eBay listing title: the 80-character rules, what goes first and what eBay bars

An eBay listing title can be up to 80 characters, and eBay's advice is to use as many of them as you can, on the words buyers type: the brand, the product name, the model number, then the size or colour. Put the most important words in roughly the first 60 characters, because that is the part eBay says is always visible on a phone, and leave condition, shipping and every unrelated brand name out.

The title is the one part of an eBay listing that does two jobs at once. eBay's search, Best Match, reads it to decide whether your listing matches what a buyer typed, and the buyer reads it to decide whether to tap. A title that serves both is plain, specific and dense with facts.

This guide covers the limit, the order eBay suggests, what moves to item specifics, the rules that get titles removed, and worked titles for six kinds of item.

How long can an eBay listing title be?

An eBay listing title can be up to 80 characters, and eBay's Seller Center tells sellers to use as many of them as they can. eBay's export guidance gives the same 80-character limit and tells sellers to include the keywords buyers are likely to use in their searches. Its listing tips add that listings with titles of more than 60 characters have a 1.5 times greater chance of selling.

Filling the space does not mean padding it. If you reach 70 characters and the next word would be "great", stop at 70.

What should go first in an eBay title?

The brand and what the item is go first, followed by the model, then the size, colour and the feature buyers search for. eBay's holiday listing announcement puts it plainly in its title advice: front-load brand, model, size, colour and key feature, because the first 60 or so characters are always visible on mobile, and the exact cut-off varies by device.

eBay's suggested format, from its listing guidance, runs in this order:

eBay's Seller Center adds style and type to the list of things a title should carry, alongside brand, model and colour.

That export guide also puts "new" at the front of its format. eBay's other guidance says otherwise: its seller page for phone listings says condition (new, used, refurbished) belongs in the item specifics, not the title, and its staff announcement lists "New" and "Free Shipping" among the details to leave out because item specifics already carry them. Follow that advice. Condition already has a field and a filter, so writing it in the title spends characters for nothing.

What belongs in item specifics instead of the title?

Condition, shipping terms and every variation you sell belong in eBay's structured fields, not the title. The title matches the words a buyer types; item specifics match the filters the buyer sets afterwards. eBay says buyers use item specifics to filter their search results, and its export guidance gives the example of a red phone case: a buyer looking for a red mobile phone case sees only the cases that have "red" in their item specifics.

For a listing with variations, such as a dress in five colours, eBay says you do not need to name every variation in the title, because the variations are indexed automatically and come up according to the words the buyer searched. Use the title for the words that are true of every variation, and let the variations carry the rest.

Put the same size and colour in both places for a single item. They are not duplicates: one matches the search, the other matches the filter. The guide to eBay item specifics covers which ones to fill for each category.

What does eBay not allow in a title?

eBay does not allow words in a listing that are inaccurate or not about the item for sale, comparisons with other products, other brands' names used to catch their searches, or contact details. Each rule sits on an eBay policy page:

• Accurate words about this item only. eBay's search manipulation policy says all the words in the listing need to be accurate and refer only to the item for sale, and it bars comparisons with other products. "Like [other brand]" and "not [other brand]" both fall foul of it.
• No brand the maker is not. eBay's intellectual property guidance says to use a brand name only if the item is genuinely made by that brand, and not to add other brand names to compare the product or to get better search results.
• One brand, with "for", on compatible items. If your item is an accessory or part for another product, eBay asks for "fits", "for" or "compatible with" before the other item's name. For an item that fits a limited number of brands, eBay allows one brand name in the title, with the other brands in the description; multiple brand names in a title are not allowed.
• No brand at all on universal items. If the item works with every brand, eBay says not to use brand names to market it, and "for" or "fits" is not allowed before the brand names of jewellery, clothing and accessories.
• No contact details. eBay's contact information policy covers phone numbers, email addresses, social media IDs and external website addresses, with narrow exceptions such as a listing for the sale of a domain.
• No shouting. eBay advises against whole words in capitals and against asterisks and other markers between words, and says both can lower your ranking.
• No filler symbols. eBay's announcement tells sellers to drop extra symbols, emojis and filler such as "look" spelled with @ signs.

How do you write an eBay title, step by step?

Build an eBay title from the facts outward, in five steps:

1. Write what the item is in the words a buyer types: "wireless headphones", not "audio solution".
2. Put the brand in front of it, if the item carries one, exactly as the label spells it.
3. Add the model or part number. Buyers of electronics, parts and collectables search by number.
4. Add the variant: size, colour, capacity, set count.
5. Spend what is left on the feature or material buyers search for, then count. Stop at 80, and check that the first 60 characters still name the item.

eBay title examples by category

Six titles built eBay's way, each under 80 characters, with "Brand" standing for the real brand:

What each one shows:

• Clothing leads with brand and cut, then the waist and leg sizes buyers type, then wash and fit. Size also goes in the item specifics, where buyers filter by it.
• Electronics puts the model number third, because buyers who know what they want type it.
• The phone case names one compatible phone after "for", as eBay's compatibility rule asks, and names no other brand.
• The brake pads leave the vehicle out. For parts listed with eBay's fitment table, eBay says there is no need to repeat compatibility in the title, and suggests brand, part type, part number and the equivalent OEM part number instead.
• Home goods give the set count and the size, the two things that decide whether plates suit a kitchen.
• The book leads with author and title, the way collectors search, then edition, year and what is included. Nothing in it says "rare": a buyer who wants a 1962 first edition types those words.

The most common eBay title mistakes

• Capitals and symbols. eBay says they can lower ranking.
• Condition and shipping in the title, where item specifics and shipping settings already carry them.
• A second brand for reach, which eBay's intellectual property rules do not allow.
• Opinion words such as "rare" or "stunning", which push the model number out of the visible part.
• A vehicle list in a parts title when the fitment table already holds it.
• Facts in the title that are missing from item specifics, so the listing matches the search and drops out at the first filter.

How Commicorn helps

Commicorn makes eBay listing images and copy from your product photos, to eBay's rules: a title within 80 characters with the brand and model in front, and item specifics filled from the same facts. Start free.

Questions sellers ask

How many characters is an eBay title?

An eBay title can be up to 80 characters, and eBay advises using as many as you can on words buyers search for. Put the brand, item and model in roughly the first 60, the part eBay says is always visible on a phone.

Should I put "new" in my eBay title?

No. eBay's seller guidance for phone listings says condition (new, used, refurbished) belongs in the item specifics, not the title, and eBay's holiday listing announcement lists "New" among the details not to repeat because item specifics already carry it. Buyers filter by condition, so the field does the work.

Can I use another brand's name in my eBay title?

Only to say what your item fits, and only one. eBay asks for "fits", "for" or "compatible with" before the other item's name, allows one brand name in the title for an item that fits a limited number of brands, and does not allow a brand name the maker is not.

Do I need every colour in a variation listing's title?

No. eBay says variations are indexed automatically and come up according to the words a buyer searches, so the title only needs the words true of every variation.

Can I change an eBay title after listing?

Yes, unless the listing is an auction with bids or less than 12 hours left, when eBay's rules on revising a listing lock the title. It is one of the cheapest fixes on eBay. Search for your item as a buyer would, compare your title with the listings above it, and rewrite it in eBay's order: brand, item, model, variant, keyword. Change the title alone and give it a week before judging, so you know what made the difference.

The last word

The best eBay title is a list of facts in the order buyers type them: brand, item, model, size or colour. Get the first 60 characters right, keep condition and shipping in their fields, and never borrow another brand's name. A title like that matches the search, survives eBay's policy checks, and tells a buyer on a phone exactly what they are looking at.