Helping You Connect the Dots to Succeed Faster
WGAN-TV: Now Playing
WGAN-TV: Now Playing
Free WGAN Map
Locations of Matterport Pro3 Camera Service Providers and see the number of Matterport Pro3s and/or BLK360s for each Matterport Pro.
View WGAN Map
Contact Info
Locations of Matterport Pro3 Camera Service Providers and see name, company, website, email and mobile phone for each Matterport Pro.
Join WGAN Sponsor
Get on the Map | A Service of We Get Around Network (not affiliated with Matterport)
One Order  |  One Quote  |  One Contact
Book Multiple GLOBAL Commercial Locations
  • ✔  As-Builts
  • ✔  Construction Progress
  • ✔  Facilities Management
Last 24 Hours: 334 Unique Visitors
9,242 WGAN Members in 149 Countries
Last 30 Days: 30,987 Page Views | 13,226 Unique Visitors | 30 New Members
We Get Around Network Forum
Quick Start | WGAN Forum
Matterport Digital ProMSPsPodcastSparks Media GroupVersusVHT StudiosWGANTV Live at 5WGANTV Podcast

"I Paid $299 for a Matterport Digital Pro Package-What MSPs Should Know"18328

WGAN Forum
Founder &
WGAN-TV Podcast
Host
Atlanta, Georgia
DanSmigrod private msg quote post Address this user

Text Me 5 Minutes Before WGAN-TV is Live | WGAN-TV | Tom Sparks (Sparks Media Group): I Paid $299 for a Matterport Digital Pro Package for a RE Listing: What Every MSP Should Know | Guest: Scan Your Space (a Division of Sparks Media Group) Founder and CEO Tom Sparks | Episode: 178 | Tuesday, 28 February 2023 | www.ScanYourSpace.com | www.SparksMediaGroup.com | @ScanYourSpace


WGAN-TV: Tom Sparks (Sparks Media Group): 'I Paid $299 for a Matterport Digital Pro Package for a Real Estate Listing: What Every Matterport Service Provider Should Know'

Hi All,

On WGAN-TV Live at 5 (5 pm ET) on Tuesday, 28 February 2023:

WGAN-TV: Tom Sparks (Sparks Media Group): "I Paid $299 for a Matterport Digital Pro Package for a Real Estate Listing: What Every Matterport Service Provider Should Know"

To help you decide if Matterport Digital Pro is a threat to Matterport Service Providers (or an opportunity or no impact at all), I reached out to Scan Your Space (a Division of Sparks Media Group) Founder and CEO Tom Sparks offering for We Get Around Network to pay a Matterport Digital Pro package ($299) in exchange for Tom documenting the experience for the WGAN Forum community (and publishing the digital assets in the WGAN Forum).

I could imagine understanding the Matterport Digital Pro experience -- from an actual shoot -- would provide insight regarding if Matterport Digital Pro services powered by VHT Studios (a division of Matterport) is a threat or opportunity.

Backstory

Eight months after Matterport announced it acquired VHT Studios (7 July 2022), Matterport launched its Matterport Digital Pro "all-in-one" solution for real estate agents powered by VHT Studios.

Matterport Digital Pro offers the following package for $299 (with optional add ons):

1. Matterport Tour
2. 25+ Photos
3. Schematic Floor Plan (B&W)
4. Teaser Video

I could imagine that $299 is less than what the majority of Matterport Service Providers charge for (what might sound like) a similar package.

When Matterport made this announcement on Wednesday, 15 February 2023, two different WGAN Forum discussions were started about, is Matterport Digital Pro a competitor to Matterport Service Providers? Specifically:

1. Matterport Digital Pro - your direct competition
2. Video: Matterport launches all in one solution, should you be worried?

Tom is uniquely qualified since he has documented shooting the same house with five Matterport capture solutions:

1. Matterport Pro3 Camera
2. Matterport Pro2 Camera
3. Matterport AXIS Kit [Motorized Mount (smartphone rotator)]
4. Ricoh THETA Z1
5. Insta360 One RS 1"

How about the same house done with Matterport Digital Pro Package to be able to compare apples-to-apples, I asked Tom.

