Personally, I think that it's annoying when any kind of noise comes from an auction. But against my better judgment, I decided to test using voice in my auction descriptions about a month ago.
Much to my surprise, my sell-through rates and bids have actually increased since adding voice descriptions. I tested several auctions (using voice on some but not others), and the voice auctions always ended with equivalent or higher prices.
I also tested having the audio description auto-play versus allowing the customer to manually click the play button, and oddly enough auto-play was the clear winner. From a buyer's perspective, I think I would appreciate the audio description more if I were to manually press the play button.
While I don't prefer the auto-play voice description, it does seem to be catching the attention of bidders. But because of my personal preference, I am leaning toward making the audio recording optional.
I probably wouldn't have given voice auctions a chance if the service didn't have a $1 trial. Now, I'm pretty sure that I will always use voice (in some way) in my listings.
Let me know what you think about this. I look forward to your suggestions, comments, tips.
Tyler
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