# Marketplace images: what platforms allow and how to avoid rejection

Источник / Source: https://picwin.co/en/blog/images-for-marketplaces
Язык / Language: en
Рубрика / Topic: Commerce
Автор / Author: The Picwin editors
Опубликовано / Published: 2026-08-04T00:00:00.000Z
Обновлено / Updated: 2026-09-03T11:17:26.468Z
Слов / Words: 1493 · Чтение / Reading: 8 min
Обложка / Cover: https://picwin.co/api/picwin/blog-images/843019fcf3075db03e152597314ae676b8048b2170215a2e0b62b2aa84ea60c7.webp
Переводы / Translations: kk: https://picwin.co/kk/blog/marketpleysterge-arnalgan-suretter, pt: https://picwin.co/pt/blog/imagens-para-marketplaces, ru: https://picwin.co/blog/kartinki-dlya-marketpleysov, uz: https://picwin.co/uz/blog/marketpleyslar-uchun-rasmlar

A product listing needs more than product photos. We look at where generated images can be used legitimately, what file requirements marketplaces publish, and how to check every frame before uploading it.

---

**In short**

The main image must show the real product. Major marketplaces are clear about
that. Generated visuals can still work for backgrounds, lifestyle scenes, shop
banners, and infographic backdrops, where the image is supporting the product
rather than replacing it. The difference between a useful asset and a rejected
listing is where that image appears.

Sellers rarely look for extra imagery on a whim. A shoot costs money and takes
time, while twenty listings may each need a background, a scene, and a banner.
The temptation to “generate everything” lasts until the first listing is
blocked. Here is where the line sits, what the platforms say in their own rules,
and which catalogue images are safe to use.

## What images does a product listing actually need?

A listing needs at least four different kinds of image, and only one is the
photograph of the product itself.

**Main photo.** The product exactly as it is: the same colour, package contents,
and size. This is the one slot where invention is never acceptable.

**Additional angles and details.** These also need photography: seams, texture,
ports, and labels.

**Lifestyle image — the product in context.** A kitchen, bedroom, office, or
street. The setting matters more than the object here, and the setting is often
the hardest part to shoot.

**Backdrops, backgrounds, and banners.** An infographic background, brand-store
cover, promotion banner, or image for social and email. The product may not
appear at all.

The first two are a photographer’s job. The other two are an artist’s job, and
generation can save both budget and weeks of production.

## What do marketplaces say in their image rules?

Each platform publishes file requirements and separate rules for what may appear
in the frame. The details below come from their own documents as of publication.
Rules change, so open the original before uploading.

**Amazon.** The image guide requires the main image to be a real photograph of
the product on a pure white background. The product must fill at least 85% of
the frame, the longest side must be at least 1000 pixels to enable zoom, and the
main image must contain no text, logos, borders, or watermarks. From 2026,
sellers must also add the appropriate metadata before uploading images that
contain photorealistic AI-generated people —
[Product image requirements](https://sellercentral.amazon.com/help/hub/reference/external/G1881).

**Etsy.** Etsy explicitly requires your own photographs of the finished item,
not renders or stock images. For personalised products, the first image must
show a finished customised example: a “Your Text Here” mockup cannot be the main
image, though computer-generated mockups may appear in additional images. If a
production partner prints your design on a base item, a stock mockup is allowed
to show the result —
[Listing Image Requirements](https://www.etsy.com/legal/policy/listing-image-requirements/253962679005).

**Ozon.** Its documentation lists JPEG, JPG, PNG, HEIC, and WEBP, a vertical 3:4
ratio for all categories, resolution from 200 × 200 to 4320 × 7680 pixels
(starting at 900 × 1200 for clothing, footwear, and accessories), and a maximum
file size of 10 MB. If a main image has another ratio, the platform may crop it
for you — and decide what falls outside the frame:
[Image requirements](https://docs.ozon.ru/global/products/requirements/media/image-requirements).

![A table of marketplace image requirements: minimum size and main photo rule](/api/picwin/blog-images/fcf50c02ba43ac9b63df11e3a80d655f3c94717d5587a0806bb9feb31425f0ca.webp)

The numbers come from the platforms’ own rules and change over time — check the original before uploading.

All three share one principle: **a product image must depict the product**.
The surrounding scene, background, and design serve a different purpose.

Where rejection is guaranteed

Using a generated “product” instead of a photograph is the quickest route to a
rejected listing and customer returns. Buyers compare the delivery with the
image; a mismatch in colour, hardware, or package contents becomes a dispute the
seller is unlikely to win.

## How should you check an image before uploading it?

It is easier to work through one checklist than to deal with moderation later.
This list is based on requirements the platforms publish themselves.

**Pre-upload checklist**

- Prepare a vertical 3:4 version for Ozon and mobile marketplace feeds.

