How to Take eBay Photos That Sell

eBay is crowded. If you don’t have product photos that pop, your chances of getting attention drop dramatically—not a good idea if you want to make more sales.

What’s the secret to taking eBay photos that will stand out on the site and in external search engine results? Let’s look at how to take the perfect eBay photos to help you sell more items.

Why Should You Keep Reading? ‘Cos Good Product Photos Increase Sales

Your item is awesome, and you have a stellar product description. But how would you catch potential buyers’ attention so they’d check out your listing? 

You guessed it—product photos that pop. Here’s why they’re critical for attracting traffic and driving sales:

  • Stand out from the crowd: It’s easy to list an item on eBay, which is great for sellers. The flip side is that everybody is selling on eBay. Good product photos help you cut through the clutter and stand out from Uncle Jerry’s and Aunt Betty’s listings.
  • Get more clicks: 79% of internet users scan through listings and skim for highlights. For many, no picture is a no-go. If you can’t get shoppers to click on your listing in a sea of search results, your Pulitzer Prize-winning product description can’t do its magic.
  • Build credibility: Your potential buyers don’t know you from Adam. High-quality product photos convey the impression that you’re not some fly-by-night operation. The trust factor makes it more likely that shoppers will buy from you.
  • Provide instant information: A picture is worth a thousand words. Visual content conveys more relevant information about your product much faster than text. It also offers a sense of scale to set the right customer expectation.
  • Increase shareability: People like to share their purchases on social media. Since most of these platforms are visually oriented (e.g., Instagram and Pinterest,) having great product photos will encourage social sharing, which is essentially free advertising.
  • Boost your SEO: Images with optimized file names and alt text can improve your search ranking and drive more organic traffic to your product listing. High-quality traffic, of course, means more sales!
visual content as factor in purchasing

How To Take eBay Photos That Sell

Now you know the why, let’s look at the how. The good news is that taking high-quality product photos for your eBay listings isn’t rocket surgery—you don’t need to be a professional photographer or own a fancy DSLR camera. Here are some eBay photography tips you can use right away.

1. Follow eBay’s Photo Guidelines

Before getting creative, let’s make sure your pictures don’t get dinged. Follow eBay’s photo requirements:

  • Every listing must have at least one photo.
  • Minimum of 500 pixels on the longest side.
  • Don’t add borders to the photo.
  • No text, artwork, or watermark on the image.
  • Don’t use stock photos for pre-owned items.
eBay’s Photo Guidelines

2. Make Your Product the Hero

Clean your items, especially if they’re pre-owned or collectibles. Even if the product is brand-new, it could get dusty during shipping and storage so take the time to make sure it looks as appealing as possible.

Zoom in and crop tightly on the product. Take pictures from different angles and include multiple photos in your listings. Shoppers want to see a 360 of the product before making their purchasing decision.

3. Nail the Lighting and Backdrop

Good lighting can make a big difference, and the good news is that you don’t have to invest in fancy studio lighting equipment. In fact, natural light is your best friend. Take your product outside but avoid direct sunlight because it could create too much contrast.

Also, use a solid background that won’t distract shoppers from your product. We love that colorful carpet on your floor but using it as the backdrop could distract buyers from seeing the item's features. Use a white sheet of cardboard or a photo tent as the backdrop.

What if you have taken the pictures before realizing that the backdrop isn’t optimal? No worries! You can use a background-changing app like Pixelcut to add or change the background of any product shots without being a Photoshop whiz.

Nail the Lighting and Backdrop

4. Check Your Camera’s Setting

People click away from a page if the content doesn’t load within a couple of seconds. In fact, website conversion rates drop by 4.42% with each additional second of load time. Put your digital camera settings to a medium resolution to balance picture quality with file size.

Also, make sure the colors in your photos are accurate. Using the flash can knock the color off-balance. Adjust the flash setting, invest in a simple set of studio lighting equipment, or try to take your pictures without it (e.g., use natural sunlight) to avoid this problem.

5. Use Tools and Props

When photographing smaller items (e.g., jewelry) that require detailed close-up shots, use a tripod to avoid blurry images caused by a shaky hand. A tripod is also handy if you need a longer exposure time to avoid using the flash.

If you’re selling clothing, use a model or mannequin instead of a coat hanger to show how the piece will sit when a person is wearing the item.

6. Stay Consistent While Standing Out

Research how eBay sellers offering similar products present the items on their eBay listings. Take note of the similarities and differences and see how you can leverage unique colors, styles, and placement to set your listings apart.

Meanwhile, make sure all your photos have a consistent style (e.g., using the same backdrop and setting.) This can help strengthen the brand image of your eBay business while building trust with your customers, so they’re more likely to buy from you again.

7. Add Emotional Appeal

Lifestyle images can show your item being used in the intended environment and help potential buyers imagine how they’d benefit from the product. The emotional connection helps shoppers visualize how they’d use the item in their lives.

Meanwhile, you can tap into the excitement of unboxing a product. If you have the original packaging, include it in your photos. This helps increase the perceived value of the item. It also shows that the product has been in good hands—especially if you’re auctioning higher-end, name-brand products.

Creating eBay Product Images That Sell Doesn’t Have To Be Complicated

Follow the eBay guidelines and tips we share here to take high-quality product photos to gain visibility on both eBay and search engine results.

eBay recommends using a white background for most product pictures. It even has a built-in feature to remove background from images and replace it with a white backdrop (but the results can look flat.)

While this feature is handy if you’re listing exclusively on eBay, it doesn't help much if you want to sell on multiple platforms (e.g., Amazon) and create consistent product photos that reflect your brand image.

Alternatively, you can edit product photos before uploading them to your listings. Besides having more control over the type of background and achieving better image quality, you can also repurpose the pictures on different listings and platforms.

For example, you can use Pixelcut to edit backgrounds, add shadows, create ads, and more to make your images stand out and reuse them for different purposes.

Our photo editing software makes creating eBay pictures a breeze—and you can get it all done on your mobile phone. You can edit any image quickly thanks to our accurate background removal tool, a wide range of professional templates, and easy-to-use photo editing tools.

Ready to start creating with Pixelcut?

Join more than 10 million small businesses, creators, and entrepreneurs that use Pixelcut to grow their business right from your cell phone.

Ready to start creating with Pixelcut?

Join more than 10 million small businesses, creators and entrepreneurs that use Pixelcut to grow their business.