Image Hosting and Photo Tools for eBay Sellers
Image hosting services store your product photos online so they can appear in listings, templates and other websites. eBay hosts the photos you upload to a listing at no extra cost, so most sellers do not need outside hosting for those. External hosting is mostly used for images inside HTML item descriptions, for store banners and templates, and for sellers who reuse the same photos on several sites.
The main risk with outside hosting is broken images. If the service changes its terms, deletes old files or you stop paying, the images in your descriptions can disappear. When you compare services, check whether linking images on other sites is allowed on your plan, whether images are served over HTTPS, and what storage and bandwidth limits apply. Look at the pricing model and cancel terms, and ask what happens to your images if you leave.
Tools in this list include Photobucket. Some sellers also use photo editing tools for background removal and resizing.
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FAQ
Usually not. eBay hosts the photos you upload to a listing at no extra cost. Outside hosting is only needed if you add images inside an HTML item description, use a custom listing template or store design, or want the same images on other sites. If you only use eBay's photo uploader, you can skip image hosting.
Images inside descriptions usually break when the hosting service removes them or blocks outside linking. This happened to many eBay sellers when Photobucket changed its third-party hosting rules in 2017. Images served over plain HTTP instead of HTTPS can also be blocked. Upload the images again to a host that allows linking, or move key photos into eBay's own photo gallery.
Each listing needs at least one photo, and eBay requires photos to be at least 500 pixels on the longest side. Used items need real photos of the actual item, not stock images. eBay's picture policy also limits borders, added text and artwork on photos. Larger images let buyers zoom in. Check eBay's picture policy for your category, since some have extra rules.
Photobucket offers image hosting, but check your plan carefully. In 2017 it changed its rules for third-party hosting, and many images embedded in eBay listings stopped loading. Today hosting links are only included on certain plans. If you use it for eBay, confirm that your plan allows images to display on other sites. See the Photobucket page in this directory for details.
First find every listing, template and web page that uses images from the service. Move those images to a new host or to eBay's photo uploader, and update the links. Only then cancel the plan from the service's billing page. If you cancel first, embedded images may stop loading right away or when the service's grace period ends.
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