A new update to eBay Inc.’s iPhone and iPad apps enables users to start a sale listing on the mobile device and finish it on a desktop computer, and vice versa.

This synching capability enables sellers to take advantage of their mobile device’s ability to shoot, edit and upload images, and then switch to the desktop to add and edit text. Drafts are saved and accessible via both mobile and desktop devices, eBay says. For instance, a consumer could take a photo of an item she wants to sell with her phone and upload it, then crop the photo and finalize the listing on her PC or on the iPhone. Only the iPhone version has the new photo-editing capability within the app, eBay says.

Sellers also get new category, pricing and shipping guidance in the app to expedite the listing process. When listing a product the user can type a word or scan a bar code, if the item has one. The app can suggest product names. From there, the user can tap links in the app to select the product’s condition, pricing and shipping information.

The apps also include new features for shoppers, such as a single-screen view to review and confirm payments and a guest checkout capability for shoppers, which enables first-time buyers to pay via credit card or PayPal, eBay’s payment arm.

“We’ve streamlined the mobile selling experience to give consumers step-by-step suggestions for pricing and shipping,” says Kevin Hurst, eBay vice president of mobile products. The impetus behind the updated apps is to reduce any points of friction in the buying and selling process, eBay says.

EBay says approximately 1.8 million new customers joined eBay through a mobile device in the first three quarters of 2012. Currently, eBay mobile adds an average of 2.4 million product listings per week, the marketplace says.