- Keep the longest side at 1200 pixels or more to cover Amazon zoom and leave room for resizing.

- Use a platform-supported format and keep the file comfortably below its size limit.

- Keep text, logos, watermarks, borders, and collages off the main image.

- Show the real, exact product: colour, set, and quantity must match.

- Match the background to the category; where pure white is required, light grey is not enough.

- If an image contains a photorealistic AI-generated person, check the disclosure rules and add the required metadata.

- Leave generous room for labels and badges because each storefront crops images differently.

## What can be generated, and what must be photographed?

The split is simple: generation handles the setting and presentation;
photography handles the product.

### Generation works

- Backgrounds and infographic backdrops

- An interior or outdoor setting where a photographed product is added as a separate layer

- Promotion banners, brand-store covers, and shop headers

- Images for email, social media, and ad creative

- Seasonal mood: an autumn table, summer beach, or festive lights

### Photography is required

- The listing’s main image

- Angles, details, texture, and package contents

- Your product held or worn by a person

- Anything a buyer will compare with the delivered item

Mockups are a separate case for products that do not physically exist yet, such
as a print on a T-shirt, a notebook cover, or a label. Platform rules differ:
Etsy allows mockups in additional images but requires a finished customised
item first; Amazon insists on a product photograph in the main slot. Check the
specific platform rather than relying on general industry practice.

## What jobs can a ready-made catalogue image handle?

Here are five common reasons sellers need images and the sections where those
assets live.

-

### An infographic background

A clean scene without fussy detail, ready for text, icons, and arrows. A quiet
texture or soft gradient works better than a “beautiful” photograph.

-

### A scene for a product composite

An interior, counter, shelf, or display shot so the product can be composited
with a shadow and believable perspective.

-

### A shop banner or brand-store cover

A wide frame with room for a heading. Generation works especially well here:
one idea can produce a full family of covers in the same style.

-

### Lifestyle content for social and email

“How it is used” images without a crew, location, or models.

-

### A seasonal storefront

Sales, back-to-school, and holidays: the season arrives faster than a
photographer can return.

[MockupsMockups and templates: backdrops, devices, packaging, and covers ready for your
design.
See the works](/en/category/mockups)[LifestyleLifestyle: everyday scenes, hands, and people using products in context.
See the works](/en/category/lifestyle)[TexturesTextures and patterns: clean backdrops for infographics and banners.
See the works](/en/category/textures)

If the sections do not have the scene you need, browse the
[full catalogue](/en/catalog); search covers both titles and descriptions.

One subject, a whole shelf

Listings from the same shop should look related. Look for works made around the
same subject: catalogue images share a brief, making a coherent set much easier
to assemble than a collection of random finds.

## What can you do when nobody has the image you need?

Generate it for your own brief. If the catalogue lacks the right background or
scene, you can build it in the Picwin mini app using the same tasks and briefs
that produce work for the storefront.

Need a custom image for your listing?

Build a scene around your product: brief it, generate it, and get the finished
image at the size you need.

[Open the mini app](/en/partners)

Next, learn how to build a consistent
[product visual set](/en/blog/visuals-for-a-saas-product), show
[money and work without stock clichés](/en/blog/business-visuals-without-cliches),
and create [travel visuals without the trip](/en/blog/travel-visuals-without-the-trip).
The methods overlap even when the subjects differ.

### Can AI-generated images be used on marketplaces at all?

Yes, but not as a substitute for product photography. Backgrounds, scenes,
banners, and supporting design can use generated imagery as long as the frame
does not mislead buyers about what they will receive.

### Do generated images need to be labelled?

It depends on the platform and the content. From 2026, Amazon requires metadata
for images with photorealistic AI-generated people. There is no single rule
requiring every generated image to be labelled, so check the relevant platform.

### What resolution should I prepare to cover all three platforms?

A 3:4 vertical image with a longest side of at least 1200 pixels covers Ozon’s
format and leaves enough resolution for Amazon zoom. Etsy does not specify a
minimum in the source cited above, so check its current guidance before upload.

### Why was a listing rejected even though the image looked good?

Usually because of content rather than image quality: text or a logo on the main
photo, a border, or a product that is not shown accurately. Platforms treat
content rules separately from file specifications.

### What should I do with a product that does not exist yet?

Use a mockup according to the platform’s rules. Etsy permits one in additional
images but requires the finished customised item in the first image. On
platforms with strict main-image rules, make and photograph a sample first.

### Can I composite a product into a generated interior?

Yes. This is a common, practical technique: photograph the product and generate
the setting. Keep it out of the main-image slot, and make sure perspective,
light, and shadows agree.

### How can I quickly tell whether an image will be rejected?

Use the checklist above, then view the image in the platform’s mobile feed.
Text, borders, awkward crops, and other obvious problems are much easier to
spot in context.
