Every marketplace learned the same lesson: listings convert better when the product floats on clean white. The rules differ in the details, but the workflow to get there is identical — and none of it requires uploading your photos to a server.

What each platform actually checks

• Amazon — the strictest. MAIN images must sit on pure white (RGB 255,255,255), show only what’s for sale (no props, text, logos or watermarks), fill roughly 85% of the frame, and be at least 1000 px on the longest side for zoom (1600+ is the comfortable target). Rejection is real: category review bots flag grey-ish whites and visible textures.
• eBay — requires a minimum 500 px longest side (1600 recommended), forbids borders, text and artwork on photos, and recommends a clean white or light-grey background rather than mandating it. Watermarks are banned outright.
• Etsy — no enforced background color; the shop aesthetic is the rule. Consistent light neutrals photograph best and make the grid view look intentional. Minimum 2000 px shortest side is the upload guidance for zoom.
• Shopify / your own store — your rules. Consistency sells: pick one background treatment and apply it to every SKU.

The workflow that holds up

1. Shoot for removal, not perfection. Even light, product a few feet off the backdrop, no color casts from nearby walls. A mid-grey or light seamless beats white for anything pale — you need contrast somewhere to cut against.
2. Remove the connected background. Drop the photo in the remover: the auto-pick handles most studio shots immediately. If it eats product edges, lower Tolerance; if JPEG noise leaves speckles, raise it. Click a stubborn remnant to pick its color directly.
3. Feather 1–3 px. Enough to kill the hard pixel staircase without a visible blur halo.
4. Fill white, don’t leave it transparent. Set New background → White for marketplaces — the flattened PNG is exactly RGB 255 everywhere the product isn’t. For your own store, Custom color gives a consistent brand tone.
5. Check edges at 200%. Zoom in on handles, gaps between fingers/legs, and the top edge where hair or wires live. Interior holes (the space inside a mug handle) need a second click inside the hole — the flood fill only removes what’s connected to the outside unless you switch to Same color everywhere.
6. Then size it. Marketplace minimums are easier after the cut: our sister tool ImgResize resizes on-device, and a 1600–2500 px longest side covers Amazon zoom and Etsy requirements.

The two failure modes worth knowing

• White product on white: even perfect shots merge at the edges. Grey seamless on the next reshoot beats any slider — but connected removal plus a low tolerance rescues most existing files.
• The grey-halo problem: anti-aliased edges blend product and backdrop into a 1–2 px grey fringe. Feather 2–3 px melts it into the new white; on transparent output it stays a semi-transparent soft edge, which is usually invisible on light pages but can ghost on dark ones — check on a dark background if the PNG is destined for a theme that isn’t white.

For anything busier than a studio backdrop — a product photographed on the workbench — that’s what the AI mode is for. More on picking the right technique in the techniques guide.

Frequently asked questions

Does Amazon really require RGB 255,255,255 pure white?

For the MAIN image, yes — the style guide calls for a pure white background (RGB 255,255,255), and automated checks plus manual review do reject listings over it. Secondary images have freedom: lifestyle scenes, infographics, scale shots. The safest habit is one pure-white main image followed by freer supporting shots.

My product is white — how do I cut it off a white background?

Don't shoot it on white in the first place: a mid-grey seamless gives you contrast both directions. If the photo already exists, use connected-region removal (flood fill) rather than global color erase so the product's interior whites survive, then feather lightly and check edges at 200% zoom. Very white-on-white product photography is the hardest removal case there is.

Should I keep or remove the product's shadow?

A soft contact shadow makes the product look grounded; a hard-edged shadow screams amateur. Marketplace main images on pure white usually look cleanest with either a faint natural shadow kept (lower tolerance, keep the soft grey) or none at all. If you keep one, make sure it's soft and doesn't touch the image edge.

PNG or JPEG for marketplace uploads?

Upload whatever the platform asks for — Amazon accepts JPEG, TIFF, PNG and others, with JPEG being the practical choice. The transparent PNG you download here is a working file: flatten it onto white (or your brand color) before uploading. A JPEG has no alpha channel, so transparency inside it isn't possible anyway.