Plenty of eBay selling advice says the same things: write better titles, take more photos and add more detail.
But how often are Australian sellers actually missing those basics?
To find out, Listalong audited 100 active, pre-owned clothing and shoe listings on eBay Australia. We reviewed five categories, recorded the same fields for every listing and capped the number taken from any one seller.
The result was more balanced than the usual “most listings are terrible” claim. Photos and core item specifics were generally strong. The biggest gaps were in the seller-written description, condition detail and garment measurements.
The short version
The most useful takeaway is not that every listing needs to be longer. It is that a buyer should not have to guess about fit, condition or what the item actually is.
What we found
| Audit check | Listings flagged | Share of eligible sample |
|---|---|---|
| Seller description under 30 words | 37 of 100 | 37% |
| No seller-written condition or flaw detail | 26 of 100 | 26% |
| No garment measurements | 21 of 80 apparel listings | 26% |
| Title under 60 characters | 19 of 100 | 19% |
| Brand missing from title | 7 of 100 | 7% |
| Blank seller description | 6 of 100 | 6% |
| Fewer than three photos | 2 of 100 | 2% |
Across the six main audit checks, 61 listings had at least one issue, 34 had at least two and 16 had three or more. That also means 39 listings passed every check we applied.
These are listing-completeness checks, not proof that an item will or will not sell. We did not measure impressions, conversion rate, time to sale or sold price.
1. Very short descriptions were the most common issue
Thirty-seven listings had a seller-written description below 30 words. Six had no seller description at all.
The 30-word line is our study threshold, not an eBay policy. A concise description can be excellent. The problem is that a handful of words often cannot cover the details a pre-owned clothing buyer needs: fabric feel, fit, measurements, condition and flaws.
For example, this is short but leaves too much uncertainty:
Great condition. Nice shirt. See photos.
A more useful version could be:
Pre-owned cotton T-shirt in good condition. Light wash wear with no holes or stains noticed. Tagged men’s medium; please compare the chest and length measurements below with a shirt that fits you.
That wording is not padded for search engines. It answers reasonable buyer questions.
eBay’s own listing guidance recommends a detailed, accurate description that covers features such as materials, dimensions, fit and imperfections. See eBay’s guides to creating a great listing and its item description policy.
2. One in four descriptions gave no useful condition detail
Twenty-six listings did not include seller-written condition or flaw detail in the description.
Every sampled listing had an eBay condition selection, such as a pre-owned condition grade. Our check was narrower: did the seller add their own useful comment about wear, flaws or the item’s actual state?
That distinction matters. A buyer looking at second-hand clothing may want to know about:
- fading, pilling or wash wear
- marks, pulls, holes or repairs
- sole and heel wear on shoes
- working zips, buttons and fasteners
- whether a flaw is visible in a particular photo
“Good condition” is better than silence, but specific observations build more trust. Avoid promising “perfect condition” unless the item genuinely supports that claim.
eBay says used-item photos should show the actual item and that imperfections should be shown and described. Its photo tips for sellers are a useful companion to the written description.
3. Twenty-one apparel listings had no garment measurements
We checked measurements only for the 80 apparel listings, not the 20 shoe listings. Twenty-one of those 80 apparel listings did not include a recognisable garment measurement in the seller description.
The category breakdown was:
| Apparel category | No measurements | Sample |
|---|---|---|
| Men’s T-shirts | 7 | 20 |
| Women’s jeans | 6 | 20 |
| Men’s jackets | 5 | 20 |
| Women’s dresses | 3 | 20 |
Tag sizes are useful, but two garments marked “medium” can fit very differently. For pre-owned fashion, a few consistent measurements can reduce uncertainty and repetitive buyer messages.
Useful starting points include:
- T-shirts and jackets: chest or pit-to-pit, length and sleeve
- Jeans: waist, rise and inseam
- Dresses: bust, waist and length
State how the item was laid and measured. A flat measurement is not the same as a body circumference, and small differences can occur depending on fabric stretch and measuring method.
Our free printable reseller measurement guides give you a repeatable checklist for common garment types.
4. Nineteen titles were below eBay’s recommended range
Nineteen of the 100 titles contained fewer than 60 characters. The median title length was 72 characters.
Short is not automatically bad. A 55-character title can be clear, while an 80-character title can be stuffed with nonsense. We used 60 characters because eBay Australia recommends making use of the available title space and says titles in roughly the 60–80 character range are more likely to sell.
A useful title usually answers:
- What brand is it?
- What type of item is it?
- Who is it for?
- What size is it?
- Which colour, material, fit or style terms genuinely help identify it?
Weak:
Nice Levi jeans size 30
Stronger:
Levi’s 501 Men’s Jeans W30 L32 Blue Straight Leg Button Fly Denim
Use only accurate terms. Unrelated keywords may attract the wrong clicks and can make the listing harder to trust. eBay’s listing optimisation guidance explains how titles and item specifics help listings appear in relevant searches.
