eBay product listing creation services

The intake sheet

How the service runs

1. 01

   Intake

   You complete the intake sheet and supply photos.

   Output: Item details

2. 02

   Draft

   Listings drafted with category, specifics, title and description.

   Output: Drafts

3. 03

   Review

   You check drafts for accuracy.

   Output: Approved drafts

4. 04

   Publish

   Listings published with your chosen policies.

   Output: Live listings

5. 05

   Check

   Live listings checked as a buyer would see them.

   Output: Launch notes

No guessing

If a detail is missing from the intake sheet, such as a measurement or whether an item was tested, the service should ask rather than fill the gap. Guessed details lead to returns. eBay UK says catalogue matches must be exact and that catalogue or stock photos can't be used for used items, so a service that relies on the catalogue for used stock is creating problems. A short list of missing details per batch, sent to you once, is quicker for everyone than questions item by item.

Warning signs in a listing service

• Stock photos on used items

  eBay UK says this is not allowed.

• Titles stuffed with brand names you do not sell

  eBay UK advises avoiding irrelevant words.

• No draft review

  Errors go live unseen.

• Details invented to fill specifics

  Specifics must describe the actual item.

Example: a hundred items from a stock clearance

What you should receive

Photos

If the service does not photograph items, agree who does and to what standard. eBay UK recommends a main photo showing the whole item face-on, images of about 1600 x 1600 pixels and no logos or watermarks. Photo editing can be added if your photos need cropping or brightening.

Access

Use separate user access where eBay offers it, or ask for drafts in a file and publish them yourself. Remove any access when the listing work ends, and keep the intake sheets and drafts with your own records. They make it easier to relist items or create similar listings later, whoever does the work.

Titles and descriptions

Titles should follow eBay UK's guidance: up to 80 characters, including brand, model or type, colour, style and model number, without special characters or irrelevant words. Descriptions should add what specifics cannot: contents, testing, measurements in context and honest condition. Ask to see a few sample drafts before the full batch, so tone and format can be agreed early rather than corrected across hundreds of listings.

Policies and categories

Listings should use your business policies for postage and returns, so the service needs to know which policy applies to which items. If you have an eBay Shop, each listing should also go into the right Shop category. Provide a simple table mapping product types to policies and Shop categories at the start.

Working in batches

Large jobs go more smoothly in batches: draft, review and publish one batch before starting the next, applying lessons from each. Keep the first batch small, around ten to twenty items, so any problems with the intake sheet or format are found quickly.