Marketplace Image Requirements Compared: Amazon, eBay & More

Every major marketplace wants a sharp main image of the product alone on a clean background, but the details differ enough to cause rejections: minimum pixel sizes range from 500 to 1,600 pixels, aspect ratios vary from square to portrait, and rules on text, shadows and models change from channel to channel. The safest approach is to shoot one high-resolution master set and produce a compliant variant for each channel, rather than uploading the same files everywhere.

Why one image set rarely fits every channel

Sellers moving from one marketplace to several usually hit the same problem: images that sailed through on one channel are rejected, cropped awkwardly or quietly demoted on another. Rules are written for each marketplace's own layout and search engine, and they change. Amazon, for example, can temporarily remove a listing from search if it has no main image that meets its requirements. Google Merchant Center disapproves images with promotional overlays and has announced that all products will need images of at least 500 x 500 pixels from 31 January 2027.

The rules below were checked against each platform's published guidance in October 2026. Always confirm against the live seller documentation before a large upload, especially for category-specific rules (apparel, footwear and multipacks often have extra requirements).

Main image rules at a glance

Sources: Amazon, eBay picture policy and photo tips, Etsy, TikTok Shop, Google. Bunnings and THE ICONIC specifications are as summarised in ChannelEngine's integration guides for Bunnings and THE ICONIC; check your seller portal for the current version.

Framing, aspect ratio and orientation

Framing rules are easy to miss. Amazon asks for the product to fill 85% of the main image, with the whole product in frame and shown only once. Google recommends the product take up between 75% and 90% of the image. Etsy is the outlier: because it crops thumbnails to square, portrait and landscape in different places, it advises sellers to shoot further back and leave negative space so the product survives every crop. A tightly cropped Amazon image can therefore look cramped or cut off on Etsy.

Square (1:1) is the default for Amazon, Bunnings, Google and most general marketplaces. Fashion marketplaces often differ: THE ICONIC's guidance specifies portrait images. Etsy recommends the first photo be landscape or square, and notes that the first photo sets the shape for the rest of the gallery. Uploading square images to a portrait-first channel, or the reverse, leads to automatic cropping or letterboxing that makes products look smaller.

Rules for secondary images, models and props

Secondary images are where channels give you room to sell, but limits still apply:

• Amazon uses secondary image slots for extra angles, the product in use, accessories and details, but bans customer review images, "free shipping" style claims, Amazon badges and Amazon logos across all images. Adult clothing must be shown on a standing model; mannequins are not allowed on the main image.
• eBay bans added text, artwork, marketing material, borders and watermarks on photos, and requires photos that accurately represent the item. Stock photos are not allowed for used or damaged items.
• Bunnings accepts up to eight additional images, which can be situational or lifestyle shots, according to the ChannelEngine guide.
• THE ICONIC allows only one model per apparel image.
• Google will disapprove images that include products not sold with the main product.

Infographics deserve their own planning because the text-on-image rules vary so much. Our guide to product infographics that sell covers where they are allowed and how to design them.

Image counts

How many images you can, and should, upload also differs. Amazon recommends at least six additional images and one video. eBay allows up to 24 photos. Google accepts up to 10 additional images and recommends at least five. TikTok Shop's "Good" listing tier requires at least five images. See how many product images per listing for what the research says about count and conversion.

AI-edited images now carry extra rules

Two of the largest platforms now have explicit rules on generative AI. Amazon requires sellers to tag images containing photorealistic AI-generated people with specific metadata. Google requires images created with generative AI to keep IPTC metadata showing they were AI-generated. eBay offers AI-generated backgrounds in its app but suggests using them for only a few photos.

Key figures

• Amazon: product should fill 85% of the main image; 1,000+ px enables zoom (Amazon Seller Central, 2026).
• Google: 500 x 500 px minimum for all products from 31 January 2027; 1,500 x 1,500 px recommended (Google Merchant Center, 2026).
• eBay: up to 24 photos per listing; 1,600 x 1,600 px recommended (eBay Australia, 2026).
• Etsy: 2,000 px+ recommended; first photo at least 635 px to avoid ranking lower in search (Etsy Help, 2026).
• TikTok Shop: at least 600 x 600 px and five or more images for a "Good" listing (TikTok Shop, 2025).

How eComChannels helps

Keeping a table like the one above current, then applying it to thousands of SKUs across Amazon, eBay, Bunnings, Kogan, BIG W Market, Woolworths Everyday Market, THE ICONIC, Temu and TikTok Shop, is a job most teams do by hand and do late.

eComChannels AI graphics is trained on each marketplace's image rules. From one master photo set it prepares a channel-specific image set (size, aspect ratio, background, framing and text restrictions) and flags anything that would be rejected before it is published. Your team reviews and approves once, then the sets publish to every connected channel. Fewer rejections and suppressed listings means more of your range is visible in search, and your team stops redoing the same crops for every channel.

AI listing optimisation does the same for titles, attributes and descriptions from the same master product record, so images and copy stay in step when you add a new channel.

Book a demo or start a 30-day free trial to check your catalogue against each channel's rules.

FAQ

What image size works on every marketplace?

Shoot and store masters at 2,000 pixels or more on the longest side. That exceeds the recommended size on Amazon, eBay, Google, Bunnings and Etsy, and leaves room to crop to portrait for fashion channels. Export channel-specific versions rather than uploading the master everywhere.

Can I put my logo or a sale badge on the main image?

Generally no. Amazon, eBay, Google, Bunnings and THE ICONIC all restrict added logos, text, watermarks or promotional graphics on the main image. Save branding and feature callouts for secondary images on channels that allow them.

Do marketplaces penalise non-compliant images?

Yes. Penalties range from upload rejection and image disapproval (Google) to listings being removed from search until a compliant main image is supplied (Amazon) or listings being removed (eBay).