Online sellers can use dictation to draft product descriptions, supplier emails and customer replies faster than typing, then edit the result to fit each marketplace. Speak the description the way you would explain the product to a buyer, then shorten it into the title format your marketplace allows: 80 characters on eBay, and 200 characters for most Amazon categories. Check every price, size, quantity and model number by eye before you publish, because a misheard number is the costliest dictation mistake a seller can make. Start with the free Dictation built into your Mac.
Publisher note: SuprFlow publishes this guide and is one of the products discussed. Competitor details come from each company's own pages, checked on 3 October 2026. Prices and features change; confirm before you buy.
What should you dictate, and what should you type?
| Task | Dictate? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Product descriptions and feature paragraphs | Yes | Talking through a product produces natural, specific wording |
| Listing titles | Draft by voice, then edit by hand | Titles have strict length and character rules |
| Supplier emails and reorder requests | Yes, then check quantities and SKUs | Numbers and codes need a second look |
| Customer support replies | Yes, for the explanation | Order numbers and refunds should be checked or pasted |
| Prices, SKUs, tracking numbers, barcodes | Type or paste | One wrong digit sends the wrong item or the wrong price |
| Tags and item specifics | Usually faster to type or pick | They are short fields with set formats |
What length and format rules apply on each marketplace?
These are format rules from each marketplace's own pages, as of 3 October 2026. Each marketplace also has rules on what you may claim about a product; read those in its seller help before you list.
| Marketplace | Rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| eBay | Titles "no more than 80 characters", with "correct spelling". eBay suggests brand, model or type, colour, style and model number, and says "Avoid using special characters or irrelevant words." | eBay Best Match help, eBay Seller Center |
| Amazon | "For most product categories, titles may not exceed 200 characters, including spaces." The characters ! $ ? _ { } ^ ¬ ¦ are not allowed unless part of the brand name, and a title "may not contain the same word more than twice". | Amazon Seller Central announcement, which links Amazon's Product title requirements page |
| Shopify | In a product's search engine listing, "You can enter up to 70 characters in the title", keeping it to 60 to avoid shortened titles, and 160 characters is recommended for the meta description. Shopify suggests "natural, readable phrases, rather than lists of keywords". | Shopify Help Center — Adding keywords for SEO |
| Etsy | Etsy's help pages refused automated access when we checked, so we make no claim about its limits. Check its How to Create a Listing page. | — |
Two of these matter more for dictation than for typing. Amazon's banned characters include "$", "!" and "?", and dictation apps often write "$25" when you say "twenty-five dollars", or add an exclamation mark when you sound enthusiastic. And a spoken title is almost always too long, so dictate the description first and build the title from it.
How do you dictate a listing without mistakes?
- Open the listing editor in Seller Central, Shopify admin, eBay or Etsy in your browser, and click into the description field. Dictation pastes or types wherever your cursor is.
- Describe the product out loud as if a buyer asked you about it: what it is, what it is made of, size, who it suits, care instructions.
- Say the numbers clearly and slowly: "forty-five centimetres", not "forty-five cm". Read them back.
- Write the title last. Pick the facts buyers search for from what you just said, and type or edit the title by hand against the marketplace's limit.
- Compare every number against your product sheet: price, dimensions, weight, quantity, pack size and model number.
- Preview the listing before publishing, on a phone-sized screen if you can.
Mac dictation commands for punctuation covers saying "comma" and "new line", and dictating in browser forms covers fields that behave differently.
How do you handle supplier emails and customer replies?
Supplier emails are a good fit for dictation: reorders, delivery questions, sample requests. Dictate the message, then check every quantity, SKU, colour code and date against your order sheet before sending.
Customer replies work well when you dictate the explanation and paste the facts. Say the apology, the reason and the next step in your own words; paste the order number, tracking number and refund amount from your order screen rather than speaking them. Marketplaces also have rules on what you may say to buyers in messages, so keep replies to the order in question.
Customer names, addresses and order details are personal data. Know where your dictation app sends audio and text before you speak them. Where does my dictation go? explains the paths to check, and dictation for customer support teams covers help-desk replies.
How do you test dictation on your own products in 15 minutes?
We have not run a controlled benchmark of any dictation app, so test with your own voice and a made-up product.
- Turn on Dictation: Apple's Mac User Guide says to choose Apple menu → System Settings, click Keyboard, then turn on Dictation. If your screen differs, look for Dictation in Keyboard settings.
- In a blank document, dictate: "Linen tea towel, set of 3, 45 by 70 centimetres, in sage, not sand. Price 24 pounds 50. Reorder 120 units of SKU TT-4590 from Mrs. Okonkwo-Hale."
- Check the pack size, both measurements, the colour correction, the price, the quantity and the SKU.
- Count what you had to fix, then compare with how long typing the same text takes you.
- If a paid app interests you, repeat the same script in it.
When is a dedicated dictation app worth it?
Apple Dictation is free and may be all you need. A dedicated push-to-talk app can help if you dictate many listings a day and want a personal dictionary for brand names and product terms, or a voice snippet for text you repeat, such as care instructions or a returns line.
SuprFlow is one such app for an Apple Silicon Mac with macOS 14 or later. You hold Fn, speak, release, and the text is pasted at your cursor, including into browser fields. Speech recognition runs on the Mac with an on-device model, and Default formatting is local cleanup of punctuation, capitalization and numbers, so check how it writes prices before pasting into an Amazon title. Optional cloud formatting sends transcript text, not audio, to the provider you pick. It costs $125 once for up to five Macs you own, with a 7-day refund on a first purchase and no free trial. It is Mac only, with no iPhone app, so it does not help if you list from your phone, and it has no team admin console for a staff of listers. Free vs paid Mac dictation helps you decide.
Questions people ask
Can I use voice to text to write Amazon listings?
Yes, for drafting. Dictate the description and bullet points, then edit the title by hand: Amazon's announced limit is 200 characters for most categories, and characters such as "$" and "!" are not allowed.
What is the eBay title character limit?
eBay's help says titles should be "no more than 80 characters". Dictate a fuller description, then pick the brand, model, colour and size for the title.
Should I dictate prices and SKUs?
It is safer to type or paste them. If you do dictate them, read every digit back against your product sheet before publishing.
Is it safe to dictate customer names and addresses?
Only if you know where your dictation app sends audio and text. Built-in options and apps that recognise speech on the Mac keep the audio local; any cloud step sends data to a provider.
Related guides
- Dictation for small business owners
- Dictation for customer support teams
- Voice to text for emails on Mac
- Voice snippets on Mac
- Improve Mac dictation accuracy
- Where does my dictation go?
Sources
- eBay Help — Optimizing your listings for Best Match
- eBay Seller Center — Create great listings
- Amazon Seller Central — New product title requirements effective as of January 21, 2025 (News_Amazon announcement)
- Shopify Help Center — Adding keywords for SEO
- Etsy Help — How to Create a Listing
- Apple Support — Dictate messages and documents on Mac
- SuprFlow — Terms of Service