eBay and Etsy Image Rules Compared

I prepare listings for sellers who are on eBay and Etsy at the same time, often on Amazon as well. Each platform says something slightly different about images. I keep one table and one export set that satisfies all of them. I last checked these figures against the platforms’ help pages in October 2026; they do change, so confirm before a big upload.

The comparison

The spirit is the same on both: a large, sharp, honest photograph of the actual item on a background that does not compete with it.

eBay in practice

• Size: 500 px is the floor, but zoom only becomes useful at around 1600 px. I export 1600 or 2000 px.
• Background: eBay asks for a plain backdrop and removes none of your choice, but white or light grey performs best and is expected for new goods. Used and vintage items are fine on a clean neutral surface.
• No added graphics: no borders, text, logos or watermarks.
• Use the slots: front, back, sides, label, flaws, scale. Buyers of used goods want every angle, and showing a flaw clearly prevents returns.
• Stock photos: acceptable for new items in some categories, not for used. Your own photographs sell better anyway.

Etsy in practice

• Size: Etsy recommends at least 2000 px on the shortest side, which keeps listings sharp on large screens.
• The first photo: it becomes the thumbnail and is cropped. Keep the product centred with space around it, so nothing important is lost in a square or 4:3 crop.
• Background: Etsy is a marketplace for handmade and vintage, and lifestyle images do well. Natural light, a simple surface, a hint of context. Pure white works too, particularly for jewellery and prints.
• Consistency: a shop whose thumbnails share one ground and one light looks trustworthy. Pick a white and keep it.

Shoot once, square, with air around the product. Every platform’s crop can be cut from that.

Where Amazon differs

Amazon is the strict one: the main image must be on pure white, RGB 255, with the product filling about 85 percent of the frame. If you sell there too, shoot to Amazon’s standard and you automatically satisfy the other two. Details in Amazon product photo requirements.

One export set for all

Those are the five sizes on the batch button of the generator. I export five blank whites in one click, then drop the cut-out product onto each. The background is identical everywhere and exact by construction.

Shooting for the crop

• Compose square in camera, or leave room to crop square from a 3:2 frame.
• Keep the product within the central 80 percent. Etsy’s thumbnail crop and eBay’s square both cut the edges.
• Fill the frame for Amazon; leave a little more air for Etsy. I shoot one frame and crop two versions.
• Keep the camera height consistent across a range, so thumbnails line up as a set.

Format and file size

JPEG at high quality in sRGB is safe everywhere and uploads quickly. PNG is accepted but much larger for photographs. Keep files well under each platform’s upload limit; a 2000 px JPEG at quality 85 to 90 is typically under 1 MB. Avoid uploading in a wide-gamut profile, which some platforms convert badly.

Choosing the white

Pure #FFFFFF for Amazon and for new goods on eBay. For Etsy, a softer ground often suits the product: seamless white for a studio look, linen or warm ivory for handmade goods. Whatever you choose, use the same one across the shop.

Mistakes I fix most often

• Images under 1000 px that cannot zoom.
• A different background colour in every listing.
• The product cropped by the thumbnail.
• Text overlays and borders on the first image.
• Yellow indoor lighting. One custom white balance fixes a whole shop; see white balance.
• Grey “white” backgrounds. See removing shadows.

The short version

eBay: at least 500 px, 1600 px for zoom, plain background, no graphics. Etsy: 2000 px on the shortest side, a first photo that survives cropping, a consistent look. Shoot square at 2000 px on pure white and you are covered for both, and for Amazon. Batch your base layers with the generator.

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