Amazon product images on eBay: what you can and cannot reuse

Can you use Amazon product images on eBay?

As a rule, you should not copy Amazon product images on eBay. A product photo belongs to whoever created it: usually the brand, a seller on Amazon or a photographer they hired. Appearing on an Amazon page does not give anyone else the right to reuse it, and your use of Amazon's site is governed by Amazon's own Conditions of Use and Sale, which you should read for yourself. Copied photos are one of the most common reasons rights owners report eBay listings.

There is a second problem. Many Amazon images are built for Amazon's layout, with text callouts, infographics and comparison charts, and eBay's picture policy does not allow added text or marketing material. So even a photo you had permission to use might still break eBay's rules. This guide covers who owns what, what eBay requires, and the image sources you can use with confidence.

Who owns the photos on an Amazon product page?

• The brand or manufacturer, which often supplies studio photos and lifestyle images for its own products.
• The seller who created the listing, particularly for private-label products, where the seller usually paid for the photography.
• A photographer or agency, who may license the images to the brand for specific uses only.
• Customers, whose review photos belong to them.

None of these owners has given you permission just by putting images on Amazon. Unless one of them has licensed the photo to you, using it on eBay is using someone else's work.

What does eBay's picture policy require?

eBay UK's picture policy sets rules that apply whatever the source of your photo:

• Photos must be at least 500 pixels on the longest side.
• Added borders, added text, artwork or marketing material, and watermarks of any kind are not allowed.
• Stock photos are not allowed for used, damaged or defective items.
• Photos must accurately represent the item, and placeholder images are not allowed.

Check Amazon-style images against that list and many fail at once. An infographic with arrows and feature labels is added text. A banner saying "best seller" is marketing material. A logo stamped in a corner is a watermark. A lifestyle shot showing accessories that are not included does not accurately represent the item.

What happens if a rights owner finds copied photos?

Rights owners can report listings through eBay's Verified Rights Owner (VeRO) programme. eBay may then remove the listing, warn the seller, restrict the account or suspend it. If only the way an item is listed infringes, as with a copied photo, you may be able to edit the listing and replace the image. You can appeal through eBay's internal appeals process, and contact the rights owner at the email address in eBay's removal email to ask for a retraction. Our guide to the eBay VeRO programme covers each step.

Repeated reports carry more weight than one. If a brand reports one copied photo, check every other listing that uses its images before it reports those too. Our article on an eBay intellectual property takedown explains how to respond and how to write to a rights owner.

Which image sources can you use?

How do you get permission to use a brand's images?

1. Ask your supplier first. Wholesalers often hold image packs for resellers and can tell you what you may use.
2. Contact the brand if you buy direct or are an authorised reseller. Many brands have a media or trade area with approved images.
3. Get the permission in writing, and make sure it covers selling on eBay, not just your own website.
4. Keep the email or licence with your product records, so you can show it if a report arrives.
5. Check the images against eBay's policy before you use them. Permission from the owner does not override eBay's rules on text, borders and watermarks.

How do you take your own product photos?

Your own photos are the most reliable choice: they are yours, they show the real item, and no one else can claim them. You need a sample of the product, a plain background, steady light and a phone camera.

• Shoot the front, back, sides and any labels or model numbers.
• Photograph everything in the box together, so buyers see exactly what they get.
• Add a scale shot next to a familiar object where size matters.
• Show each colour of a variation listing in its own photo.
• Keep the files at a good resolution, well over eBay's 500 pixel minimum.

Our guide to eBay listing photos has a full shot list and the common mistakes to avoid.

Do the same rules apply on eBay US?

The principle is the same on both sides of the Atlantic: a photo is protected by copyright from the moment it is taken, in the UK and in the US, and the person who took it, or the business that paid for it, decides who may use it. eBay.com has its own picture policy with requirements of the same kind, and eBay's VeRO programme covers listings on both sites. Read the picture policy for the site you list on, as details can differ, and treat a photo on amazon.com exactly as you would one on amazon.co.uk: it is not yours to copy.

What about photographing branded packaging yourself?

A photo you take of a genuine item and its packaging is your photo, and showing the real product is exactly what eBay's picture policy asks for. That does not let you use a brand's name or logo to suggest you are the brand or an official seller, and it does not cover photographing someone else's printed photo or artwork and presenting it as your main image. Keep the focus on the item the buyer will receive, shown as it is.

What does eBay's policy say about sourcing from Amazon?

Images are only one of the rules that touch Amazon products. eBay's drop shipping policy says dropshipping from a wholesale supplier is allowed, but listing an item on eBay and then buying it from another retailer or marketplace that ships directly to your buyer is not allowed. The wording is on eBay UK's drop shipping page. Whatever your supply route, you are responsible for delivery, for the buyer's satisfaction and for the rights in every image you publish.

How do you clean up existing listings?

If your store already uses images copied from Amazon, fix them before a rights owner finds them:

1. List every live listing whose photos came from Amazon or another seller.
2. Start with branded products and your best sellers, which are most likely to be noticed.
3. Replace each copied photo with your own, a licensed image or an eBay catalogue image that matches.
4. Remove any image with added text, borders, logos or watermarks.
5. Keep a record of what you changed and when.

Example (hypothetical): a seller with 300 listings finds that 120 use images taken from Amazon pages. They sort them by sales, replace the photos on the top 30 with their own pictures over two weekends, use eBay catalogue images where they match exactly, and set aside the listings they cannot fix quickly until they have photos of their own.

A checklist for every listing photo

• You took it, or you have written permission from its owner that covers eBay.
• It shows the exact item and variant, with nothing included that the buyer will not receive.
• It has no added text, borders, artwork, marketing material or watermarks.
• It is at least 500 pixels on the longest side.
• It is not a stock photo of a used, damaged or defective item.