How to sell on eBay: listing photos, titles and item specifics that get found

To sell on eBay, set up an eBay account (a business account for a registered business), create a listing with photos that meet eBay's photo policy, a title of up to 80 characters and every item specific that is true of the item, and choose a price, a shipping service and a return policy. eBay gives up to 250 listings a month with no insertion fee, then charges $0.35 a listing, and takes a final value fee of 13.6% of the total sale up to $7,500 in most categories, plus $0.30 per order of $10 or less or $0.40 per order over $10. Price from what the same item has sold for, which eBay's Product Research shows for the last 3 years of sales.

How do you start selling on eBay?

A new eBay seller needs an eBay account and a way for eBay to pay out earnings. eBay's Seller Center says "Already have a registered business? Easily set up an eBay business account to unlock additional protections and benefits", and its Payments and earnings section covers payout options.

Five decisions make up every eBay listing: the photos, the title, the item specifics and description, the price and format, and the shipping and return policy. The sections below take each in turn.

How much does eBay charge to sell?

eBay's selling fees for most categories, as eBay's fee page gives them on 29 October 2026:

Some categories differ from the most-categories rate, so check the category on eBay's fee page before pricing. On a $30 item with $6 shipping, the final value fee is 13.6% of $36 ($4.90) plus the $0.40 per-order fee, before sales tax collected on the order.

What photos does an eBay listing need?

eBay's photo policy asks for photos at least 500 pixels on the longest side, and allows no added borders, text, artwork, marketing material or watermarks on any photo. eBay's help suggests about 1,600 pixels on the longest side and allows up to 24 photos per listing.

• First photo: the item alone, on a plain background, sharp, with nothing added.
• Every angle: front, back, sides, top and base.
• Labels, model numbers and markings, close and readable.
• Every flaw on a used item, photographed so a buyer sees what the condition description says.
• Scale: the item beside a familiar object, with the measurements in the item specifics and description rather than written on a photo.

eBay's no-text rule catches sellers who list on Amazon too: a feature image with labels or a size image with measurements written on it, both allowed on Amazon, are not allowed on eBay. A video, where a seller adds one, appears in the second position in eBay's photo gallery.

How do you write an eBay title?

An eBay title can be up to 80 characters, and it carries the words buyers type in eBay search. eBay suggests a format: condition where it matters, the brand, the product name, the model number, the variant and an additional keyword. For a pair of trainers that might be the brand, the model name, "running shoes", "men's size 10" and the colour.

eBay's search manipulation policy does not allow keywords that are not directly related to the item, so a title naming another brand to catch its searches breaks eBay's policy. The guide to eBay SEO covers titles and Best Match, eBay's search ranking, in detail.

Which item specifics should an eBay listing fill?

eBay item specifics are the structured fields of a listing, such as brand, size, colour, material and model, and buyers use them to filter search results: a listing appears in a filtered result only when the matching item specific is filled in. eBay asks sellers to complete item specifics in order: Required, Required soon, then Recommended, choosing eBay's suggested values where a list is offered.

Put size and colour in the title where buyers type them, and in the item specifics where buyers filter by them. The guide to eBay item specifics covers what to fill for clothing, electronics and home goods.

How should a used item's condition be described on eBay?

Condition is part of eBay search, because buyers filter by it, so choose the right condition from eBay's list and describe it plainly. eBay asks for a complete and accurate description that includes the item's condition, with any defects or damage. "Good" means different things to different buyers; a condition description such as "light creasing at the toes, soles in good condition, no marks inside" says what a buyer will receive.

How should an eBay description be written for phones?

An eBay description should open with what the item is and its condition, then give the details a buyer checks: measurements, materials, model numbers, what is included and what was tested. eBay says more than half of eBay transactions are viewed on mobile before purchase, and advises a base font size of 16 pixels, with nothing under 12. Short paragraphs and plain lists read well on a phone; images of text, tables wider than a phone and long blocks of capitals do not.

A made-up example for used boots: "Chelsea boots, men's US size 10, brown leather, pull-on. Worn a handful of times: light creasing at the toes, soles in good condition, no marks inside. Insole length 28 cm. Original box not included." Every line answers a question a buyer would otherwise send as a message, and every fact matches the photos and the item specifics.

How do you price an item on eBay?

Price an eBay item from what the same item has sold for recently, not from what other sellers are asking. eBay's Product Research, in the Research tab of Seller Hub and in eBay's mobile apps, gives "access to the last 3 years of eBay sales data", with the average sales price, the sold price range, average shipping costs and, for items sold in the last 90 days, the sell-through rate.

eBay lists price among the things Best Match weighs, alongside how closely a listing matches the buyer's words, the item's popularity and the listing's quality.

Which shipping and return policy should an eBay seller offer?

eBay sellers choose one of five return policies:

eBay's service metrics are largely based on returns, and returns filed as "Item not as described" count toward them, which makes accurate photos and condition descriptions part of a seller's standing. After a returned item arrives, the seller has two business days to review it and issue a refund or ask eBay to step in; if the seller does nothing, eBay issues the refund two business days after tracking shows delivery.

Choose a shipping service with tracking, state the handling time the business can keep, and include shipping costs in the price comparison, since buyers compare the total.

Which items need extra care on eBay?

eBay's policies restrict some items, and a few product types carry further rules on every marketplace. Knives, for example, carry age and shipping rules that the knife and blade rules cover. Check eBay's policy for the category before listing anything restricted.

What mistakes do new eBay sellers make?

• Text on photos. Not allowed on any eBay photo.
• Titles that waste characters on words buyers do not type, or that name other brands.
• Only the required item specifics filled, which hides a listing from filtered searches.
• Condition described vaguely.
• Prices set from asking prices rather than sold prices.
• Fees left out of the price: the 13.6% final value fee is charged on shipping and tax too.

An eBay launch checklist

1. eBay account set up, a business account for a registered business, with payouts arranged.
2. Photos at least 500 pixels, about 1,600 recommended, with nothing added to any photo.
3. A title of up to 80 characters in eBay's suggested order.
4. Every Required, Required soon and true Recommended item specific.
5. Condition chosen and described, with every flaw photographed.
6. Price set from Product Research's sold prices, after eBay's fees.
7. A return policy chosen, and shipping with tracking.

How Commicorn helps

• eBay images with nothing added: your product from your photos, with the words-on-image versions kept for marketplaces that allow them and left out of your eBay folder.
• An eBay title within 80 characters, and item specifics in your export, filled from your product's facts.
• One set of facts behind your eBay listing and every other marketplace, so the specifics match the title, the description and the images.

Make your eBay listing from your photos. Start free.

Questions sellers ask

How much does eBay take from a sale?

In most categories eBay takes a final value fee of 13.6% of the total sale up to $7,500, including shipping and sales tax, plus $0.30 per order of $10 or less or $0.40 per order over $10.

How many listings can I post on eBay without an insertion fee?

eBay gives up to 250 listings a month with no insertion fee, then charges $0.35 per listing.

Can I put text or a logo on eBay photos?

No. eBay's photo policy does not allow added borders, text, artwork, marketing material or watermarks on any photo.

How long can an eBay title be?

An eBay title can be up to 80 characters.

How do I find what an item sold for on eBay?

eBay's Product Research, in the Research tab of Seller Hub, shows the average sales price and sold price range from the last 3 years of eBay sales data.