Product Photo Requirements: Amazon vs eBay vs Etsy vs Shopee
Every marketplace has a slightly different rulebook for the first image buyers see. Get it wrong and your listing gets suppressed, demoted in search, or bounced at upload. This page lays out the main-image thresholds that actually matter - pixels, ratio, background, product fill and the things you are not allowed to add - for the four marketplaces most sellers list on. The numbers below are taken from each platform's public seller guidance and are re-checked against the official pages in October 2026.
The one-page comparison
| Requirement | Amazon | eBay | Etsy | Shopee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aspect ratio | 1:1 (square) | 1:1 or 16:9 | 1:1 (or 4:3) | 1:1 (square) |
| Minimum longest edge | 1000 px | 500 px | 635 px (first photo) | 500 px (Mall) |
| Recommended longest edge | 1600 px (for zoom) | 1600 px | 2000 px | 1024 px |
| Maximum longest edge | 10000 px | ~7 MB file | no hard cap | 1280 px |
| Background | Pure white RGB(255,255,255), tolerance 2 | White / neutral uncluttered recommended | Clean backdrop recommended; lifestyle allowed | Solid background, white preferred |
| Product fill | ≥85% of frame | ≥70% (fill the frame) | ≥65% (clean, uncluttered) | 60%-90% of frame |
| Watermark / text | Forbidden | Forbidden | Forbidden | Forbidden (small logo top-left allowed, ≤10%) |
| Borders / inset photos | Forbidden | Forbidden | Discouraged | Forbidden (montage forbidden) |
| Generative scene on main | Not allowed | Allowed on main | Allowed on main | Not allowed on cover |
Amazon: the strictest pure-white rule
Amazon is the one marketplace that will suppress a listing purely because the background is off-white. The main image must be RGB(255,255,255) pure white, the product must fill at least 85% of the frame, and the longest side must be at least 1000 pixels (1600 or above to unlock the zoom feature on hover). No text, no logos, no watermarks, no borders, no props, no inset photos, no lifestyle scenes. Secondary images can be lifestyle shots, but slot one stays pure white.
Amazon's own help page (Product image requirements) is the source. In practice, the easiest way to hit the 85% fill and pure-white background is to shoot against a seamless wall, then let Product Studio cut the background and recompose onto a white square at 2000x2000 or 2560x2560. Run the compliance check afterwards to confirm the 8-point white sample passes.
eBay: lenient on background, strict on clutter
eBay's rules are friendlier. The minimum longest edge is 500 pixels, but eBay recommends 1600 for the magnified hover view. The ratio can be 1:1 or 16:9. eBay does not require a pure-white background - it asks for an "uncluttered space against a neutral backdrop" and explicitly notes that shiny jewellery looks better on a darker background. What it forbids is added text, artwork, logos and watermarks (those hurt search visibility), borders that are not part of the photo, and stock photos for pre-owned items.
eBay uploads accept files up to about 7 MB, so a 1600x1600 JPEG at high quality is comfortable. The compliance checker in Product Studio uses a relaxed 25-tolerance background sample for eBay, because a neutral grey is fine.
Etsy: high resolution, permissive on lifestyle
Etsy asks for listing photos of at least 2000 pixels wide and tall. The first photo must be at least 635x635 pixels or the listing ranks lower in search. Square or landscape works; portrait gets cropped awkwardly across the various shop and search slots. Etsy does not mandate a white background at all - lifestyle, props and styled scenes are part of the craft and handmade aesthetic. What it does expect is a clean, sharp photo that shows the item, and files kept near 1 MB so uploads finish reliably.
For a 2000x2000 square white-background shot, Product Studio's Etsy preset produces exactly that. If you want a lifestyle main image instead, process it as a custom-background file and use the smart background remover only if you need to tidy the backdrop.
Shopee: solid cover, bounded product fill
Shopee's cover image rules are a middle ground. The ratio is 1:1, the minimum is 500x500 for Mall listings, and 1024x1024 is the practical recommendation (the uploader caps around 1280x1280). The cover must be on a solid background - white is preferred - and the product body must occupy between 60% and 90% of the frame: too small and it looks lost, too large and it touches the edges. No watermark, no montage, no full-frame borders; a small logo in the top-left corner up to 10% of the frame is allowed.
Shopee is also explicit that the cover image should not be a generative scene composite; it should be the real product. Secondary images can show lifestyle, dimensions and use.
How the local compliance check actually measures
The checker in Product Studio runs four measurements on the processed canvas, all in your browser:
- Ratio - compares width to height; square platforms fail on anything outside a 1% tolerance.
- Longest edge - compares max(width, height) to the platform minimum, and warns if you are below the recommended zoom threshold.
- White background - samples the four corners plus four edge midpoints (8 points). Amazon uses a tight tolerance of 2; eBay/Etsy/Shopee use a relaxed 25 and require at least 6 of 8 points near white for Shopee's solid-background rule.
- Product fill - uses the on-device cutout mask that Product Studio already produces, counts pixels with alpha above 128, divides by total pixels, and compares to the platform's minimum (and Shopee's upper bound of 90%).
