hub page - opens in new window or tab and your event page, but it doesn't start the live stream.

You can see the status of your event on the Event information tab where it will show as either published to a particular category, or saved as a draft.

Tip
With Team Access, you can delegate your workload by inviting other eBay members to perform key tasks before and during your event stream. Permissions specific to eBay Live include viewing insights, managing your events, your event listings, and moderating chat.

Creating duplicate events

After creating an event, you can duplicate it to create a new one with the same title, image, description, tags, category and listings.

You can do this from the Host Console - opens in new window or tab or from any of the tabs within an event:

1. Select the vertical three dots (⋮).
2. Select Duplicate from the dropdown menu.
3. Update the date and time and any other information.
4. Remove [DUPLICATE] from the title.
5. Select Publish to publicly post your event to the eBay Live Hub page - opens in new window or tab and your event page.

Adding listings for an eBay Live event

You can add up to 750 listings to each event by either importing them from your eBay store, or creating new ones in bulk using a template. Auction and Buy It Now listings can be added by all sellers, and approved sellers can add case break listings. Listings can't include any special pricing options like Best Offer or Buy It Now added to an auction.

To add your listings before an event, go to the Listings tab of your event setup page in the Host Console - opens in new window or tab. Use the Listing management window in the Live Console to add listings during an event.

Importing existing listings from your eBay store

You can import listings by searching and selecting items, or by entering the item's ID/URL (this is best when copying data from a CSV or using a Seller Hub Report).

Searching and selecting

1. From either the Host Console or Live Console, select Add listings.
2. Choose From store.
3. Search or browse for listings by item title.
4. Select Add listings to add them to your event.

Entering the item's ID/URL

1. From either the Host Console or Live Console, select Add listings.
2. Choose By Item ID/URL.
3. Paste Item IDs or URLs.
4. Select Add listings to add them to your event.

Tip
To run a Buy It Now listing from your store as an auction during your eBay Live event, you first need to revise it to an auction format in Seller Hub - opens in new window or tab.

Creating new listings in bulk

To create listings from a template, you'll need a listing template that's compatible with eBay Live. These templates are created and managed in Seller Hub, and once they're set up, you can reuse them to quickly create new listings in the Host or Live Console.

See our Selling templates article to learn more about creating templates in Seller Hub, the required fields for eBay Live listing templates, and steps for creating eBay Live Buy It Now and auction listings in bulk.

Tip
When creating listings in bulk from a template in the Live Console, you can decide if you want them to be visible before your event.

Managing listings for your event

You'll see imported listings in the Listings tab before your event and in the Live Console tab once you start streaming.

Editing listings

From the Host Console, you can edit your listing visibility, purchasability, and auction settings. From the Live Console, you can edit your listing purchasability and auction settings.

For auctions, you can edit the starting price and duration. You can also turn on Extend auction which means that if there is a new bid in the final 5 seconds, the auction will be extended by an additional 5 seconds to give other buyers a chance to respond. If you want to have an auction of less than 1 minute, put 0 in the minutes field rather than leaving it blank.

Setting the Visible and Purchasable controls

You can decide which listings buyers can see and when they can purchase items by using the Visible and Purchasable toggles. They can also help you control the pacing of your event, prevent accidental purchases and create hype by introducing items before they're available for purchase.

These controls are available as soon as your event is published and can be edited before your event. During your event, you can also edit the Purchasable toggle.

Unless creating listings in bulk with a template, the Visible and Purchasable toggles are set to the following after importing your listings:

• Buy It Now: Visible ON, Purchasable ON
• Live auctions: Visible ON, Purchasable OFF

Tip
To generate excitement on any listing, set Visible ON and Purchasable OFF several days prior to your event. This helps increase visibility, build anticipation and drive event saves.

Arranging your item lineup

The item lineup is where buyers can browse items you've set to Visible and purchase the ones set to Purchasable. To view the item lineup as your audience sees it, select the vertical three dots (⋮) on the Main screen window of your Live Console.

To organise your lineup before your event begins, go to the Host Console Listing tab and assign each listing a number. The lineup will appear in this sequence.

During your event, use the Listing management window in the Live Console to drag and drop listings into your desired order.

To feature an item, select the Pin icon. It'll show as Featured in the event lineup and appear at the bottom of the Main screen. Only one item can be pinned at a time and when you start an auction, that item will automatically be pinned.

Sharing an eBay Live event

Each event has a unique link and QR code which can be found in the Share event tab of your event setup page. You can share these with anyone you like, including on your social media channels. Buyers can join your event by using the link, QR code or by finding it on the eBay Live Hub page - opens in new window or tab.

