1. Amazon, eBay and Etsy
Amazon allows up to 9 photos per product listing. Every product needs at least one image, and Amazon recommends at least 6.
eBay requires at least one picture and accepts up to 24. Its help page asks for photos from several angles, a main photo that shows the whole item face-on, and clear close-ups of any flaws.
Etsy accepts up to 20 photos and 2 videos per listing.
2. Shopify, Google Merchant Center and Zalando
Shopify allows up to 250 images, 3D models or videos per product, and this limit cannot be raised. Media assigned to a variant must be an image; 3D models and videos cannot be used there.
Google Merchant Center takes the main image in image_link and up to 10 additional images in additional_image_link, meant to show the product from different angles or in use.
Zalando sets a minimum rather than a maximum. Apparel, shoes, bags and jewellery need 3 compliant images: a catalogue view — a front crop or a primary packshot — and 2 further images with the necessary angles or details. Underwear, hosiery, socks and tights need 2. Duplicating an image to reach the count leads to rejection.
3. Each slot, a new view
A high limit is room, not an instruction. An image earns its slot when it answers a question the buyer would otherwise ask: what the back looks like, how the fabric looks up close, how the garment sits on a body, which colours exist.
Amazon's guide to product photos lists individual, group, lifestyle, scale, detailed and packaging shots. Google names other angles and the product in use. The same photo cropped twice answers nothing new.
4. A 7-image set for one fashion product
The main image shows the whole product from the front, alone on a plain background. A back view and a close-up of the details follow: fabric, print, label or zip. Then the product on a model from the front, the same model in a second pose, one location or lifestyle image, and the product in another colour.
A set of 7 images meets Amazon's recommendation of at least 6 and stays within its limit of 9, fits Google's main image plus 10 additional images, and covers Zalando's minimum of 3. On eBay, Etsy and Shopify, the remaining slots can hold further colours and poses.
5. Order and consistency
Keep the plain product image first: eBay asks for the whole item face-on in the main photo, and Zalando's catalogue view is a front crop or a primary packshot. On-model and location images follow it.
Use the same model, the same light and the same aspect ratio across the set, so the gallery reads as one shoot rather than a collection of separate photos.
Checklist
- Main image: the whole product, from the front, on a plain background
- A back view and a close-up of the details
- The product on a model, in at least two poses
- One location or lifestyle image, never as the main image
- One image for each colour variant
- No duplicates and no second crop of the same photo
Sources
- Sell on Amazon — How to create Amazon product listings
- Sell on Amazon — Product photos
- eBay Help — Adding pictures to your listings
- Etsy Help — How to create a listing
- Shopify Help Center — Adding product media
- Google Merchant Center Help — Additional image link [additional_image_link]
- Zalando Partner University — Image guidelines
Checked 26 September 2026. Rules change; the official pages are the final reference.