Astromart Etiquette

Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am an occasional user of the Astromart Service and I have recently developed a couple of questions regarding the proper use of this medium.

Is it OK to use a photo of an item from anothers current sale in my own ad? If so should I ask the owners' permission first? Should I note that the item is not the actual item for sale in the ad but only a similar item?

I ask these questions because I am a victim of this transgression and before I confront the offender with my concerns I thought I might pose them for you.

I think in the future I might annotate the photos with my own watermark of some type.

Thanks for your Responses,

Tim Rutherford

Hi, Tim.

The experience I have had along those lines concerned an ad I had placed and subsequently marked "sold". A fellow contacted me and asked if he could use my photo in his current ad if he disclosd that it was a similar item. I told him that was fine, of course. Stealing images without attribution is a fraud on the buyer - it is implied that the photo is of the actual item.

Looking down the thread I notice the inevitable cries of "copyright violation". Sure - now quantify your damages and let's sue. What do you think... can we convince a court that you have been harmed to the extent of $50? I doubt it. Better give me a couple of grand to start, though.

John

You should get a low cost digital camera (they are very cheap now-adays and you can probably get a good deal on one from Herb) and post a photo of the exact equipment that you are selling. That way, there is no chance of misleading a potential buyer.

Tim,
Interesting question. To me the answer is, well, yes and no.

When I did not have a digital camera I saved photos of each item I bought from the original ad and used them again if I resold the item at a later date. It was though always a photo of the actual item I had so was an honest representation of the item for sale. From a photographers point of view though every photograph carries a copyright of sorts whether expressed or not, and really one should ask first before using.

I would not suggest taking a photo of an item seller "A" currently has listed and using it for your own ad though simply because it is the same kind or brand of item.

What is fairly common on that auction site we are not allowed to mention is that someone will use a catalog photo from the manufacturers website. To me that's a bit more accepatbale but in all honesty reusing anyones photo without their permission is a no-no.

Best,
Tony Miller