Why eBay Rejects Image Links (CSV, API, Descriptions): The Complete Compatibility Guide

When you upload listings through CSV, API, or even paste a link into your item description, eBay runs every image URL through an automated validation pipeline. If the link does not meet eBay’s strict acceptance rules, the platform rejects it, often with confusing error messages like:

“Image not accepted”
“Image could not be downloaded”
“We couldn’t import your photo”
“Invalid image URL”
“Image download failed: HTTP 400/403/404”

This guide explains why eBay rejects image links before they ever reach the listing, the technical rules your URLs must follow, and how to generate fully compliant, guaranteed-to-work direct links.

Inside this article

1. eBay’s Hidden Rules for Accepting Image URLs

eBay requires that every image link:

✔ 1.1 Must be a direct link to an actual image file

Meaning the URL must end with a real extension:

.jpg
.jpeg
.png
.gif (rarely used now)

NOT allowed:

URLs without a file extension
URLs that redirect to a dynamically generated image
Viewer pages such as imgur.com/gallery/...
API endpoints like getPhoto.php?id=12345
Signed or expiring URLs with tokens that rotate

✔ 1.2 Must return a valid image on the first request

eBay’s robot fetches the URL once, without cookies, without JavaScript, and usually without following complicated redirects.

It expects:

HTTP 200 OK
A standard image MIME type (image/jpeg)
<2–3 redirects
No cookies
No blocked user agents
No IP-range restrictions
No rate limiting or bot protection

Anything else → rejected.

✔ 1.3 Must load without authentication

If your server requires:

Login
A signed token
A temporary presigned URL
A session cookie
Hotlink protection

eBay can’t fetch the image → reject.

✔ 1.4 Must not be a domain on eBay’s blocked list

More on this below — but yes, eBay bans many image hosts.

2. Why eBay CSV Uploads Reject Image Links

CSV uploads are extremely strict because the import runs on an older backend. Errors often happen before listing creation, so you get vague messages like:

“Image could not be transferred“
“Image URL invalid“
“Image not accepted“

The CSV validator checks:

2.1 URL structure

Must be full absolute URL
No spaces
No encoded characters like %20 in the wrong place
No commas without quotes
HTTPS is preferred (HTTP is allowed but discouraged)

2.2 Redirect chains

The CSV processor does NOT follow:

chained redirects
Geo-based redirects
Region-specific CDN hops
JavaScript redirects (obviously)
Meta refresh redirects

If your image host uses any of these → eBay can’t fetch it.

2.3 Rate limits

CSV import fetches hundreds of URLs in seconds.
If the CDN rate limits or presents a CAPTCHA → rejection.

3. Why eBay API Calls Reject Image URLs

eBay’s API has slightly different rules, but the main rejection causes are:

3.1 Dynamic URLs with expiring tokens

Example: https://example.com/image?file=abc.jpg&token=2938472398472039

If the token rotates every few hours, eBay cannot re-download the image for verification.
API rejects it immediately or rejects later during listing verification.

3.2 Long redirects

Some CDNs use:

HTTP → HTTPS redirect
Naked domain → www redirect
Country redirect
Device redirect
A/B testing redirect
Signed URL redirect
Cache-busting redirect (with ?timestamp=...)

The API bot usually stops after one or two hops.

3.3 Anti-bot protection

If your CDN uses:

Cloudflare Bot Fight Mode
reCAPTCHA challenge
Firewall rules blocking unknown user agents
Country blocks

→ eBay robot gets blocked → image rejected.

4. Blocked or Problematic Domains for eBay Images

eBay historically rejects images from domains used for:

adult content
temporary uploads
social media platforms
closed-source CDNs
ad-tracking CDNs
link shorteners
spam-heavy image hosts

Examples (not exhaustive):

❌ imgur.com: gallery/viewer URLs rejected
❌ imageshack, tinypic: often rate-limited or deprecated
❌ Google Photos: requires authentication
❌ Dropbox share links: not direct JPGs
❌ OneDrive share links: viewer pages
❌ Facebook CDN: tokenized, expires
❌ Redirect-based shorteners
❌ Hosts with aggressive bot protection

Even if the domain is not officially blocked, eBay may still reject if:

bots are blocked
MIME type isn’t correct
URL has no .jpg

5. CDN Compatibility Issues (The Silent Reason Most Links Fail)

CDNs are great for real shoppers, but eBay’s import robot behaves like a very old browser with no cookies and no JS.