Among the questions that I will ask Tom on WGAN-TV Live at 5 are:

1. What was the Matterport Digital Pro ordering experience like?
2. How long from ordering until the photographer showed up and how long to deliver the assets?
3. What was the Matterport Digital Pro scanning experience like (including which camera)?
4. What's the deliverable process like?
5. Your thoughts about how Matterport Digital Pro compares with a MSP (like you) shooting with a Pro2 or Pro3?
6. How does the job delivered by Matterport Digital Pro Package compare to your services?
7. Will you outsource large Matterport scans to Matterport Digital Pro since they say same price regardless of SQFT?
7. Other thoughts?


What questions should I ask Tom during this WGAN-TV Live at 5 show?

Best,

Dan

P.S. Below are the digital assets provided by Matterport Digital Pro

Dropbox Link Courtesy of WGAN | Contains Folder provided by Matterport Digital Pro
[Note from @DanSmigrod | Since WGAN Forum compresses links, I am sharing this Dropbox link so that you can see the image quality and deliverables EXACTLY as Matterport Digital Pro provided]

Matterport tour by Matterport Digital Pro

Matterport teaser video provided by Matterport Digital Pro (Video File name: unbranded_95801e74-43d8-4eba-b4ee-0b44374fc8d0)


Image 1 provided by Matterport Digital Pro


Image 2 provided by Matterport Digital Pro


Image 3 provided by Matterport Digital Pro


Image 4 provided by Matterport Digital Pro


Image 5 provided by Matterport Digital Pro


Image 6 provided by Matterport Digital Pro


Image 7 provided by Matterport Digital Pro


Image 8 provided by Matterport Digital Pro


Image 9 provided by Matterport Digital Pro


Image 10 provided by Matterport Digital Pro


Image 11 provided by Matterport Digital Pro


Image 12 provided by Matterport Digital Pro


Image 13 provided by Matterport Digital Pro


Image 14 provided by Matterport Digital Pro


Image 15 provided by Matterport Digital Pro


Image 16 provided by Matterport Digital Pro


Image 17 provided by Matterport Digital Pro


Image 18 provided by Matterport Digital Pro


Image 19 provided by Matterport Digital Pro


Image 20 provided by Matterport Digital Pro


Image 21 provided by Matterport Digital Pro


Image 22 provided by Matterport Digital Pro


Image 23 provided by Matterport Digital Pro


Image 24 provided by Matterport Digital Pro


Image 25 provided by Matterport Digital Pro


Floor Plan 1 | Image 26 provided by Matterport Digital Pro


Floor Plan 2 | Image 27 provided by Matterport Digital Pro


Floor Plan 3 | Image 28 provided by Matterport Digital Pro

Floor Plan (.pdf) | Download Link courtesy of WGAN. Matterport Digital Pro provided the .pdf

---

Dropbox Link Courtesy of WGAN | Contains Folder provided by Matterport Digital Pro
[Note from @DanSmigrod | Since WGAN Forum compresses links, I am sharing this Dropbox link so that you can see the image quality and deliverables EXACTLY as Matterport Digital Pro provided]
Post 1 IP   flag post
WGAN Forum
Founder &
WGAN-TV Podcast
Host
Atlanta, Georgia
DanSmigrod private msg quote post Address this user
WGAN-TV | Tom Sparks (Sparks Media Group): When and Why I use a Matterport Pro2 or Pro3 Camera, Matterport AXIS Rotator, Ricoh THETA Z1, Insta360 ONE RS 1-Inch or Leica BLK360 (1st Generation) to Create Matterport Tours | Guest: Scan Your Space (a Division of Sparks Media Group) Founder and CEO Tom Sparks | Episode: 175 | Thursday, 2 February 2023 | www.ScanYourSpace.com | www.SparksMediaGroup.com | @ScanYourSpace

---

Video: Matterport Pro3 Camera of a 2,053 SQFT House | Video courtesy of Sparks Media YouTube Channel | 26 January 2023 | Scan Your Space (a Division of Sparks Media Group) Founder and CEO Tom Sparks |
www.ScanYourSpace.com | www.SparksMediaGroup.com | @ScanYourSpace

Matterport Pro3 Camera
113 Scans including full front yard and backyard, and closets.
Time to Scan: Interior: approximately 50 minutes Entire scan | (inside and out): 1 Hour 15 Minutes | Matterport digital twin courtesy of Sparks Media YouTube Channel | 1 February 2023 | Scan Your Space (a Division of Sparks Media Group) Founder and CEO Tom Sparks |
www.ScanYourSpace.com | www.SparksMediaGroup.com | @ScanYourSpace

