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      3 min article

      Creating a listing

      Creating a listing is the first step in getting your item in front of buyers. Depending on your needs, we have a range of tools and options to help make sure your listing ends in a sale.

      From August 2026, apparel and footwear listings that have unclear or missing size or condition details may be hidden until updated. We recommend reviewing your listings now to help avoid any potential disruption.

       

      Getting started

      When listing your item, start by describing what you're selling. You can add photos, select the brand and physical details about the item, choose whether to use the auction or fixed price format, and set a price.

      Finally, select which shipping options will be available to the buyer, a return policy, and how you want to receive payment.

      Read more about filling in your Item description, condition and specifics below. We also recommend that you get to know our rules for sellers, our policies on prohibited and restricted items, and what's allowed and not allowed when listing and completing a sale.

      Create a listing - opens in new window or tab

      Item description

      A perfect item description is clear enough to tell your buyer what they need to know at a scan, and yet detailed enough so that there can be no confusion around exactly what they're buying.

      Be sure to include:

      • Your item's key selling points
      • Exactly what you're including in the sale. For example, if you're selling used electronics, list which cables it comes with
      • Full sentences with correct spelling and punctuation throughout

      For more information, read our Item description policy.

      Item condition

      You can sell almost anything on eBay, from brand new products to items that have signs of wear and tear.

      It's vital you're honest and accurate about the condition of what you're selling so your buyer knows exactly what they're getting.

      You can find more information in our article on Item condition by category.

      Item specifics

      When filling in the specifics about your item, you'll find that some fields are required and some are not, depending on which category you're selling in.

      Item specifics may include brand, size, type, color, style, or other relevant information about the item you're selling.

      We strongly recommend providing as many of these specifics as you can to ensure that your item gets maximum visibility on both eBay and external sites such as Google Shopping.

      If your active listings are missing the correct item specifics, you can use the Seller Hub Download/Upload file tool to quickly update them in bulk.

      Simply download an excel copy of your active listings, update the necessary fields, and upload the file again.

      Add item specifics to active listings using the Download/Upload tool

      1. On the Active listings page - opens in new window or tab, select Download - Missing required or recommended item specifics.
      2. Open the file and closely review the Instructions tab.
      3. Choose from the available values in drop-down menus or add your own values.
      4. Once you’ve completed your updates, save the Excel file in CSV format. Excel may give a warning that you can only save the worksheet you are on - make sure you’re viewing the sheet you’re trying to save.
      5. On the Active listings page, select Upload - Item specifics file.
      6. Select the CSV file you just saved to your computer and then it will begin the upload process.

      Standard sizing for apparel and footwear

      Starting June 2026, we’re introducing standardized sizing for apparel and footwear to improve listing performance and reduce buyer uncertainty. Where sizes align to our standardized size format with high confidence (e.g. small, will become ‘’S’’), we’ll update them automatically.

      If a size is unclear or unsupported, for example, “See description” or “N/A”, we’ll notify you so you can review and update the listing.

      To help avoid issues:

      • Review listings with non-standard, unclear sizes, or missing condition values
      • Update any missing or unclear size values
      • If you use APIs or tools, ensure they align with the standardized size format

      See more information on our page on How to list sizes on eBay.

      Tip
      From August 2026, listings with missing or unclear size values may be hidden until updated. Make sure to review and update your fashion listings in advance to avoid any issues.

      Product identifiers

      Product identifiers are essentially unique codes that can be used to identify a specific product. Most new and refurbished branded items have product identifiers on their packaging.

      These identifiers can include brand name, Global Trade Item Number (GTIN)—such as a Universal Purchase Code (UPC) or International Standard Book Number (ISBN)—and Manufacturer Part Number (MPN).

      For more information about item specifics and product identifiers, see our Seller Centre page - opens in new window or tab.

      Our listing tools

      Quick listing tool

      If you're a casual seller, our quick listing tool - opens in new window or tab provides the core features you need to start selling, and will walk you through the listing process step by step.

      If you want to see more options in the quick listing tool, such as reserve price, duration and schedule listing, here's how to enable them:

      1. At the top of the listing form, select Change listing preferences.
      2. Check the Enable more options box and Save.
      3. Select More options.

      Advanced listing tool

      The advanced listing tool, which is available to all Seller Hub users, offers a clean design, improved listing features, and a unified listing experience across desktop and mobile web browsers. 

      Scan to list tool

      If you’re selling trading cards, you can now use the Scan to list tool in the eBay app to create your trading card listings.

      The Scan to list tool can currently be used with specific trading card brands only, but will soon expand to include more brands. 

      Read our article on the Scan to list tool for more information.

      Seller Hub

      As your sales on eBay grow, you may want to consider using Seller Hub - opens in new window or tab, a central place for managing your eBay business. It's free, consolidates all our selling tools in one place, and has helpful data and recommendations to help grow your sales.

      You can find more information in our article on Seller Hub.

      Tip
      You can save drafts of your listings to finish later. You'll find your drafts on the Drafts - opens in new window or tab page in My eBay, or on the Manage drafts - opens in new window or tab page in Seller Hub. You can save up to 250 drafts through the quick listing tool on eBay.ca and the eBay mobile app, and up to 5,000 through the single and bulk business listing tools in Seller Hub. Drafts expire 75 days after they were last edited.

      Completing your listing

      Our guides below have useful information on how to add images and categories, set buyer requirements, make changes to your listing after it's live, and more.

      See all articles on completing a listing

      Using the advanced listing tool

      The advanced listing tool offers improved listing features, and a unified listing experience across desktop and mobile web browsers.

      Adding pictures to your listings

      Learn how to choose, edit, upload, and manage the pictures you use in your eBay listings.

      Adding a category to your listing

      Find out how choosing the right category can help you reach the right buyers.

      Creating listings with variations

      Discover how to create a single fixed price listing that includes all the variations you offer, such as different colors and sizes.

      How immediate payment works

      Find out how requiring immediate payment can help when you're selling a time-sensitive item.

      Setting buyer requirements

      Learn how to manage who can bid on, or buy, your items.

      Creating 1-day listings

      If you're selling something time-sensitive, such as food or holiday packages, 1-day listings can help you find a buyer quickly.

      Multi-quantity listings

      If you have more than one of the same item available for sale, create a multi-quantity listing to make all your stock available at once.

      Selling templates

      Find out how using listing templates can help simplify the listing creation process.

      Revise a listing

      Learn what changes you can make to a live listing and when you can make them.

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