# How do I host my own photos for eBay? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 10, 2011, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-host-my-own-photos-for-ebay/592216 "2011-08-10T17:09:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-host-my-own-photos-for-ebay/592216/1 "2011-08-10T17:09:49Z")
I have a number of items to sell on eBay. I want to include several photos of each item. I want larger photos than eBay’s image gallery shows. I’ve been using Photobucket until now, but I’m getting very tired of it. The length of time it takes to create galleries and upload images just gets more and more frustrating every time I do it. How do I host my own photos? Keep them on my own computer, but make them available to the internet? Or failing that, can you suggest a better hosting option than Photobucket? Something that would allow fast uploads, eg by FTP. And which will create folders/ galleries on the host based on the folder structure I upload. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-host-my-own-photos-for-ebay/592216/2 "2011-08-10T17:13:55Z")
You need “webspace” i.e. - space on the Internet that can serve files. Most ISPs offer some limited amount for free with your account. You then FTP the files to your directory and link them to your auction. You could even use Flikr, and embed the link for the actual photo. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-host-my-own-photos-for-ebay/592216/3 "2011-08-10T17:18:18Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > I have a number of items to sell on eBay. I want to include several photos of each item. I want larger photos than eBay’s image gallery shows. I think – but I haven’t used eBay recently – that they have some extra-cost options that allow things like larger pix. If you’re unfamiliar with the options already suggested in this thread, that might be the easiest way. ---
**Author:** ![fructose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@fructose1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fructose1)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-host-my-own-photos-for-ebay/592216/4 "2011-08-10T17:24:42Z")
We use Photobucket. You can include one pic for free on eBay, but to get more in the description you can add them by editing it in html mode. Photobucket lets you link directly so you can include them in your eBay descriptions for free. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-host-my-own-photos-for-ebay/592216/5 "2011-08-11T10:24:01Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > You need “webspace” i.e. - space on the Internet that can serve files. Most ISPs offer some limited amount for free with your account. You then FTP the files to your directory and link them to your auction. You could even use Flikr, and embed the link for the actual photo. My ISP provides a token amount of webspace, about 50 MB I think. That’s not enough. I’ve not used Flickr before, but at a look it seems even worse than Photobucket. > [@Musicat](#): > > I think – but I haven’t used eBay recently – that they have some extra-cost options that allow things like larger pix. If you’re unfamiliar with the options already suggested in this thread, that might be the easiest way. I really want the photos in the description, > [@fructose1](#): > > We use Photobucket. You can include one pic for free on eBay, but to get more in the description you can add them by editing it in html mode. Photobucket lets you link directly so you can include them in your eBay descriptions for free. As I said in the OP, I also use photobucket. But I’m getting fed up with it. Can anyone tell me how to host my own web space on my own computer? ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-host-my-own-photos-for-ebay/592216/6 "2011-08-11T11:11:32Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > I really want the photos in the description, And that’s what eBay offers, IIRC. > [@](#): > > Can anyone tell me how to host my own web space on my own computer? All you need is an FTP program (I like Filezilla a lot, and it’s free) to transfer files and handle simple file/folder management at the host site. Basically, an FTP program does the same thing that you do on your computer when you copy or move files from one drive or directory to another. If all you are doing is hosting files to link to from somewhere else, you don’t need to create web pages with an HTML editor, although that can be helpful. Your ISP can tell you where to put the files and the root URL of your personal space. Plug that into Filezilla and you’re good to go. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-host-my-own-photos-for-ebay/592216/7 "2011-08-11T12:00:33Z")