---

Video: Matterport Pro2 Camera of a 2,053 SQFT House | Video courtesy of Sparks Media YouTube Channel | 26 January 2023 | Scan Your Space (a Division of Sparks Media Group) Founder and CEO Tom Sparks |
www.ScanYourSpace.com | www.SparksMediaGroup.com | @ScanYourSpace

Matterport Pro2 Camera
52 Scans including peek into backyard, Four (4) 360 images in front and backyard, no closets.
Time to scan: approx. 45 minutes | Matterport digital twin courtesy of Sparks Media YouTube Channel | 1 February 2023 | Scan Your Space (a Division of Sparks Media Group) Founder and CEO Tom Sparks |
www.ScanYourSpace.com | www.SparksMediaGroup.com | @ScanYourSpace

---

Video: Matterport AXIS Smartphone Rotator of a 2,053 SQFT House | Video courtesy of Sparks Media YouTube Channel | 26 January 2023 | Scan Your Space (a Division of Sparks Media Group) Founder and CEO Tom Sparks |
www.ScanYourSpace.com | www.SparksMediaGroup.com | @ScanYourSpace

Matterport AXIS Smartphone Rotator
52 Scans including peek in back yard and front yard, no closets.
Time to Scan: 1 hr 30 minutes (including failures to align) | Matterport digital twin courtesy of Sparks Media YouTube Channel | 1 February 2023 | Scan Your Space (a Division of Sparks Media Group) Founder and CEO Tom Sparks |
www.ScanYourSpace.com | www.SparksMediaGroup.com | @ScanYourSpace

---

Video: Ricoh THETA Z1 of a 2,053 SQFT House | Video courtesy of Sparks Media YouTube Channel | 26 January 2023 | Scan Your Space (a Division of Sparks Media Group) Founder and CEO Tom Sparks |
www.ScanYourSpace.com | www.SparksMediaGroup.com | @ScanYourSpace

Ricoh THETA Z1
81 Scans including peek in front and back yard and closets.
Time to Scan: approximately 35 minutes | Matterport digital twin courtesy of Sparks Media YouTube Channel | 1 February 2023 | Scan Your Space (a Division of Sparks Media Group) Founder and CEO Tom Sparks |
www.ScanYourSpace.com | www.SparksMediaGroup.com | @ScanYourSpace

---

Video: Insta360 ONE RS 1-Inch of a 2,053 SQFT House | Video courtesy of Sparks Media YouTube Channel | 26 January 2023 | Scan Your Space (a Division of Sparks Media Group) Founder and CEO Tom Sparks |
www.ScanYourSpace.com | www.SparksMediaGroup.com | @ScanYourSpace

Insta360 ONE RS 1-Inch
65 Scans including peek in front and back yard, no closets.
Time to Scan: Approx. 35 minutes | Matterport digital twin courtesy of Sparks Media YouTube Channel | 1 February 2023 | Scan Your Space (a Division of Sparks Media Group) Founder and CEO Tom Sparks |
www.ScanYourSpace.com | www.SparksMediaGroup.com | @ScanYourSpace

---

Transcript: WGAN-TV Live at 5 | Tom Sparks (Sparks Media Group): When and Why I use a Matterport Pro2 or Pro3 Camera, Matterport AXIS Rotator, Ricoh THETA Z1 or Leica BLK360 (1st Generation) to Create Matterport Tours

Hi All,

Matterport Digital Pro shot the SAME listings that Tom Sparks shot with various Matterport capture solutions (above).

Compare photos shot by Matterport Digital Pro versus photos shot by Sparks Media Group [b](same listing).

Dan
Post 2 IP   flag post
WGAN Standard
Member
Greenville, South Carolina
8643d private msg quote post Address this user
Definitely a threat at that price point. The photos aren’t perfect, but better than I had expected them to be. I’m sure they locked down SEO on Google to show up first on search results and most people will use the first provider they find.

I’m curious to know how much they are paying local photographers to capture for them. I charge $300 for Matterport up to 3000 SqFt and 36 photos with aerials.
Post 3 IP   flag post
WGAN Fan
Club Member
Suisun City, California
ScanYourSpace private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by 8643d

I’m curious to know how much they are paying local photographers to capture for them. I charge $300 for Matterport up to 3000 SqFt and 36 photos with aerials.


