# eBay auctions, promotions, business policies and store categories

> Treecat supports eBay auctions, promotions, handling fees, business policies and custom store categories. How to use each, and eBay's photo size rule.

Source: https://wiki.treecat.io/ebay-listing-features · Section: Listing and crosslisting · Updated: 2026-10-21

Yes. On the eBay form you can switch a listing to an auction, set promotions and handling fees, choose your eBay business policies and pick a custom store category, and you can bulk edit most of these across many listings. Treecat reads your business policies and store categories from your eBay account.

## Auctions

Change the listing type from fixed price to auction on the eBay form, then set the start bid, duration, reserve and Buy It Now price.

While an auction is live, Treecat adjusts the quantity on your other marketplaces. If the auction ends without a winner, Treecat puts the item back up.

## Promotions and handling fees

View and edit them on the item's eBay form. To change many listings at once, use **⋯ → Bulk Edit** (eBay), or **⋯ → Apply eBay promotions** to add the selected items to eBay promotions. See [Edit many listings at once](https://wiki.treecat.io/bulk-edit).

## Business policies

Treecat does not require eBay business policies, but it supports them. Your payment, shipping and return policies are read from your eBay account and can be chosen on each item's eBay tab.

- If you don't use business policies yet, opt in on eBay first (eBay account settings, business policies).
- If you create or change a policy on eBay, refresh it in Treecat: on **Settings → Marketplaces**, click the gear next to the eBay account and click **Refresh policies**.

When eBay no longer recognizes a policy an item uses, listing or updating fails with a policy error; refresh policies and choose a current one. See [Error messages explained](https://wiki.treecat.io/troubleshooting-error-messages#policy).

## Custom store categories

Your eBay store categories are imported when you connect. If you create a new category later, go to **Settings → Marketplaces**, click the gear next to your eBay account and click **Refresh policies**, which also re-reads store categories.

## Photos must be at least 500 pixels

eBay needs every photo to be at least 500 pixels on its longest side. Treecat checks this before listing, relisting or updating, and stops with an error if a photo is too small. Replace the photo with a larger one and try again.

## Ended listings can't be updated

An eBay listing that has ended cannot be updated. Use **List** to bring it back, not **Update**.

## Should I use eBay's "End item / Sell similar"?

No. Ending and re-listing items directly on eBay is the most common cause of duplicates in Treecat: Treecat imports the new listing as a brand-new item and keeps the old one. Use Treecat's **Relist** instead, which delists and relists the item the same way while keeping track of the new listing id and your crosslinks. See [Refresh your oldest listings](https://wiki.treecat.io/refresh-old-listings).

## Does eBay need the Treecat agent?

No. Treecat reaches eBay through its official API, so eBay keeps working while your computer is off.