How to list an item on eBay so it actually gets found

Create the listing

1. Start the draft. In the eBay app tap Sell; on the web go to Seller Hub → List an item. If eBay recognises the product from your photo or barcode, match that catalog entry — item specifics and the product image fill in for you.
2. Photos first. eBay accepts up to 12 photos per listing in most categories at no extra charge. Order them: cover shot, back, label, detail, flaws.
3. Title (80 characters). Brand + item type + the one detail people search + colour + size. Write it as a phrase, not a pile of keywords — eBay's own guidance says repeated words do not help you rank.
4. Category and item specifics. Pick the deepest category that fits, then complete brand, MPN or UPC if you have it, style, material, colour, and the size field. Item specifics are what shoppers filter on: a listing with no brand or no size never appears when they use the sidebar.
5. Condition. Choose from the structured list (New, Open box, then used grades such as Excellent, Very good, Good, Acceptable, or For parts or not working). The grade must match the photos — if the grade options do not describe the wear, say it in the description.
6. Price and format. Fixed price with Best Offer is the default for clothing: it sells while you sleep and you can counter. Use an auction only when the item is genuinely scarce, and set the end time when people are browsing, not at 3am.
7. Promoted listings (optional). You choose an ad rate and only pay it when an ad-driven sale closes, so there is no risk to trying it on a slow item.
8. Shipping. Enter packed weight and package size, choose your handling time and service, then publish. Buy the label on eBay after the sale for the discounted rate.

Title limit and how eBay search reads it

Title formula: [Brand] [Item type] [Model or pattern] [Colour] [Size] [Department]
Example: Levi's 501 Dark Wash Jeans W32 L30 Men's Denim Straight Leg — 58 of the 80 characters used, every word searchable.

Category, size and condition fields

• Category: choose the leaf category shoppers browse, not the closest top-level one. Match the catalog product if one exists.
• Size: use the structured size field (e.g. W32 L30 for denim, or letter sizes for tops) and repeat the size in the title and description, because buyers search all three ways.
• Condition: pick the grade that matches your photos; select For parts or not working if the item has damage that stops it being worn as-is.
• Colour and style: one main colour plus pattern or style attributes — this is what the colour filter uses.
• Measurements: eBay has no dedicated measurement field, so put pit-to-pit, waist flat, length and sleeve in the description with units.
• Returns: state your policy honestly. A clear return policy raises conversion on pre-owned clothing, where fit is the main worry.

What eBay charges

eBay shows the exact fee on the listing preview before you publish — read it there. Run the same number through the fee take-home calculator for what you keep across every shop.

Photos on eBay

• 12 photos is the cap in most categories — use them all: cover, back, label/size tag, fabric detail, flaws, measurements.
• Daylight, plain background, item filling the frame. eBay displays the first photo square in search, so keep the item centred.
• No watermarks, borders or collages. If you matched a catalog product you may add a stock image in addition to your own, never instead of them.
• Upload the label and the flaw shots before the styling shots: buyers scroll to them, and hiding them invites returns.

Shipping on eBay

1. Enter the packed weight and package dimensions — not the garment's weight. Under-declared weight comes back as postage due on you.
2. Choose calculated, flat, or free shipping. Free shipping is what most winning listings in the comps show, so build the postage into the price instead of charging it separately when you can.
3. Set an honest handling time. Your dispatch speed is part of your Best Match performance.
4. After the sale, buy the label on eBay (discounted against the retail counter), print or write it, and attach it flat with no old barcodes showing.
5. Tracking uploaded by the platform counts as dispatched and protects you if the buyer claims non-receipt.
6. Selling two items to one buyer? Offer a combined invoice so they pay one postage — it converts browsers into buyers.

Full weight-to-cost table, packing materials and drop-off options: the shipping guide.

Common eBay mistakes

• Blowing the 80-character title on one repeated word ("jeans jeans denim jeans") — repeats add nothing and read as spam.
• Leaving item specifics blank. If brand or size is missing, you vanish from the filter that most buyers use.
• Wrong category to get cheaper or easier placement — it buys views from people who will never buy.
• Weighing the garment instead of the packed parcel, then eating the postage difference.
• Ignoring Best Offer. A counter offer often sells an item that would have sat for a month.
• Auction ending at an odd hour with no watchers, at a starting price nobody bids on.
• Priced above the sold comps plus postage — buyers sort by total price.

One-tap copy: paste into eBay

Edit any box in place, tap Copy, then paste into the matching field in eBay's listing form. Character counters track eBay's 80-character title limit. This is a worked example — swap in your item's brand, size, measurements and flaws.

ebay:// opens the eBay app when it is installed (iOS; the bare scheme is not registered on every Android device). The copy buttons work either way — paste into the form the app opens on Sell.