Marketplace Image Requirements: Amazon to Etsy Compared

The one-page comparison table

Here is how the five biggest marketplaces stack up on the specs that matter most. Requirements change periodically, so always confirm against the platform's current seller documentation before a large upload.

Dimensions and file specs: meet the highest bar once

The simplest strategy is to shoot and edit to the strictest requirement, then downscale as needed. Etsy's 2000px recommendation and Amazon's 1600px zoom threshold mean a 3000px master image satisfies everyone.

Aspect ratio is the sneaky one. Amazon and Walmart display square (1:1) main images; Google Shopping accepts most ratios but crops oddly in some placements. A 1:1 master avoids letterboxing and awkward crops across all five. Accepted formats overlap on JPEG and PNG everywhere — use JPEG for photographic products to keep files small, PNG only when you genuinely need transparency for a feed.

The main image is where listings get rejected

Secondary images give you creative freedom on nearly every platform. The main image is where the rules bite. Four of the five marketplaces here ban anything on the main image except the product itself on a clean background — no logos, watermarks, text, borders, badges, props, or additional products.

eBay is worth calling out: it prohibits stock/manufacturer photos in most categories and disallows added product manipulation, so a supplier image dropped straight onto eBay is a common cause of listing issues. Etsy is the exception across the board — it lets you put text, lifestyle scenes, and graphics on the first image, which is why Etsy sellers lean into styled hero shots.

Content rules that trip up sellers

Beyond dimensions and backgrounds, each marketplace enforces content policies that reject feeds or suppress listings:

• Amazon: Main image must be a professional photo of the actual product (no illustrations/renders in most categories), no packaging clutter, and clothing shown flat or on a model — not on a hanger for the main.
• Walmart: White background on the primary, product must fill ~85% of the frame, and no text overlays on the primary image.
• Google Shopping: No promotional overlays, watermarks, or borders on the feed image — one of the most common causes of Merchant Center disapprovals.
• eBay: Original photography required in most categories; realistic representation, no added text on the main.
• Etsy: Few restrictions, but accurate representation still matters for reviews and returns.

The pattern is clear: the marketplaces with the most traffic enforce the tightest rules. If you optimize for Amazon and Walmart compliance, you clear the bar almost everywhere else automatically.

A workflow for compliant multi-channel imagery

Reshooting per platform is wasteful. The efficient approach is to produce a compliant master set once and adapt programmatically:

1. Shoot or generate a clean master. Product centered, sharp, accurate color, on a pure white background at 3000px, 1:1.
2. Bank the compliant main image. This white-background hero satisfies Amazon, Walmart, eBay, Google, and Etsy simultaneously.
3. Build channel-specific secondaries. Lifestyle scenes, infographics, and scale shots for the galleries — where they are allowed.
4. Adapt per feed. Downscale, re-crop to each platform's display ratio, and export JPEG/PNG as required.

This is exactly the kind of high-volume, spec-driven adaptation that AI product photography handles well. Tools like Retouchable can generate a pure-white main image and a set of lifestyle variations from a single source photo, so a catalog stays consistent and compliant across every marketplace without a reshoot for each channel.