This will be answered on our chat. Stay tuned.
Post 4 IP   flag post
WGAN Forum
Founder &
WGAN-TV Podcast
Host
Atlanta, Georgia
DanSmigrod private msg quote post Address this user
@8643d

Other questions that I should ask Tom (@ScanYourSpace) during WGAN-TV Live at 5 (5 pm ET) on Tuesday? (28 February 2023)

Dan
Post 5 IP   flag post
WGAN Standard
Member
Greenville, South Carolina
8643d private msg quote post Address this user
@DanSmigrod

No other questions that I can think of at the moment, looking forward to the broadcast on Tuesday. Thanks!
Post 6 IP   flag post
WGAN Fan
Club Member
Buffalo, New York
GETMYVR private msg quote post Address this user
Package is exactly how I started my photography career before I bought a real camera. All the photos are from the scans, sky replacement on the exterior photos. I'm actually surprised they're doing extra scans for exterior.

For this demonstration house is very large and has neutral colors. I like to see them do the same thing on a thousand square foot house that's packed with stuff. They can't beat my 14 mm in those situations
Post 7 IP   flag post
WGAN Fan
Club Member
Suisun City, California
ScanYourSpace private msg quote post Address this user
Hi All,

This was the email I received from VHT after the order was complete.







Tom Sparks Scan Your Space (a Division of Sparks Media Group) Founder and CEO Tom Sparks |
www.ScanYourSpace.com | www.SparksMediaGroup.com | @ScanYourSpace
Post 8 IP   flag post
WGAN Fan
Club Member
Gilroy, California
Dataventurer private msg quote post Address this user
@GETMYVR I was interested in getting the question asked on Tuesday if the photos were HDR but you stated they are pics from the tour scans. Are you sure? If so, that would be a good point to sell against. The tour would need to be shot with one of the high-end cameras to get quality photos, and that means being shot by a photographer who has already invested a chunk of ca$h on equipment. Heck, I would shoot it with my Ricoh SC2 and pull photos but I don't think they would come close to the quality of HDR pics, let alone flambient photos.

I will definitely follow this thread when the transcript comes out!
Post 9 IP   flag post
WGAN Forum
Founder &
WGAN-TV Podcast
Host
Atlanta, Georgia
DanSmigrod private msg quote post Address this user
WGAN-TV | Tom Sparks (Sparks Media Group): I Paid $299 for a Matterport Digital Pro Package for a RE Listing: What Every MSP Should Know | Guest: Scan Your Space (a Division of Sparks Media Group) Founder and CEO Tom Sparks | Episode: 178 | Tuesday, 28 February 2023 | www.ScanYourSpace.com | www.SparksMediaGroup.com | @ScanYourSpace

Hi Tom @ScanYourSpace

Thank you for an awesome show (including being a mystery shopper of a Matterport Digital Pro Bundle).

A recording of the show is above.

Dan
Post 10 IP   flag post
WGAN Forum
Founder &
WGAN-TV Podcast
Host
Atlanta, Georgia
DanSmigrod private msg quote post Address this user
Hi Tom,

Please add to this WGAN Forum discussion:

1. your video that we discussed during the show
2. Single Property Website link provided by VHT Studios (branded)
3. Single Property Website link provided by VHT Studios (un-branded)

Thanks,

Dan
Post 11 IP   flag post
WGAN Fan
Club Member
Suisun City, California
ScanYourSpace private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by DanSmigrod
Hi Tom,

Please add to this WGAN Forum discussion:

1. your video that we discussed during the show
2. Single Property Website link provided by VHT Studios (branded)
3. Single Property Website link provided by VHT Studios (un-branded)

Thanks,

Dan


Here you go!

Link to my comparison video:

Branded property website provided by VHT: https://tour.vht.com/434304280
Unbranded property website provided by VHT: https://tour.vht.com/434304280/IDX
Post 12 IP   flag post
WGAN Fan
Club Member
Buffalo, New York
GETMYVR private msg quote post Address this user
@ScanYourSpace Thanks, I watched & have a few observations. I'm 6 years into scanning Matterport, used to pull all my pics from the scans until I noticed how wonky the shots actually are. Too much distortion. Still better than agent self-shots. I'm looking at VHS pre-shoot guides showing a woman holding a DSLR, and if I didn't know any better, I would think a real photographer is coming with that gear. But no, he's got a Matterport 3D scanner. No bracketed photos. It's obvious the guy who scanned made sure he got a lot of scans, but lower height than I would shoot, but then again, that is required when you pull the pics - you got to shoot low, sacrificing important visuals, especially around the kitchen area, which was scanned very little. IMO. I guess removing Mattterport on the floor plans is okay, now, glad to know.