5. Seven listings left the brand out of the title
All 100 listings contained a value in the brand item specific, but seven listings with a named brand did not include that brand in the title.
That is a small number, which is encouraging. Brand is one of the clearest ways a buyer searches for fashion, so it normally deserves title space when it is known and genuine.
Do not guess a brand from style alone. If the label is missing or authenticity is uncertain, “unbranded” is safer than making an unsupported claim.
6. Photos were much better than expected
Only two listings used fewer than three photos. The median listing contained nine photos, and the largest photo set used all 24 available positions.
This was the strongest part of the sample. eBay recommends multiple clear images—generally three to 12, with up to 24 available—and requires sellers to use photos that accurately represent the item. See eBay’s guide to adding pictures to listings.
Photo count is not the same as photo quality. Our audit counted images but did not score lighting, sharpness, background, colour accuracy or whether every flaw was visible. Nine blurry photos are not better than five clear ones.
For a pre-owned fashion listing, a practical set usually shows:
- full front and back
- label, brand and size tag
- fabric or care tag where useful
- closures, soles or other wear points
- close-ups of every known flaw
- a measurement photo when it helps explain fit
Results by category
The same issues did not appear evenly across every category.
| Category | Short description | No condition detail | No measurements | Short title | Under 3 photos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Women’s jeans | 9 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 0 |
| Women’s dresses | 4 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| Men’s T-shirts | 9 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 0 |
| Men’s jackets | 4 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 0 |
| Athletic shoes | 11 | 6 | Not assessed | 5 | 0 |
Athletic shoes had the highest number of short descriptions, while men’s T-shirts most often lacked garment measurements. Women’s jeans had the strongest titles in this sample. With only 20 listings per category, treat those differences as observations to investigate, not marketplace-wide rankings.
Methodology
We collected the sample on 5 August 2026 from public eBay Australia search results.
The audit included:
- 20 women’s jeans
- 20 women’s dresses
- 20 men’s T-shirts
- 20 men’s jackets
- 20 pairs of athletic shoes
Searches were filtered to pre-owned items located in Australia and sorted by newly listed. We reviewed active fixed-price or auction listings that appeared in those search results. To reduce the effect of large stores, no seller contributed more than two listings within a category. The final sample represented 73 seller accounts; the most-represented seller contributed seven listings across different categories.
For every listing, we recorded title length, number of photos, seller-description word count, selected item specifics and whether the description contained recognisable measurement and condition language.
The audit rules were:
- Short title: fewer than 60 characters, based on eBay’s recommended lower range—not a platform violation.
- Very short description: fewer than 30 words, a study-defined completeness threshold—not an eBay rule.
- No condition detail: no seller-written wording about condition, wear, flaws, damage, stains, fading, repairs or similar observations.
- No measurements: no recognisable dimensions or garment-measurement terms in the description. This check applied only to apparel.
- Brand missing from title: a named brand appeared in item specifics but not in the title.
- Too few photos: fewer than three listing images, based on eBay’s recommendation to use at least three.
We did not assess whether item specifics, brand claims or condition statements were true. We also did not rate photo aesthetics or compare listings with their eventual sales outcome.
Limitations
This is a structured snapshot, not a census of eBay Australia.
- The sample covers five fashion-related categories and cannot represent every eBay category.
- Newly listed results may differ from older active listings.
- Search ranking and listing availability can change from minute to minute.
- Text checks can miss unusual wording or measurements shown only inside photos.
- A listing can sell despite failing one of our checks, and a complete listing can remain unsold because of price or demand.
- The study shows frequency, not causation. It cannot prove that fixing one field will increase sales by a particular amount.
For transparency, you can download the anonymised summary dataset. We have not published seller names, item numbers or listing links. Publishers and educators can also use the research and citation page for attribution guidance and the other Listalong study.
A five-minute audit for your own listings
Before changing prices or paying to promote a listing, open it as if you were the buyer and check:
- Title: Does it clearly state brand, item type, size and the most useful accurate attributes?
- First photo: Can a buyer understand the item immediately on a phone screen?
- Photo set: Does it show the whole item, tags, wear points and flaws?
- Description: Does it explain condition, fit, fabric and anything the photos cannot?
- Measurements: Could a buyer compare the item with something they already own?
- Item specifics: Are all relevant recommended fields complete and consistent with the title?
If traffic is still slow after the listing is clear and competitively priced, our guide to why eBay sales may be slow in Australia covers demand, postage, seller performance and promotion.
Where cross-listing fits
Improving an eBay listing and reaching more buyers solve different problems.
A strong listing gives buyers better information. Cross-listing gives the item another audience. For fashion stock, both can matter: an item may be searchable on eBay but more discoverable to a style-led buyer on Depop.
Listalong helps Australian resellers turn existing eBay listings into Depop listings without manually rebuilding every product from scratch. Because the eBay listing is the starting point, clear photos, accurate titles and useful item details make the review step easier.
See how Listalong works or open the free app. It is currently free to use and no code is required.