What happens if a photo is under 500 pixels?

eBay refuses it. Either enlarge it past the minimum or leave it out — there is no third option.

Can I use the supplier’s photos at all?

Technically they are the supplier’s, and eBay’s intellectual property rules apply. Many sellers do; the risk is theirs. Your own photographs are always safer.

How many photos should a listing have?

More than four and fewer than twenty-four. Enough to answer the questions a buyer would otherwise message you about.

Guides 5 min readUpdated 25 September 2026

eBay photo requirements

Photographs decide whether a buyer stops. eBay has rules about them, and supplier images break the rules often enough that it is worth knowing which ones.

The rules that refuse a listing

The longest side must be at least 500 pixels — the commonest failure by a distance
Up to 24 pictures per listing, free
No borders, watermarks, text overlays or added graphics on the gallery image
No placeholder or stock-catalogue images standing in for the item
Formats: JPEG, PNG, and similar ordinary web formats

Why supplier photos fail

Description images on a supplier page are often 300 or 400 pixels wide, sized for a phone rather than for a marketplace. eBay refuses them outright.

They are worth keeping — they show detail a gallery shot does not — which means enlarging them to clear the minimum rather than dropping them.

Which to put first

The first picture is the one that appears in search results and decides whether anybody clicks. A plain shot of the whole product on a clean background beats a lifestyle photograph at thumbnail size.

Put the detail, the scale and the packaging shots after it.

Hosting

Sending pictures to eBay rather than linking to somebody else’s server means a listing keeps working when the supplier page changes. eBay-hosted copies do expire, so something has to refresh them before they do.

Questions

What happens if a photo is under 500 pixels?: eBay refuses it. Either enlarge it past the minimum or leave it out — there is no third option.
Can I use the supplier’s photos at all?: Technically they are the supplier’s, and eBay’s intellectual property rules apply. Many sellers do; the risk is theirs. Your own photographs are always safer.
How many photos should a listing have?: More than four and fewer than twenty-four. Enough to answer the questions a buyer would otherwise message you about.