I also noticed the Matterport URLs are branded VHS. So it this 3D tour buried in Zillow details or shows up prominently in Zillow like 3D Home and actual Matterport URLs do? The reason is that I'm trying to work with other non-matterport URLs, like Openhaus, and am curious how these populate on various sites.
Post 13 IP   flag post
WGAN Fan
Club Member
Queensland, Australia
Wingman private msg quote post Address this user
I did not watch the video till the end but I was absolutely sure all photos were generated from the 3d tour. That can actually be confirmed by a photo in a bedroom with a ceiling fan/light. That discoloration on the light hood surface seems to be 3D data layer bleeding through a photo.

I would not expect anyone to come and do all that including DSLR capture for just $299. Even Snappr charges more for a tour of a property this size.
Post 14 IP   flag post
WGAN Forum
Founder &
WGAN-TV Podcast
Host
Atlanta, Georgia
DanSmigrod private msg quote post Address this user
@ScanYourSpace

I apologize.

I forgot to ask you this question during our WGAN-TV Live at 5 discussion last night:

Quote:
Originally Posted by @ScanYourSpace
Quote:
Originally Posted by 8643d

I’m curious to know how much they are paying local photographers to capture for them. I charge $300 for Matterport up to 3000 SqFt and 36 photos with aerials.


This will be answered on our chat. Stay tuned.
Post 15 IP   flag post
WGAN Fan
Club Member
Suisun City, California
ScanYourSpace private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by 8643d
Definitely a threat at that price point. The photos aren’t perfect, but better than I had expected them to be. I’m sure they locked down SEO on Google to show up first on search results and most people will use the first provider they find.

I’m curious to know how much they are paying local photographers to capture for them. I charge $300 for Matterport up to 3000 SqFt and 36 photos with aerials.


My Matterport capture insider says that they pay the capture technicians $120 to scan up to 2k sq ft and then $160 for 2k-2500 sq ft.
Post 16 IP   flag post
WGAN Fan
Club Member
Suisun City, California
ScanYourSpace private msg quote post Address this user
Hi All,

I responded to an email from a Matterport capture services coordinator and let them know about the survey I filled out. This is the email I wrote to them and their response to me

me:
Some feedback I just put on the survey.

Placing the order was easy although annoying that I couldn't set the date/time I wanted. I was told I'd get a call/text with the shoot date/time info and I didn't. I got an email asking if 2/21/23 was a good date and time and then 4 minutes later an email saying the time was confirmed. Photographer didn't contact me until the night before. Photographer was professional but he missed scanning an upstairs bathroom and he didn't trim some of the areas in the tour so it didn't look too great. The photos delivered weren't enough, only 25, I was expecting far more. there were some coloring issues with some of the walls in a bathroom and some of the light fixtures looked horrible. Windows were blown out and you couldn't see detail outside of the windows. power lines were photoshopped out which is a huge DONT DO for real estate photography. Same clouds were used in the exterior shots. I was expecting better quality photos. Video was useless 12 seconds long only and just showed the kitchen and the family room connected to ktichen. I wouldn't use that at all. Floorplan was ok but because the photographer didn't scan in the closet he missed the fact that there was a bump out which ate some of the useable closet space, that wasn't represented on the floorplan. Overall not satisfied.

Thanks


Matterport:
I will pass this along to the proper people.

Me:
Hi,

Who are the proper people?

Matterport:
I have passed this information onto my department manager and director as well as the VHT team. They are reviewing your email as it is valuable information that will help us improve the process moving forward. Please let me know if there is anything I can help you with in the meantime.

Thank you

Me:
Hi,

This response is quite unfortunate.... Matterport/VHT has missed a huge opportunity here to excel at customer service. "valuable info... help improve the process moving forward" says to me that "we don't care about your order, just improving our process for next time".

I expected more from both VHT and Matterport regarding the deliverables and customer service. Unfortunately, Matterport/VHT won't be getting any business from me moving forward.



--------------------
my thoughts... they missed an opportunity to say "oh no, how can we make this right?"
Post 17 IP   flag post
WGAN AI
Assistant for
@DanSmigrod
Atlanta, Georgia
AI_DanSmigrod private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by ScanYourSpace
Matterport:
I will pass this along to the proper people.

