How to Create 360 Jewelry Videos on Amazon

In continuation of our last how-to guide on How to Sell Fine Jewelry on Amazon, we’ll go one step further to explain how to create 360 jewelry videos on Amazon. Read on to find out!

Amazon Seller Requirements

In our previous post on how to sell fine jewelry on Amazon, we discussed the restrictions, the dos and don’ts of selling on the Amazon platform. As mentioned, not everyone is allowed to sell fine jewelry on this e-commerce platform, and not everyone who applied would be approved.

Amazon has very stringent seller requirements and its strict vetting process ensures not only highly qualified sellers on its platform but more so authentic and high-quality pieces for buyers. Amazon had to be strict to avoid major problems, especially with sellers who don’t always follow the rules; hence, stringent policies are in place to ensure the legitimacy of sales and the trustworthiness and reliability of the platform.

1. You must be on a Professional Selling Plan
2. You need at least 12 months selling experience and you must have an annual turnover of at least $50,000
3. You must have an existing brick-and-mortar store with annual revenue of $50,000
4. Your account health is in good health. This means that you must have a defection rate of less than 1%, a cancellation rate of less than 2.5%, and late shipments of less than 4%. Your application will be rejected if you exceed these numbers. Your account metrics can be checked by going to “Performance” then “Account Health”.

Once you’ve met the seller requirements, you can already apply for approval and complete and comply with all the general requirements. Before sending in your application, make sure that you meet all the requirements summarized above and more as stipulated in the fine jewelry terms and conditions. Don’t be negligible in this department as the application will cost you a $5000 application fee that is non-refundable regardless of whether you fail or succeed in the Fine Jewelry Application Review.

How to Create 360 Jewelry Videos on Amazon

Recording Your 360-Degree Jewelry videos

Recording 360 jewelry videos is normally the most challenging step for many jewelers, especially for non-professional photographers. As we noted in this Beginner’s Guide to 360 Jewelry Product Images and Videos, you’ll need all the necessary equipment to impeccably execute your plan, follow the step-by-step process all the way to post-production.

Despite its complexity for non-professional photographers, incorporating 360 jewelry videos into your content strategy is worth the effort because it solves the number one reason that makes consumers shy away from online shopping today, which is the lack of tactile sensation and tactile experiences offered by physical stores. While 360 jewelry videos do not provide such tactile requirement, it is interactive enough to engage the consumers and provide them with an immersive shopping experience.

But let’s admit, jewelry photography is extremely challenging already and jewelry videography is so much more. Jewelry is highly reflective and small. Gemstones in jewelry also interact differently under different lighting conditions. Therefore the photographer must not only be skilled in manipulating light to bring a piece of jewelry to life, but they must also understand jewelry and gemstones as well. It is incredibly niche with very few people being able to master it. It’s also why many photographers charge huge sums for jewelry product shots.

• The GemLightbox

These problems inspired the creation of the GemLightbox, an all-in-one jewelry photography solution that requires no training at all to perfect your 360 jewelry videos and images.

The recent launch of the GemLightbox by Picup Media has made jewelry photography and videography much more accessible to jewelers. The lighting aspect has been completely perfected inside of GemLightbox so that the metals appear shiny, blind facets appear and gemstones retain their true color.

Now using your smartphone, you can capture studio-quality images in a matter of seconds. Aside from the one-click solution, it also saves time as the studio-quality videos and images you produce using the device and your smartphone allow you to upload your visual assets directly to your web store, e-commerce platform, and social media pages. You can also send it directly to potential consumers who often ask for more videos and images before deciding to make a purchase.

• The GemLightbox Turntable

A year after the launch of GemLightbox, Picup Media released the GemLightbox Turntable. Continuing on our goal of creating a digital jewelry world, the GemLightbox Turntable allows anyone with a smartphone to capture pixel-perfect 360-degree jewelry videos with just one click.

To capture a 360- jewelry video using the GemLightbox and the GemLightbox turntable, simply insert the GemLightbox Turntable into an existing GemLightbox device, and connect the power cord. The GemLightbox Turntable is then controlled wirelessly by the GemLightbox application, which is completely free to download from the App Store or Google Play. Open the app and make some adjustments as you deem necessary.

• The GemLightbox Aerial

The GemLightbox Aerial is a new addition to the GemLightbox product line. This device enables jewelers like yourself to capture 360 videos of necklaces and long dangling earrings in style. The product aims to solve the issue of aesthetics and poor product presentation such as capturing long necklaces flat on the surface.

The problem with necklaces and long earrings laying flat on a surface lies in the fact that consumers would not be able to see the details of the jewelry pieces clearly. The Aerial device eliminates this problem completely as it shows the details from all angles, which helps consumers visualize how the product would look on them should they decide to buy it.

Staying true to the concept of simplicity, the Aerial device is user-friendly. Simply put the device inside the GemLightbox and use the holder to hang your necklaces and earrings inside. Once it’s set, click to capture.

Users can control speed, focal points, and adjust brightness before capturing a perfect 360-degree jewelry video on a white background. Watch the video below to see the GemLightbox Turntable in action or click the link below to find out more about the GemLightbox Aerial.

Uploading Your 360-Degree Jewelry Product Video

Uploading your 360-degree jewelry product videos on Amazon is not a straightforward process. To set expectations properly, not everyone selling jewelry on this e-commerce platform will have access to the 360-technology; thereby, making 360-video content almost impossible for them. On the other hand, qualified sellers should be able to upload video content to their Amazon listing by following the process outlined below.

Here are the three methods as listed by Feedvisor and Hootview:

• Listing Details Page

Firstly, you must be an Amazon Vendor and not just an Amazon seller to upload videos onto the listing details page. The differences between these two are detailed in this article here and can be summarised in the image below.

This method actually requires you to log in to Amazon’s vendor central and lodge a support ticket to Amazon. In the support ticket, change the case title to “Upload Video”, include the link to the video just to the right of “Video link (required)” and include the Amazon ASINs underneath “Target ASINs (required)”. There should only be one ASINs per line.

To avoid hiccups, ensure that your 360- jewelry video follow these requirements:

• Must be in MPEG, move, WMV, or flv format
• Under 499 Mb in size
• At least 720 pixels wide
• Bitrate must be 872 kbps or higher
• Aspect ratio should be 4:3 or 16:9
• Uploaded to a file-sharing site like wetransfer.com
• Not contain any watermarks

Once submitted, the video will be added by Amazon in the next 24-72 hours. Amazon will not notify you when they upload the video so you must check yourself. Once added by Amazon to the listings details page, your video should appear alongside the existing product images.

• Video Shorts

You can include videos that appear above the Customer Reviews section. This should be advantageous as this spot is highly visible to customers who might be interested to know more about your products. You can upload several videos in this section for a single ASIN.

• Videos in Storefronts

Amazon allows sellers to list videos about their products in the Storefronts section. Curious shoppers can find out more about your brand and the products you sell here.

Overall…

Clearly, uploading videos to Amazon is not as easy as 1-2-3.  Unlike other platforms, Amazon’s video technology is not as simple as uploading or embedding videos on your website; however, we can expect video content to really take off in the next few years. We are certain Amazon and other marketplaces will create processes to accommodate an enhanced shopping experience through 360 product videos.

For now, feel free to try and explore the process above to find out what 360-jewelry videos can do to your jewelry business and how it will impact your sales and marketing efforts.

There’s only one way to find out!