> [@](#): > > All you need is an FTP program (I like Filezilla a lot, and it’s free) to transfer files and handle simple file/folder management at the host site. Yes, I know that. I said so in the OP. Do you know of a suitable host? That’s the real problem. Or, can you tell me how to act as my own host, w3hich would be even better? > [@](#): > > Your ISP can tell you where to put the files and the root URL of your personal space. Plug that into Filezilla and you’re good to go. As I said, My ISP offers a only a tiny amount of space that is far too small. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-host-my-own-photos-for-ebay/592216/8 "2011-08-11T12:17:50Z")
You said your ISP offers 50MB. That’s incredibly small by today’s standards, but is enough to host hundreds of web-quality images. Are you sure that’s the max? You might check out GoDaddy as a web site host. They offer very large spaces for very little cost and provide many tools. Just watch out for their many upgrade offers; none are expensive, but they add up, and it’s doubtful if you need them for your minimal task. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-host-my-own-photos-for-ebay/592216/9 "2011-08-11T12:27:15Z")
More thoughts… You probably don’t want to host a web server yourself for this purpose. There are much simpler solutions. 50MB is enough for 100 fairly large, high-quality images (at least by web standards). If your purpose is to illustrate stuff you are selling on eBay, you probably won’t have images posted very long, and can recycle the space. Even if your images come from a 6MPixel cam, they can be cut down in a photo editor – and they should be, to save loading time – to 500K or less with very little data loss. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-host-my-own-photos-for-ebay/592216/10 "2011-08-11T14:00:06Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > More thoughts… > > You probably don’t want to host a web server yourself for this purpose. There are much simpler solutions. Nevertheless, I’d like some information on how to do it. > [@](#): > > 50MB is enough for 100 fairly large, high-quality images (at least by web standards). Not enough for my purposes. I’ve got over 30 items which I’m planning to list in the next few days, with an average of 5 or 6 images per item. > [@](#): > > If your purpose is to illustrate stuff you are selling on eBay, you probably won’t have images posted very long, and can recycle the space. I want to leave the images in place, because I quite often sell an item identical to one I’ve sold before, I can use the same listing and the same images. > [@](#): > > Even if your images come from a 6MPixel cam, they can be cut down in a photo editor – and they should be, to save loading time – to 500K or less with very little data loss. I already do that. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-host-my-own-photos-for-ebay/592216/11 "2011-08-11T18:29:54Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > You could even use Flikr, and embed the link for the actual photo. Okay, I’ve registereed with Flikr, I’ve uploaded some sample photos. How do I link to them? How do I find an URL for a photo I’ve uploaded? ---
**Author:** ![Santos\_L\_Halper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/santos_l_halper/32/1_2.png) [@Santos\_L\_Halper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santos_L_Halper)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-host-my-own-photos-for-ebay/592216/12 "2011-08-11T18:54:02Z")
I’ve been using [axishost.com](http://axishost.com) for several years and been quite happy with it. Their hosting plans start at $5.99 per month for .75 GB of storage. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-host-my-own-photos-for-ebay/592216/13 "2011-08-11T18:59:43Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Okay, I’ve registereed with Flikr, I’ve uploaded some sample photos. > How do I link to them? How do I find an URL for a photo I’ve uploaded? Go to the “all sizes” page, view the size you are interested in, and then copy the URL in your address bar - that’s a direct link to that particular photo. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-host-my-own-photos-for-ebay/592216/14 "2011-08-12T13:07:13Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Nevertheless, I’d like some information on how to do it. Check with your ISP first. Most providers do not allow subscribers to operate a web server on their user account. They probably have a separate service you can buy to operate a web server. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-host-my-own-photos-for-ebay/592216/15 "2011-08-12T13:28:40Z")
For instance, in the [Comcast end user licensing agreement](http://www.comcast.com/Corporate/Customers/Policies/HighSpeedInternetAUP.html), operating a web server is prohibited: > [@](#): > > **What uses and activities does Comcast prohibit?** > … > > use or run dedicated, stand-alone equipment or servers from the Premises that provide network content or any other services to anyone outside of your Premises local area network (“Premises LAN”), also commonly referred to as public services or servers. Examples of prohibited equipment and servers include, but are not limited to, e-mail, Web hosting, file sharing, and proxy services and servers;