How to write an eBay description for products you never handle

How do you write an eBay description for products you never handle?

An eBay description for products you never handle has to be built from evidence rather than from looking at the item. Gather the facts from sources you can trust, such as the manufacturer's specification, your supplier's product data and, where possible, a sample in your own hands. Then write only what those sources confirm. Every claim you add without checking is a claim a buyer can hold you to.

This matters more for dropshippers and for sellers who use fulfilment services than for anyone else. You cannot measure the item, try the plug or count the parts in the box, yet you are the seller of record. eBay's drop shipping rules say that dropshipping from a wholesale supplier is allowed, while buying from another retailer or marketplace that ships directly to your buyer is not, and that the seller stays responsible for the buyer's overall satisfaction. The eBay UK drop shipping page sets out the rule. A description you cannot stand behind is a risk you carry alone.

Why does description accuracy matter so much on eBay?

The eBay Money Back Guarantee covers items that do not match the listing. A buyer can request a return for an item not as described within 30 calendar days of delivery, or within your longer return window, and you must respond within 3 business days before the buyer can ask eBay to step in. The details are on eBay's Money Back Guarantee policy page.

Not as described claims are expensive for a seller who never handles stock. You often pay return postage, the item may not be resellable, and the supplier may not credit you for a problem caused by your own description. Our guide to eBay item not as described claims covers how they are handled.

Accuracy also helps you get found. eBay names the quality of a listing, including its description and photos, and how complete the listing is among the factors in Best Match search.

Where do you get product facts you can trust?

Rank your sources by how close they are to the real item:

1. A sample in your hands. Nothing beats measuring, weighing, plugging in and photographing the item yourself. Order one for every product you expect to sell in volume.
2. The manufacturer's own information: the specification sheet, the manual and the packaging. These describe the product as made.
3. Your supplier's product data, ideally including photos of the actual packaging and the barcode, which you can match to the manufacturer's information.
4. eBay's product catalogue, which supplies details for many branded products when you list by barcode or model number. Check that the catalogue entry matches your exact variant.

Avoid copying another seller's or retailer's description. The text belongs to whoever wrote it, rights owners can report copied content through eBay's VeRO programme, and someone else's description may be wrong anyway. Use other listings only to spot questions buyers ask, then answer them from your own sources.

What should the description include?

Use the same structure for every product, so nothing important is left out and buyers learn where to look. A template that works for most new goods:

1. One opening sentence saying exactly what the item is: brand, model, colour and the main use.
2. Key specifications in a short list: dimensions, weight, material, power, capacity, as relevant.
3. What is in the box, item by item, including cables, batteries or adapters, and anything that is not included.
4. Compatibility or sizing, stated precisely: "fits model numbers X and Y", not "fits most".
5. Condition: new, sealed, in original packaging, as your supplier confirms.
6. Delivery: your dispatch time and the service used.
7. Returns: how long buyers have and how to start a return.
8. Safety and care notes from the manufacturer where they apply.

Keep it plain. Many buyers read on a phone, so short paragraphs and lists work better than long blocks of text or heavy design. eBay does not allow active content such as scripts in listings, so a simple layout is also the reliable one.

What should you never claim without checking?

• Measurements you have not confirmed. A size copied from a different variant is a common source of claims.
• Universal compatibility. "Fits all phones" or "works with any charger" is almost never true.
• Certifications and markings, such as UKCA or CE, unless the manufacturer or supplier has confirmed them in writing for that exact product.
• Health, medical or safety claims that go beyond the manufacturer's own wording.
• Brand names you are not selling. Writing "like Brand X" or "compatible with Brand X" without care can breach eBay's rules on brand names and may draw a rights owner's report.
• Stock or delivery promises that depend on your supplier, such as "always in stock" or "next day delivery", unless you can keep them every time.
• Contact details or links sending buyers away from eBay, which eBay's listing rules do not allow.

How do you check a description before it goes live?

Run three checks on every new listing:

• Source check. Can you point to a source for each fact? If not, delete the fact or ask the supplier.
• Photo check. Do the photos show the exact item and variant described? eBay's picture policy says photos must accurately represent the item and placeholder images are not allowed.
• Buyer check. Read the description as a buyer who has one question. Is the answer there, and is it unambiguous?

When a question arrives that the description did not answer, add the answer to the listing once you have confirmed it. Over time, buyer questions turn a decent description into a complete one.

What does a good rewrite look like?

Example (a hypothetical product): a supplier's data for a desk lamp reads "LED lamp, very bright, fits any desk, fast charging, best quality". Rewritten from the manufacturer's specification sheet, it becomes:

LED desk lamp with a clamp base, in black. Clamp fits desk edges 10 to 50 mm thick. Five brightness levels and three colour temperatures. Powered by the USB-C cable supplied; no plug adapter included. Arm reaches 45 cm from the clamp. New and boxed.

Every number comes from the specification sheet, the vague words have gone, and the missing plug adapter is stated, which heads off the most likely return. The measurements here are examples for this imaginary lamp, not a template to copy. For more on structure and tone, see our guide to writing an eBay product description.

How do item specifics and AI drafts fit in?

Item specifics are the structured fields such as brand, model, size and colour. eBay advises filling them in, and buyers use them as search filters, so they should match the description exactly. A mismatch, such as a colour in the specifics that differs from the text, confuses buyers and invites claims. Our guide to eBay item specifics covers each field.

AI tools can draft descriptions quickly, and Dropizon offers optional AI description optimisation for imported drafts. Treat any AI draft as a first version: it can invent features, merge variants or overstate benefits. Check every claim against your sources before you publish, exactly as you would with a supplier's text.

What happens when the supplier changes the product?

Products change without notice: a new packaging design, a different cable, a revised model with the same name. When you never handle the stock, you only find out when a buyer tells you. Protect yourself in three ways.

• Ask the supplier to tell you about changes to specification, packaging or box contents, and put that request in your written terms.
• Re-check best sellers every few months against the manufacturer's current specification, and order a fresh sample if the model has been revised.
• Treat a cluster of similar questions as a warning. If two buyers in a week ask why the item has a different plug, stop and confirm what is being sent before more orders go out.

When a product does change, update the description, the photos and the item specifics together, so the listing never describes two versions at once.

How do you describe variations and multipacks?

In a listing with several sizes or colours, the description must be true for every option, or it must say clearly which details belong to which option. A common mistake is a single dimension line written for the medium size that the small size does not match. List the measurements for each variation, or move them into the variation details.

For multipacks and bundles, state the number of units and exactly what each unit is, so "pack of 3" cannot be read as three different items or as three packs.

A checklist for your next listing

• You have a specification sheet or a sample for this exact variant.
• The first sentence names brand, model, colour and use.
• Specifications, box contents and compatibility come from a named source.
• Nothing is claimed that you cannot verify, including certifications and brand comparisons.
• Photos show the exact item, and item specifics match the description.
• Delivery and returns terms are ones your supplier lets you meet.