How to Write an eBay Title That Gets Found
eBay titles get 80 characters. How to spend them: what goes first, which details buyers search for, and the filler to cut, with examples by category.
On eBay, the title does most of the work of getting your item found. Buyers type a few words into search, and eBay matches them against your title and item specifics. A vague title means fewer people ever see the listing.
You get 80 characters. Here’s how to use them well.
The formula
Most strong titles follow roughly the same order:
Brand + item type + model or style + key details (material, color, pattern) + size
The order matters for two reasons. Buyers scan the start of a title first, and on small screens long titles can be cut off, so the most important words should come first.
| Category | Example title |
|---|---|
| Knitwear | Hand Knit Nordic Fair Isle Yoke Cardigan Wool Wood Buttons Rose Womens M |
| Denim | Levi’s 501 Jeans Straight Leg Button Fly Medium Wash Made in USA 32x30 |
| Bags | Coach Leather Tote Bag Brown Top Handle Shoulder Purse Gold Hardware |
| Ceramics | Studio Pottery Stoneware Mug Brown Speckled Glaze Handmade Signed |
| Cameras | Canon AE-1 Program 35mm Film Camera Body Black Tested Working |
Use the words buyers type
Write the title the way a buyer would search for the item, not the way you’d describe it to a friend.
- Item type in plain words. “Cardigan sweater”, not “cozy layer”.
- The model or line when there is one: “501”, “AE-1 Program”, “Fair Isle”.
- Material when it’s a selling point: wool, cashmere, leather, linen, stoneware.
- Size for clothing and shoes, written the way buyers filter: M, 10, 32x30, US 9.
- Color and pattern, briefly.
A quick way to find the right words: search for your item on eBay and look at how the clearest listings are titled. Notice which words keep coming up.
Cut the filler
Words that don’t match searches waste characters. Common ones to drop:
- Hype words: WOW, L@@K, must see, amazing, gorgeous, beautiful.
- Vague condition words: “nice”, “great”. Put condition in the condition field and description instead, using the terms buyers expect.
- Symbols and punctuation:
!!!,***,~. They don’t help search. - All caps. WRITE NORMALLY. Acronyms like NWT (new with tags) are fine.
- Repeated words. Saying “sweater” twice doesn’t count twice.
Be careful with “rare” and “vintage”
These words are searched a lot, which makes them tempting. Use them only when they’re accurate:
- Vintage generally suggests an item is at least around 20 years old. If you’re not sure of the age, leave it out of the title and describe what you know in the listing.
- Rare is best saved for things that genuinely are. Buyers who see “rare” on common items learn to ignore it.
Don’t stop at the title
eBay also uses item specifics (brand, size, color, material, style and so on) to match searches and filters. Fill in every specific that applies, even if it’s already in your title. Many buyers narrow results with filters, and listings without specifics drop out of those results.
Placeholders are fine while you draft
If you’re writing a title in the store or from a photo, it’s normal not to know everything yet. Leave a clear blank like [size] and fill it in once you’ve measured or checked the tag. Just don’t publish the listing with the blank still in it.
Check your title before you publish
Run through this quickly:
- Is it close to 80 characters without filler?
- Do the first few words say exactly what the item is?
- Is every brand and model name something you can see on the item?
- Are size, material and color included where they matter?
- Any all-caps words, symbols or repeated words to remove?
The free eBay title checker does these checks for you as you type. And before you list, it’s worth running through our thrift store checklist so the details in your title are ones you’ve actually confirmed.
Questions
How long can an eBay title be?
eBay titles can be up to 80 characters, including spaces. Most good titles use nearly all of them, because every word is another chance to match a search.
Should I write my eBay title in capital letters?
No. All-caps words don’t help search and make titles harder to read. Use normal capitalization; acronyms like NWT or USA are fine.
Can I mention other brands in my title?
Only if they describe the item itself. Adding unrelated brand names to attract searches, such as “not Gucci” or “like Levi’s”, goes against eBay’s search manipulation rules and can get a listing removed.
Is it okay to use the word “vintage”?
Use it only when it’s accurate. Buyers generally expect vintage items to be at least around 20 years old. If you’re unsure of the age, a hedged description in the listing body is safer than a confident title.