Encourage your audience to click the Bell icon to receive notifications about your upcoming show. They'll receive an automatic push notification with your seller name and event title when your event starts. You can also encourage your audience to click the Heart icon to follow your eBay store and receive alerts for all of your eBay Live events.

Streaming your eBay Live event

The Main screen window in your Live Console is where you can start and end streaming for your event, monitor your audience's view of the event stream as well as the item lineup, and view metrics such as elapsed time and total viewers.

For the best viewing experience, we recommend using an LED ring light, a dedicated wireless microphone, and the latest version of the eBay app.

Streaming with a mobile device:

1. Open the eBay app.
2. Select the eBay Live pill and then the My Events button to see all your events.
3. Tap the event which matches the stream you want to start.
4. Return to the Main screen of your Live Console on your desktop or laptop.
5. Select the Manage button and then Start event to start the stream.
6. Return to the eBay app on your mobile device and tap the red circle button to start the stream and begin the timer.

To end the stream, select Manage and then End stream in the Live Console. You'll have the option to either count down your ending or end the event immediately.

Moderating an eBay Live event

Chat is where you can connect with buyers by answering questions in real time and drive engagement through quizzes, FAQs and surveys.

During an event, our automated chat moderation scans and blocks offensive content before it appears in the chat. You won't see which messages are blocked, but the sender will be notified that their message was blocked. You can also delete comments and mute buyers if they're not following our policies.

In the Live Console, the Engagement / Tools window also allows you to do the following:

• Personally reply in the main chat or use a preset chat reply
• Pin a message to the top of the chat window for your audience
• Moderate chat and manage users
• Manage chat settings such as your displayed username, banned words, muted users and saved chat log
• Search the main chat
• Internally bookmark comments
• Filter internal views of the chat by users, questions asked and bookmarked comments
• Create and manage quizzes, surveys, FAQ lists and notices for your audience.

Bookmarking comments

Bookmarked comments are only visible to you and appear in the Bookmarked pill of the Engagement tab.

To bookmark a comment:

1. Hover over a comment until the cursor becomes an arrow.
2. Select it to confirm you'd like to pin the message.

Muting and unmuting

Buyers need to follow eBay's rules and policies when attending eBay Live events. You can mute buyers to prevent them from engaging in your event's chat. They won't be informed if they've been muted, and muting doesn't stop them from viewing your eBay Live event or bidding or buying your items. To prevent viewers from bidding or buying, use the Block Buyer list - opens in new window or tab.

See our Threats and offensive language policy article to learn more about what we consider offensive.

To mute a buyer:

1. Go to the Engagement tab of the Engagement / Tools.
2. Hover your cursor over the username until an option menu appears.
3. Select mute user and then confirm by selecting Mute.

To unmute a commenter:

1. Select the Gear icon to open the Manage chat settings.
2. Select the Muted users tab.
3. Remove the user you want to unmute by clicking the Bin icon.

Processing orders from your eBay Live event

Discounts and combined postage rates apply during the event's shopping window, which takes place 4 hours before and 8 hours after your scheduled start time. Your handling time starts after the window closes.

Viewing orders in the Live Console

When you sell an item during an event, payment is processed automatically and you'll see each listing's payment status in the Live Console. Those marked as AWAITING means that the payment hasn't gone through yet. For example, a sold auction item might be marked as AWAITING if a buyer's default payment method fails.

Unpaid sales can be cancelled at your discretion. However, we recommend first communicating with the buyer.

Viewing orders in Seller Hub

After your event, eBay Live orders that have been paid for will appear in Seller Hub - opens in new window or tab as Paid – wait to post for 8 hours after your event's scheduled start time, even if the actual stream started late. This gives buyers the opportunity to take advantage of any of your event's combined postage discounts. Once this shopping window ends, orders move to Awaiting postage, where you can combine relevant orders and print shipping labels.

Tip
When you set up combined postage rules, buyers can automatically receive discounts when they purchase multiple items from you during an event's shopping window. See our articles on Postage discounts and Offering combined postage to learn more about how to apply these settings to eBay Live events.

Viewing video receipts

Video receipts are automatically generated clips that capture the moment the sold item was pinned and available for purchase during your stream. They're available for up to 180 days after your event ends.

To view your video receipts:

1. Go to the Orders tab - opens in new window or tab in Seller Hub.
2. Next to your listing, look for the eBay Live icon overlay on your item image – this means a video receipt is available.
3. Tap the image to open your video receipt.

Viewing insights from your eBay Live event

You can review key metrics from your events on the Insights tab on the Host Console event set up page. It contains an overview dashboard with information on various metrics to help you understand the data presented. Individual event metrics are available for up to 4 days after your live stream.

You can also review your performance In Seller Hub by looking at sales results and sold items tied to the event window as well as order and payment summaries.

Helpful links

• Understanding regulations when selling on eBay