Watermark, text and border detection is intentionally left as a visual reminder rather than a hard fail, because those are semantic and a heuristic would produce false positives on real logos printed on the product itself.
Common reasons a main image gets rejected
- Background is off-white, cream or grey on Amazon - the tolerance is 2, so a 248-grey background fails.
- Product is too small in the frame on Amazon (below 85%) - fix by raising the coverage slider to 85.
- First photo under 635px on Etsy - the listing still publishes, but it is demoted in search.
- Overlay text like "Free shipping" or "Sale" - forbidden on every platform and hurts search indexing.
- A drop shadow that touches the product edges on Amazon - leave the shadow option off for strict Amazon listings.
- File above 1 MB on Etsy - compresses slowly and may fail to finish uploading.
Common questions
Which marketplace has the strictest background rule?
Amazon. It requires RGB(255,255,255) pure white with tolerance 2 - a 248-grey background gets the listing suppressed. eBay, Etsy and Shopee are more permissive: Shopee asks for a solid light background, eBay and Etsy accept clean neutral or lifestyle backdrops.
What size should I export for Amazon zoom?
The longest edge must be at least 1000 pixels to be accepted, and 1600 pixels or above to unlock the hover-zoom feature. Product Studio's Amazon preset exports 2000x2000; Amazon 2560 exports 2560x2560.
Does Etsy require a white background?
No. Etsy expects a clean, sharp photo but explicitly allows lifestyle, props and styled scenes on the main image. The hard rule is resolution: at least 2000px wide and tall, and the first photo at least 635x635.
Why does Shopee cap product fill at 90%?
Shopee's seller guidance says the product body cannot exceed 90% of the frame, because a product that touches the edges looks cropped on mobile. The compliance checker flags both under-fill (below 60%) and over-fill (above 90%).
Are my photos uploaded when I run the compliance check?
No. The check measures the processed canvas already in your browser's memory. Nothing leaves the device; after the page loads you could go offline and the check still runs.
Can I use a generative scene as the main image?
Not on Amazon or Shopee's cover slot - both require a real product photo on the main image. eBay and Etsy allow lifestyle and scene-style main images. Secondary images on every platform can be lifestyle.
What file size should I target?
Amazon and eBay accept up to several MB; Etsy recommends keeping files near 1 MB for reliable upload; Shopee caps around 30 MB but 1280x1280 JPEGs are the practical limit. Use the compressor if you need to shrink a file.
Related tools
- Product Studio - cutout, white square, soft shadow, batch and built-in compliance check.
- Product Listing Pack - one photo, every marketplace size at once.
- Smart background remover - swap or clean an arbitrary backdrop.
- Compress image - shrink the export under an uploader KB cap.
- Crop image - reframe to a 1:1 or 16:9 ratio.
Product Photo Requirements: Amazon vs eBay vs Etsy vs Shopee
Every marketplace has a slightly different rulebook for the first image buyers see. Get it wrong and your listing gets suppressed, demoted in search, or bounced at upload. This guide lays out the main-image thresholds that actually matter - pixels, ratio, background, product fill and the things you are not allowed to add - for the four marketplaces most sellers list on: Amazon, eBay, Etsy and Shopee.
The numbers are taken from each platform's public seller guidance. After reading, open Product Studio and run the built-in compliance check on your own photo for the target marketplace; it measures ratio, longest edge, white background and product fill locally in your browser.
Key features
- Side-by-side threshold comparison across Amazon, eBay, Etsy and Shopee
- Pixel minimums, recommended zoom sizes, ratio rules and file-size caps
- Background rules: Amazon pure white vs. eBay / Etsy clean-lifestyle vs. Shopee solid
- Product-fill minimums and Shopee's 90% upper bound
- What every platform forbids: text, watermarks, borders, montage
- How the local compliance check measures each rule
- Common rejection reasons and the slider to fix them
How to use
- Read the one-page comparison table to find your marketplace.
- Open Product Studio and process your product photo.
- Pick the marketplace preset and run the compliance check.
- Adjust coverage, shadow and background based on the pass/fail list.
- Download the result and upload to the marketplace.
Amazon: the strictest pure-white rule
Amazon is the one marketplace that will suppress a listing purely because the background is off-white. The main image must be RGB(255,255,255) pure white, the product must fill at least 85% of the frame, and the longest side must be at least 1000 pixels - 1600 or above to unlock the hover-zoom. No text, no logos, no watermarks, no borders, no props, no inset photos, no lifestyle scene on slot one. Secondary images can be lifestyle shots.
Amazon's own help page, Product image requirements, is the source. In practice the easiest way to hit 85% fill and pure white is to shoot against a seamless wall, then let Product Studio cut the background and recompose onto a white square at 2000x2000 or 2560x2560. Run the compliance check afterwards to confirm the 8-point white sample passes.
eBay: lenient on background, strict on clutter
eBay's rules are friendlier. The minimum longest edge is 500 pixels, but eBay recommends 1600 for the magnified hover view. The ratio can be 1:1 or 16:9. eBay does not require a pure-white background - it asks for an uncluttered space against a neutral backdrop and explicitly notes that shiny jewellery looks better on a darker background. What it forbids is added text, artwork, logos and watermarks, borders that are not part of the photo, and stock photos for pre-owned items.
eBay uploads accept files up to about 7 MB, so a 1600x1600 JPEG at high quality is comfortable. The compliance checker in Product Studio uses a relaxed 25-tolerance background sample for eBay, because a neutral grey is fine.
