ShipScript has been an eBay Community volunteer since 2003, specializing in HTML, CSS, Scripts, Photos, Active Content, Technical Solutions, and online Seller Tools.
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Thank you for tagging me on this @richardcm
We have actually resolved the issue for @davidhunternyc
The problem is that Imgur does not allow linking their images into eBay listings. Even though Imgur blocks them the moment they appear in an eBay page, the images may actually be visible to the seller for the first few hours or day while the photos are still cached in the seller's browser. After that, they disappear, causing confusion.
The solution we settled upon was to use actual eBay photos down in the description. After uploading photos to eBay, while on the listing creation or revision screen, the thumbnails can be copied and pasted into the description, either as a visible image on the Rich Text view (right-click-copy-image ) or as a URL in the HTML view (right-click-copy-image-location).
After the photo is copied into the description, the image code can be cleaned up or reduced on the HTML screen to this format, where there is only the "src" value that ends with the image type of "jpg" or "png" or "gif". If there is a question mark after the image type, everything from there, onward, can be clipped out of the tag that ends with the closing > bracket:
<img src="https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/FTgAAMXQhpdRnrIw/s-l96.jpg">
After reducing the code, the image size can be modified to display at an appropriate size within the description.
eBay maintains a set of different sizes for each photo, and the size is determined by the numbers at the end of the URL. In the above example, there are the letters "/s-l" (which I figure stand for side-longest), followed by the image size 96. So if we want an image that is 400 pixels on the longest side, we would replace the 96 with 400, like this:
<img src="https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/FTgAAMXQhpdRnrIw/s-l400.jpg">
Photos that use the "/s-l" suffix will support sizes: 96,200,300,400,500,600,800, and on up (I don't recommend going any larger than 800).
But eBay also uses photos with a suffix like "_0.JPG", where the replacement numbers are codes for image sizes, and the size range is much more limited. For example:
<img src="https://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/z/$(KGrHqN,!rMFG!IFN3c6BRnrIwOmcg~~60_0.JPG">
Where the _0 number is a thumbnail, and larger sizes are "_1.JPG" or "_2.JPG", like this:
<img src="https://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/z/$(KGrHqN,!rMFG!IFN3c6BRnrIwOmcg~~60_1.JPG">
The number codes for this group translate into these sizes:
eBay image suffixes
_39 = 32 pixels
_33 = 48 pixels
_14 = 64 pixels
_0 = 96 pixels
_2 = 200 pixels
_35 = 300 pixels
_1 = 400 pixels
_12 = 500 pixels
_58 = 640 pixels
_3 = 800 pixels
_59 = 960 pixels
_57 = 1600 pixels or max size
_10 = 1600 pixels or max upload size for dynamic images (internal use)When you pick a size that is larger than the image that was uploaded, eBay will not enlarge the photo, so at some point, you may see the same smaller photo returned for ever-larger size requests.
Thank you for tagging me on this @richardcm
We have actually resolved the issue for @davidhunternyc
The problem is that Imgur does not allow linking their images into eBay listings. Even though Imgur blocks them the moment they appear in an eBay page, the images may actually be visible to the seller for the first few hours or day while the photos are still cached in the seller's browser. After that, they disappear, causing confusion.
The solution we settled upon was to use actual eBay photos down in the description. After uploading photos to eBay, while on the listing creation or revision screen, the thumbnails can be copied and pasted into the description, either as a visible image on the Rich Text view (right-click-copy-image ) or as a URL in the HTML view (right-click-copy-image-location).
After the photo is copied into the description, the image code can be cleaned up or reduced on the HTML screen to this format, where there is only the "src" value that ends with the image type of "jpg" or "png" or "gif". If there is a question mark after the image type, everything from there, onward, can be clipped out of the tag that ends with the closing > bracket:
<img src="https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/FTgAAMXQhpdRnrIw/s-l96.jpg">
After reducing the code, the image size can be modified to display at an appropriate size within the description.
eBay maintains a set of different sizes for each photo, and the size is determined by the numbers at the end of the URL. In the above example, there are the letters "/s-l" (which I figure stand for side-longest), followed by the image size 96. So if we want an image that is 400 pixels on the longest side, we would replace the 96 with 400, like this:
<img src="https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/FTgAAMXQhpdRnrIw/s-l400.jpg">
Photos that use the "/s-l" suffix will support sizes: 96,200,300,400,500,600,800, and on up (I don't recommend going any larger than 800).
But eBay also uses photos with a suffix like "_0.JPG", where the replacement numbers are codes for image sizes, and the size range is much more limited. For example:
<img src="https://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/z/$(KGrHqN,!rMFG!IFN3c6BRnrIwOmcg~~60_0.JPG">
Where the _0 number is a thumbnail, and larger sizes are "_1.JPG" or "_2.JPG", like this:
<img src="https://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/z/$(KGrHqN,!rMFG!IFN3c6BRnrIwOmcg~~60_1.JPG">
The number codes for this group translate into these sizes:
eBay image suffixes
_39 = 32 pixels
_33 = 48 pixels
_14 = 64 pixels
_0 = 96 pixels
_2 = 200 pixels
_35 = 300 pixels
_1 = 400 pixels
_12 = 500 pixels
_58 = 640 pixels
_3 = 800 pixels
_59 = 960 pixels
_57 = 1600 pixels or max size
_10 = 1600 pixels or max upload size for dynamic images (internal use)When you pick a size that is larger than the image that was uploaded, eBay will not enlarge the photo, so at some point, you may see the same smaller photo returned for ever-larger size requests.
You are most welcome. 
@davidhunternyc wrote:...I have listed quite of few things in the past for sale and I have always managed to put photos in the item description. Ebay should let outside links to photos or provide a simple option to add photos to the item description.
eBay does allow outside images in the item description, as long as they are served over the "https" connection. The problem here is that Imgur, Flckr, and a few other image-sharing hosts do not allow their photos to be displayed on eBay (commercial use of their hosting services), so those providers, not eBay, will block the photos.
The challenge for sellers these days is to find an inexpensive or free image host to use for eBay descriptions. There were once many free hosts, when it was possible for those sites to link back to themselves where click-ads provided revenue. Now that linking back is no longer allowed, many of those hosts have folded or have started charging a fee.
I still maintain that setting up ones own website for about $100-$150 per year can be a cost-effective alternative to using an outside hosting service, but that only makes sense for sellers who need more photos than eBay supports or for sellers who use one of eBay's bulk upload services (like File Exchange or API).
In situations like yours, where it is simply nice to have a photo in the listing for aesthetics, or to remind a mobile buyer, who clicks over to the full description, what is being described, it makes perfect sense to use eBay's photos that are already assigned to that listing.
I suppose eBay could make it easier to use their photos in the description, but I don't think they really want photos there. I think that they ultimately want a uniform display of all content. However, their page formatting argues against this at the moment because, like many others, I have a hard time finding the actual description that is hidden somewhere within the page clutter, where everything BUT the description competes for prominence.