Common CDN issues:

5.1 Domain requires SNI or TLS settings eBay doesn’t support

Some CDNs reject old TLS clients → eBay cannot fetch.

5.2 CDN blocks unknown user agents

Bots get banned → image rejected.

5.3 CDN returns WebP or AVIF depending on user agent

If your server responds:

WebP
AVIF
unsupported MIME type
HTML fallback page

→ eBay rejects the image.

5.4 Cache-busting query strings

CDNs like Cloudflare or Fastly sometimes rewrite query parameters.
If eBay sees:

?width=800&token=9283498234
?auto=format
?expires=…

It flags the URL as “not a direct image file”.

6. Why Dynamic or Expiring URLs Fail

Dynamic URLs include:

Signed URLs
Temporary URLs
URLs with timestamps
URLs with rotating tokens
URLs generated through backend scripts
“viewer.php?image=1234.jpg“

eBay needs to:

Fetch the image at listing creation
Fetch again for processing
Fetch again for revisions
Fetch again during verification
Fetch regularly for caching
Fetch again if you relist or refresh

If the URL changes or expires → eBay sees a mismatch → rejects or removes the image.

7. How to Create eBay-Approved Image URLs (Guaranteed to Work)

Here are the technical requirements for 100% acceptance across CSV, API, and description:

7.1 The URL must be:

Stable
Permanent
Publicly accessible
Direct link
Ending with .jpg
No expiring tokens
No device-based redirects
No request-based content negotiation
No cookies
No bot-blocking firewall rules

7.2 MIME type must be correct

Response headers must be:

Content-Type: image/jpeg
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Cache-Control: public

7.3 Redirect rules must be simple

Allowed:

1 redirect from main domain → CDN

Not allowed:

GEO routing
Device routing
A/B redirect
Multi-step redirect
JS-based redirect

7.4 Use a CDN fine-tuned for eBay (like Img.vision)

A compliant setup typically includes:

Image served from a static URL
CDN edge caching
Optimized delivery rules for eBay’s fetcher bot
No dynamic URLs
No query-parameter transformations
Firewall rules optimized for eBay servers

7.5 Recommended URL structure

Good:

https://d.examplecdn.com/abc123/my-image-01.jpg
https://cdn.mystore.com/images/items/sku123/front.jpg
https://i.example.com/2024/11/products/sku-2929181.jpg

Bad:

https://example.com/viewer?id=12345
https://example.com/image.php?token=xyz
https://photos.google.com/....
https://imgur.com/abcxyz
https://drive.google.com/...
https://dropbox.com/s/gfhfhhhf/myphoto.jpg?dl=0
https://cdn.example.com/file.jpg?token=expiringsoon

8. Troubleshooting Rejected URLs (Quick Checklist)

Check these if eBay rejects an image link:

✔ Does the URL end with `.jpg`?

✔ Does it return an image on the first request?

✔ Does it require cookies?

✔ Does it redirect more than once?

✔ Does your CDN block bots?

✔ Does the link expire?

✔ Is the domain temporarily rate-limiting traffic?

✔ Is the response header correct?

✔ Does your host replace 404 with HTML pages?

9. Summary

eBay rejects links not because of your images — but because of the URL structure, accessibility, and server behavior.
To be accepted:

The link must be a stable JPG.
The server must respond with HTTP 200 and image/jpeg.
No tokens, cookies, redirects, or authentication.
CDN must allow bot traffic.
Links must be simple static URLs.

When your URLs follow these rules, CSV imports, API calls, and descriptions all accept your images instantly.