Etsy: high resolution, permissive on lifestyle
Etsy asks for listing photos of at least 2000 pixels wide and tall. The first photo must be at least 635x635 pixels or the listing ranks lower in search. Square or landscape works; portrait gets cropped awkwardly across the various shop and search slots. Etsy does not mandate a white background at all - lifestyle, props and styled scenes are part of the craft and handmade aesthetic. The hard expectation is a clean, sharp photo that shows the item, with files kept near 1 MB for reliable upload.
For a 2000x2000 square white-background shot, Product Studio's Etsy preset produces exactly that. If you want a lifestyle main image instead, process it as a custom-background file and use the smart background remover only if you need to tidy the backdrop.
Shopee: solid cover, bounded product fill
Shopee's cover image rules are a middle ground. The ratio is 1:1, the minimum is 500x500 for Mall listings, and 1024x1024 is the practical recommendation (the uploader caps around 1280x1280). The cover must be on a solid background - white is preferred - and the product body must occupy between 60% and 90% of the frame: too small and it looks lost, too large and it touches the edges. No watermark, no montage, no full-frame borders; a small logo in the top-left corner up to 10% of the frame is allowed.
Shopee is also explicit that the cover image should not be a generative scene composite; it should be the real product. Secondary images can show lifestyle, dimensions and use.
How the local compliance check measures
The checker in Product Studio runs four measurements on the processed canvas, all in your browser. Ratio compares width to height; square platforms fail on anything outside a 1% tolerance. Longest edge compares max(width, height) to the platform minimum and warns if you are below the recommended zoom threshold. Background samples the four corners plus four edge midpoints; Amazon uses tolerance 2, eBay / Etsy / Shopee use tolerance 25. Product fill uses the on-device cutout mask, counts pixels with alpha above 128, divides by total pixels, and compares to the platform minimum (and Shopee's 90% upper bound).
Watermark, text and border detection is intentionally left as a visual reminder rather than a hard fail, because those are semantic and a heuristic would produce false positives on real logos printed on the product itself.
Common reasons a main image gets rejected
- Background is off-white, cream or grey on Amazon - the tolerance is 2, so a 248-grey background fails.
- Product is too small in the frame on Amazon (below 85%) - fix by raising the coverage slider to 85.
- First photo under 635px on Etsy - the listing still publishes, but it is demoted in search.
- Overlay text like "Free shipping" or "Sale" - forbidden on every platform and hurts search indexing.
- A drop shadow that touches the product edges on Amazon - leave the shadow option off for strict Amazon listings.
- File above 1 MB on Etsy - compresses slowly and may fail to finish uploading.
Related tools and guides
- Product Studio — cutout, white square, soft shadow, batch and built-in compliance check
- Product Listing Pack — one photo, every marketplace size at once
- Smart background remover — swap or clean an arbitrary backdrop
- Compress image — shrink the export under an uploader KB cap
- Crop image — reframe to a 1:1 or 16:9 ratio
Frequently Asked Questions
Which marketplace has the strictest background rule?
Amazon. It requires RGB(255,255,255) pure white with tolerance 2 - a 248-grey background gets the listing suppressed. eBay, Etsy and Shopee are more permissive: Shopee asks for a solid light background, eBay and Etsy accept clean neutral or lifestyle backdrops.
What size should I export for Amazon zoom?
The longest edge must be at least 1000 pixels to be accepted, and 1600 pixels or above to unlock the hover-zoom. Product Studio's Amazon preset exports 2000x2000; Amazon 2560 exports 2560x2560.
Does Etsy require a white background?
No. Etsy expects a clean, sharp photo but explicitly allows lifestyle, props and styled scenes on the main image. The hard rule is resolution: at least 2000px wide and tall, and the first photo at least 635x635.
Why does Shopee cap product fill at 90%?
Shopee's seller guidance says the product body cannot exceed 90% of the frame, because a product that touches the edges looks cropped on mobile. The compliance checker flags both under-fill (below 60%) and over-fill (above 90%).
Are my photos uploaded when I run the compliance check?
No. The check measures the processed canvas already in your browser's memory. Nothing leaves the device; after the page loads you could go offline and the check still runs.
Can I use a generative scene as the main image?
Not on Amazon or Shopee's cover slot - both require a real product photo on the main image. eBay and Etsy allow lifestyle and scene-style main images. Secondary images on every platform can be lifestyle.
What file size should I target?
Amazon and eBay accept up to several MB; Etsy recommends keeping files near 1 MB for reliable upload; Shopee caps around 30 MB but 1280x1280 JPEGs are the practical limit. Use the compressor if you need to shrink a file.