To upload a picture for use with eBay you first need to secure storage space on the Internet. eBay is not a repository for these files (you don't actually "upload" your files to eBay). You will also need the following information before you begin:

NOTE: The Host Name/IP address of the FTP server is usually NOT the same as your web address/URL. For instance our FTP server is ftp.ipswitch.com and our web address/URL is http://www.ipswitch.com

Note:  FTPplanet.com also has an on-line WS_FTP tutorial for a visual reference that shows each step of the upload process (if necessary)

Step 1

Create a profile for the FTP server that is going to hold your images.

Open WS_FTP.

Click on New.

Profile Name - This can be anything you want. This is how the profile will appear in the list of profiles when you start WS_FTP.

Host Name/IP Address - This is the name of the FTP SERVER, this is NOT your web address. It should look something like ftp.ipswitch.com or it will be a series of number separated by dots like 199.45.155.227. If you do not know this please contact the administrator of the server that is going to store your images.

Host Type - Automatic Detect will work in most instances. If it does not, please contact the server administrator to find out the type of FTP Server they are using and select it from the list.

Username and Password - In almost every instance you will NOT be able to use anonymous and you will need a username and password. The username and password to enter here is the one that access the FTP server that where you are going to store your images. This is NOT your eBay username and password, and it may or may not be the username and password you use to connect to the internet with.

Account and comments can be left blank.

Make sure that you press Apply after making these changes.

Step 2. Click OK to connect to the site (You will need a pre-existing connection to the internet).

Step 3.  Once you have connected to the site: On the left (Local System) change to the folder where you saved the picture on your computer. On the right (Remote System) change to the folder where you are going to upload the picture. This is often a folder called public_html or html or www or web. If you are unsure please contact the administrator of the server to find out where publicly accessible files need to placed.

Step 4. Once you have located the picture in the left (Local) window and have changed to the appropriate folder in the right (Remote) window, single click the picture and click on the -> button in between the two sides. You should then see the picture copied to the right (Remote) side.

Step 5. To double check to see if the file was placed in correct location. Open your web browser. In the Location (or URL or destination) field enter your URL and the name of the picture. So if we uploaded a picture called picture1.gif to our FTP server called ftp.ipswitch.com and our web site is www.ipswitch.com we would enter /picture1.gif (This is called the URL of the picture). Take note of what you entered here as you will need this entire line again.

Step 6. Go to the eBay page. Fill in all the information. NOTE the username and password here is most likely not the same one we used in step 1.   In the Picture URL enter the line from step 5. So we would enter /picture1.gif. Or we can enter the following in the Description field: <img src="/picture1.gif">

Step 7. You are done.