Adapting Product Descriptions for Amazon vs. eBay
Amazon and eBay are the two largest general-purpose marketplaces in the world, yet they have fundamentally different approaches to product content. What works brilliantly on Amazon can perform poorly on eBay, and vice versa. Sellers who use identical descriptions across both platforms leave money on the table -- or worse, risk listing suppression due to policy violations.
This guide breaks down the key differences between Amazon and eBay product content, covering formatting requirements, search algorithm behaviour, buyer psychology, and practical strategies for adapting your descriptions to excel on each platform.
Title Formatting: Rules vs. Freedom
Amazon enforces strict title formatting rules. Titles should follow a specific formula: Brand + Product Line + Material or Key Feature + Product Type + Colour + Size + Packaging/Quantity. Character limits vary by category, typically 150-200 characters. Amazon penalises titles that include promotional phrases like "Best Seller" or "Free Shipping," and stuffing keywords into titles can trigger suppression.
eBay offers significantly more freedom in title construction. With an 80-character limit, eBay titles must be more concise, but sellers have greater flexibility in how they use that space. Keyword-rich titles perform well on eBay because its search algorithm relies heavily on title text for matching. Including common search terms, model numbers, and compatible device names in eBay titles directly improves visibility.
The practical implication is that your Amazon title should be structured and brand-forward, while your eBay title should be keyword-dense and search-optimised. A wireless mouse might be titled "Logitech MX Master 3S Wireless Mouse - Ergonomic, 8K DPI, USB-C, Graphite" on Amazon, but "Logitech MX Master 3S Wireless Ergonomic Mouse 8000 DPI USB-C Bluetooth Mac PC" on eBay to capture more search terms within the shorter limit.
Bullet Points vs. Description Emphasis
On Amazon, bullet points are arguably more important than the description. Most buyers make purchasing decisions based on the title, images, and bullet points without ever scrolling to the full description. Amazon allows five bullet points (more for Brand Registered sellers), each ideally under 200 characters. These should highlight the product's key benefits, not just list features.
eBay does not have a bullet point section. The item description is the primary content area, and it supports full HTML formatting. This means your eBay descriptions can include formatted text, tables, headers, and styled layouts. Many successful eBay sellers use description templates with clear sections for features, specifications, shipping information, and returns policy.
The difference in emphasis means your content strategy should lead with benefit-focused bullet points on Amazon and with a comprehensive, well-formatted description on eBay. If you repurpose Amazon bullet points as the sole content for your eBay listing, the result will look sparse and unprofessional compared to competitors who invest in rich eBay descriptions.
Search Algorithm Differences
Amazon's A9/A10 algorithm considers multiple factors beyond text: sales velocity, conversion rate, reviews, fulfilment method, and pricing competitiveness. While backend keywords matter, the algorithm increasingly rewards relevance and purchase behaviour over keyword density. Overstuffing content with keywords can actually hurt your ranking by reducing readability and conversion rate.
eBay's Cassini search engine places greater weight on text matching, particularly in the title and item specifics. Filling out all available item specifics (colour, size, brand, material, UPC) significantly improves search visibility on eBay. The algorithm also considers seller performance metrics and listing format, but text relevance plays a larger role than on Amazon.
For practical purposes, this means your Amazon SEO strategy should focus on a moderate number of highly relevant keywords supplemented by strong conversion signals, while your eBay SEO strategy should aim for comprehensive keyword coverage across titles, item specifics, and descriptions.
Buyer Psychology and Content Tone
Amazon buyers tend to research and compare before purchasing. They expect detailed specifications, comparison-friendly formatting, and clear answers to common questions. The tone should be informative and confident, focusing on how the product solves specific problems. Amazon's A+ Content (for Brand Registered sellers) allows rich media storytelling, but the core listing should prioritise clarity and detail.
eBay buyers often arrive through search with a specific need or are browsing for deals. They appreciate personality in listings and respond well to seller credibility signals. eBay descriptions can be more conversational and include trust-building elements like satisfaction guarantees, detailed condition descriptions (especially for used items), and seller background information. The marketplace's auction heritage means buyers expect more direct seller-to-buyer communication in the listing itself.
These different expectations mean that a single "neutral" description optimised for neither platform will underperform on both. Investing time in platform-specific content adaptation -- or using AI tools that generate marketplace-aware descriptions -- consistently produces better results than a one-size-fits-all approach.
Automating Cross-Platform Adaptation
Manually adapting descriptions for each platform is time-consuming but important. AI tools that support marketplace-specific templates can automate this process. You provide the product data once, and the system generates appropriately formatted descriptions for each target marketplace, respecting character limits, structural requirements, and search optimisation best practices.
The key is to maintain a single source of truth for product data while allowing the presentation layer to vary by platform. Your PIM or product database holds the canonical specifications, and your AI content tool transforms that data into marketplace-specific descriptions. When product data changes, you regenerate descriptions for all platforms simultaneously, ensuring consistency across channels.
This approach scales far better than maintaining separate spreadsheets or documents for each marketplace. It also reduces the risk of discrepancies where one platform's listing shows updated specifications while another still displays outdated information -- a common source of customer complaints and return requests.