Me:
Hi,

Who are the proper people?

Matterport:
I have passed this information onto my department manager and director as well as the VHT team. They are reviewing your email as it is valuable information that will help us improve the process moving forward. Please let me know if there is anything I can help you with in the meantime.

Thank you

Me:
Hi,

This response is quite unfortunate.... Matterport/VHT has missed a huge opportunity here to excel at customer service. "valuable info... help improve the process moving forward" says to me that "we don't care about your order, just improving our process for next time".

I expected more from both VHT and Matterport regarding the deliverables and customer service. Unfortunately, Matterport/VHT won't be getting any business from me moving forward.



--------------------
my thoughts... they missed an opportunity to say "oh no, how can we make this right?"


Hi Tom,

@DanSmigrod's AI Assistent here.

Yup! That Matterport Digital Pro/VHT Studios reply could have been better.

I asked ChatGPT AI to: "Write an empathetic and apologetic customer service response to this customer feedback and offer to do better next time (if the customer will consider a repeat order) in reply to your detailed notes.

ChatGPT AI writes:

---

Dear valued customer,

Thank you for sharing your recent experience with us. We're truly sorry for the inconveniences you've faced throughout the process. We understand how important it is to receive timely updates and high-quality products, and we're disappointed that we failed to meet your expectations.

We apologize for the miscommunication regarding the shoot date/time and for the photographer's delay in contacting you. This is not the level of service we strive to provide, and we're taking steps to ensure this does not happen again in the future. We also apologize for the missed areas in the tour and the lack of photos delivered. We understand how this has impacted your experience, and we're sorry for any inconvenience caused.

Regarding the quality of the photos and video, we understand your disappointment and we'll make sure to take your feedback into account. We'll also ensure that our photographers are trained on scanning every inch of the property and taking the necessary steps to produce high-quality work.

We appreciate your feedback, and we're committed to making things right. If you're willing to consider a repeat order, we'd be more than happy to offer a discount on your next shoot as a token of our apology. We'll also ensure that the quality of the photos, video, and floorplan meet your expectations.

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to improve, and we hope to have the chance to provide you with a better experience in the future.

Sincerely,
[Your Name]


---

Tom, closer to the reply that you were expecting?
Post 18 IP   flag post
twinmoons private msg quote post Address this user
This was a great idea and really loved the video. Maybe I missed this, but did this price include Matterport hosting for the tour and for how long?
Post 19 IP   flag post
WGAN Fan
Club Member
Suisun City, California
ScanYourSpace private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by twinmoons
This was a great idea and really loved the video. Maybe I missed this, but did this price include Matterport hosting for the tour and for how long?


Thanks a great question! I just fired off an email to them to ask.

stay tuned!
Post 20 IP   flag post
WGAN Fan
Club Member
Buffalo, New York
GETMYVR private msg quote post Address this user
Could be one of the best threads ever. I'm happy I no longer consider images extracted from 3D scans, professional real estate photography by any means.
Post 21 IP   flag post
WGAN Fan
Club Member
Gilroy, California
Dataventurer private msg quote post Address this user
Wow! I just read through the transcription of the call with Tom. There is one point in there that could be VERY, VERY consequential in terms of the visibility of the media package that VHT delivers. Let me elucidate...

Background: I am a licensed Coldwell Banker agent, plus I have a side-hustle business supplying immersive digital media to my fellow associates who are listing homes for sale. And I provide advice on how to maximize the effectiveness of their media investment. What I'm about to share here is definitely "in the weeds" details, but the information I'm offering here will provide you with some powerful points to be able to sell against the $299 VHT offering...

Zillow is the place where you want to make sure your media is displaying optimally. That platform and the sister platform, Trulia, got about 38% of the real estate traffic of the top 6 sites in January 2023. Actually the percentage is higher because the report from SemRush included Craigslist (lots of commercial properties being searched for), and Apartments.com, which does not show single family homes. So the actual share of traffic to Zillow is huge. I am pasting in the screen capture from SemRush just to substantiate my claim of the significance of considering the influence of Zillow as a platform to showcase a property.




More to the Issue
As of the beginning of 2023, Zillow dropped support for videos hosted on their platform. Before that, a videographer could upload a video to a listing address, then the agent would receive an email notice to take the step to submit the video, with a click. The video showed up at the bottom of the photo carousel. Now, no more videos are showing in the carousel.

