Your eBay images play a crucial role in how well your listings convert and more importantly, how successful you are as an eBay seller.

In fact, regardless of how much time you spend optimizing your listings to appear at the top of relevant eBay searches, if your product photos aren’t a high enough quality, everything else will become a wasted effort. product images to drive more sales?

Here’s what you need to know.

eBay image requirements

Ensuring that your product images comply with eBay’s guidelines is crucial, as failure to do so can negatively impact listing visibility and even jeopardize your eBay seller account.

Below, we have listed some of the requirements for using eBay images in your listings.

Listings must have a minimum of one photo

While you will need to include at least one image per listing, it is worth keeping in mind that you can in fact use up to 12 pictures for free. It is recommended that you take advantage of this allowance, in order to showcase your products to the best of your ability and in turn increase sales.

Only use a stock photo if your item is new or unused

When selling used products, stock photos can mislead the buyer, which can in-turn be detrimental to your ratings, sales and repeat business. Instead, you should use a photo that accurately reflects the condition of the item you’re selling, in order to manage customer expectations.

If, however, the product you are selling is new or refurbished, you are allowed to use stock photos in your listings.

eBay photos must not have borders or include text on them

In order to enhance customer experience, the use of text and/or borders on eBay listings are not permitted.

Comply with eBay’s minimum image size standards

When selling on eBay, you must ensure that the longest side of your image is a minimum of 500 pixels, as this is deemed an optimal size for high quality photos.

Use actual photos when using eBay’s catalog

When using eBay’s catalog to list a used item, you will need to upload a photo of the item in its actual condition, as opposed to using a stock image.

Ensure that any photos imported from the web are HTTPS compliant

If you use externally hosted content in your listings (i.e. cascading style sheets (CSS), images or HTML5) that don’t use the HTTPS communications protocol, your listings may not display properly and won’t display security warnings in the browser.

Back in October 2017, eBay urged all sellers to contact their hosting provider or third-party provider to find out whether they support HTTPS.

Remove watermarks from images on eBay

While eBay initially informed sellers that they would be enforcing the removal of watermarks from images as of March 1st 2018, eBay later announced that this would no longer be the case.

It is recommended, however, that you do remove watermarks to enhance the customer experience and ensure that you secure better visibility on eBay and in search engines.

eBay image size

Even though the longest side of your eBay images must be a minimum of 500 pixels, eBay does in fact recommend that you use a photo that is at least 1,600 pixels on its longest side.

By using high quality images in your listings, you do also increase the probability of sales by becoming more visible in eBay’s Best Match Search Results.

eBay photo tips

Use your best photo as your main eBay listing photo

This is the image that will appear in relevant eBay search results and subsequently the image that will initially convince the buyer whether or not to click on your listing. When taking/selecting this image, opt for one that shows the entire product from a good angle.

Use a solid background

The use of a solid, plain background not only helps the product to stand out, but also helps to avoid any distractions and makes the image look as professional as possible. While a plain white backdrop will suffice, it could be worth investing in a photo tent if you’re selling on eBay as a business.

Clean your products

A few moments spent cleaning your products (if necessary) can go a long way in securing sales. The same applies with ironing clothing.

Use the best lighting possible

You may well be kitted out with professional lighting equipment, but if not, keep in mind that natural daylight can also be great for the lighting of your products.

Whatever method you opt for, do make sure that the photo accurately conveys the colour of the items, as this can otherwise mislead potential buyers and impact your eBay seller rating (and bottom line).

Showcase the product from multiple angles

Product detail is extremely important in your listing description, but you should also be providing as much detail as possible through your images. With this in mind, take advantage of your 12 free images, by taking pictures of your products at different angles.

It’s also important to capture any faults or blemishes, as well as detailing them in your product description.

Consider using a tripod

Tripods are a great way to increase the professionalism of your eBay images and are particularly useful when taking clear, detailed shots of your products.

Avoid using props

Props can be distracting and can confuse the potential buyer as to what it is they’re bidding on/purchasing.

Monitor and update your eBay listings to see success

Ultimately, the clearer and crisper your eBay listing photos are, the better chance you have of getting buyers to firstly click through onto your listing and secondly buy your products.

While we have done our best to summarize all of the eBay image requirements, tips and best practices, eBay themselves provide further detail here.

Of course, keeping an eye on all your eBay listings and ensuring that they meet best practices to encourage sales becomes a more complex task as the number of products you sell increases.

That’s why it’s worth investigating your opportunities with eBay inventory management software. By investing in the right tools, you can save countless hours, make data-driven decisions and build the profitable eBay business that you so wish to see.