eBay's photo requirements in plain terms
eBay requires every listing to have at least one photo, and each photo must be at least 500 px on its longest side. It recommends around 1600 px on the longest side so buyers can zoom in on details. Photos must not have borders, added text, or artwork placed over the item, and stock photos are not allowed for used items, which must show the actual item being sold.
eBay accepts JPG, PNG, and several other formats, but JPG is the practical choice for photographs because files stay small and upload quickly, especially when you list many items from a phone.
Why square photos work best on eBay
eBay search results and the mobile app display gallery images in a square frame. A wide or tall photo is shrunk to fit inside that square, leaving empty space around it, so the item looks smaller than competing listings. Cropping to a square such as 1600 × 1600 px before you upload lets the item fill the whole thumbnail.
If an item is long, such as a fishing rod or a rug, use the fit option with a white background instead of cropping, so the whole item stays visible while the file is still square.
What to photograph for a listing
Buyers on eBay often compare several identical items, so honest, detailed photos help you win the sale. Show the front, back, and sides; any labels, model numbers, or serial plates; the condition of edges and corners; and every flaw, scratch, or mark mentioned in the description. Photographing flaws clearly reduces returns and negative feedback.
Use daylight or two soft light sources, a plain background, and avoid flash, which creates glare on glossy surfaces. Clean the item before shooting; dust shows up clearly at 1600 px.
Preparing photos for many listings at once
Resellers often photograph a whole batch of items in one session. Add all of those photos here, choose the 1600 × 1600 px listing size, and download one ZIP. The files keep their original names with the size added, so photos from the same item stay together when you sort the folder by name.
Because eBay compresses uploaded images again, starting from a clean, correctly sized JPG gives a sharper result than uploading a very large original and letting eBay resize it.