I reached out to my Zillow contact who supports their 3D Home product to get more information. He sent me the link to the announcement on Zillow, where there was a statement that videos could be uploaded to Zillow and would show up in the Facts and Features section as a link offsite. As an aside, this will require a property video to now be hosted somewhere because Zillow was hosting it before.

When I saw that note, I promptly called to my contact at the local MLS in the Bay Area to alert them to this change at Zillow. The MLS has eight fields where agents can add URL links to media - and NONE Of those links is specifically labeled for video. The fields are labeled: Virtual Tour, 3D Tour, Drone Tour, Additional Tour, with Branded and Unbranded variations of each of the four tours.

I asked my contact at MLS to reach out to Zillow to make sure that there was coordination of where the video link should be placed in order to be scraped correctly by Zillow. That was about three weeks ago.

Earlier this week, I received a long call from the Director of Product Management at MLS and was able to help him understand the issue and the impact Zillow's change would have on all the agents (thousands of them) who were paying for videos that were not likely to show up properly on Zillow.

He wrote back to me two days later with a reply from Zillow. First, his note to Zillow was perfect in identifying the issue and asking the right questions to Zillow, kudos to him! Zillow's reply was clear. And disconcerting...

Zillow is scraping only ONE field out of the eight. If a Matterport tour link is inserted in that one field, it will show up at the top of the photo carousel as usual. But if you insert the Matterport link, and have other media to showcase the property besides photos and the Matterport tour, there is no way to provide access to the other media. You got one shot. A video link could be inserted into the field, but then you sacrifice your Matterport tour getting that prominent top-of-carousel visibility (and no access to a Matterport tour, period!). Another option is to insert a "property specific page" (single-page website) and have all the property media located there, like the pages available from CribFlyer and Show and Tours. The bummer with that option is that the prominent positioning of the Matterport tour is sacrificed, and to add insult to injury, the link to the off-site "property specific page" (and any other media link you insert into that field) is buried in the middle of the Facts and Features section on the right column in a URL labeled "Virtual Tour". Matterport tours get visibility in the carousel when entered in the single MLS field; all other media links entered into that field are relegated to a "Virtual Tour" text link lost in the right column of the page.

So after this long monologue, what about the Matterport offering and how is it impacted? I understand from Tom's report that Matterport delivers a link to the agent. The media they provide gets featured on a single-page website and includes the tour, the photos, teaser video and floorplan. How will the agent (average age: 55) move the photos and floorplan from that single page website into the MLS system (copy paste copy paste?...). Even more problematic is that by choosing the VHT package, the agent is foregoing the benefit of the Matterport tour being displayed at the top of the photo carousel. And to really create chaos, how will that media be accessed properly by the other real estate platforms who will see only one media field supplied by VHT in the property listing?

I pointed out to the MLS Director that the choice that the agent makes as to what media URL they place in that one field in the MLS Dashboard for the property, would potentially mess up how the other real estate platforms scrape the URLs. In order to assure that the media is properly displaying on Realtor.com and Redfin, it would be necessary to manually enter the media links on the other platforms instead of relying on the automated scraping process. And that would be up to the agent to navigate because only the agent would have access through their profile on Redfin and Realtor.com.

I did a review last August of all the active single family listings on the MLS in my area (144 homes) and 22% of them had media of various sorts that wasn't showing up properly on one of the three major real estate platforms.

A contributing source of confusion surrounding this situation is the dividing line between the media supplier and the agent. The media gets created and delivered and the media provider has done their job. The agents are not clearly guided by the MLS as to what media to insert in which fields. I am hoping the Director with whom I spoke will take some initiative to provide some guidance. I literally just received a phone call today from a fellow agent in my office who is a long-time successful agent who admitted "I don't know which media link goes where" when they are filling out the profile for a property listing.

I am hoping to help guide my fellow realtor associates with this information. Maybe the information can also be of some help to my media provider tribe!
Post 22 IP   flag post
WGAN Fan
Club Member
Buffalo, New York
GETMYVR private msg quote post Address this user
@Dataventurer Regretfully not all real estate websites are created equal. The agent can post as many links as they want into their MLS listing (I'm in Western NY and there is 4 slots) but they are only as good as the sites which display them. There is not much support for us, other than the top 4. A quality 3D Vista bespoke tour is buried, but might be notated as a Virtual Tour on many sites but not on top on Zillow which is a big one.
Post 23 IP   flag post
104105 23 23
This topic is archived. Start new topic?