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No one is forcing you to pay for ads on Google Shopping so you're free to do whatever, but why would you invest a ton of money into quality photography and then

by jonknee 13y ago

No one is forcing you to pay for ads on Google Shopping so you're free to do whatever, but why would you invest a ton of money into quality photography and then cover it up with a watermark? If you're selling exactly what everyone else is selling the competitive point is customer service and price--I'd worry much more about that than someone copying your image. Such stores generally use the manufacturer's images anyways.

maratd 13y ago
> No one is forcing you to pay for ads on Google Shopping so you're free to do whatever Did I say otherwise? > why would you invest a ton of money into quality photography and then cover it up with a watermark? To make sure that this quality photography stays as a competitive asset or if used by others, turns into advertising for my store. > If you're selling exactly what everyone else is selling the competitive point is customer service and price When you're selling something online, photography is most certainly a differentiator. It is also a substantial barrier to entry for the competition, because quality photography is difficult and expensive. > Such stores generally use the manufacturer's images anyways. Manufacturer images, when they exist, are almost always terrible. Having good photos to clearly show off the product and everything included is the difference between a buyer clicking BUY and having them wander off.
- Spoom 13y ago
  Use a digital watermark. You lose the advertising edge if competitors use it but you can prove that the copyright belongs to you and force them to take it down.
  - mark-r 13y ago
    Getting them to take it down is more trouble than it's worth, even if it works. You'll be playing whack-a-mole all day long. Ideally you want them not to use it in the first place, and a visible watermark accomplishes that.
  - simoncion 13y ago
    > Use a digital watermark. As opposed to those analog watermarks that we've all be hand-applying to our JPEGs? :)
    - Spoom 13y ago
      Digital watermarks are typically invisible. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_watermarking http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_watermarking
      - simoncion 13y ago
        The results from this search are at odds with your assertion: http://images.google.com/search?tbm=isch&q=watermarked+images http://images.google.com/search?tbm=isch&q=watermarked+image... Regardless, you seem to have missed the gentle humour in my original post.
makomk 13y ago
No-one's forcing them to pay for ads on Google Shopping, it's just the only way to show up above the fold on Google searches for the products you're selling, which happens to be one of the main ways potential customers will look for sellers. (Google's the best-known search engine and set as the default almost everywhere, in large part based on their reputation from back when they actually tried to provide the best results rather than the most profitable ones.)
dmethvin 13y ago
> why would you invest a ton of money into quality photography and then cover it up with a watermark I can't speak to Google Shopping, but Amazon requires a high-quality image before you can list a product. So if you spend money on the shot you don't want others stealing it. EXIF data and other non-watermark solutions are easily removed.
TrevorJ 13y ago
This is pie in the sky thinking. The realities of the marketplace right now just don't match up with what you are saying. Often, your product image is one of the key factors in your conversion rate when your products are in third party marketplaces, and it's also not tenable to simply ignore a huge sales channel such as Google shopping.

by jonknee 13y ago

maratd 13y ago

> No one is forcing you to pay for ads on Google Shopping so you're free to do whatever Did I say otherwise? > why would you invest a ton of money into quality photography and then cover it up with a watermark? To make sure that this quality photography stays as a competitive asset or if used by others, turns into advertising for my store. > If you're selling exactly what everyone else is selling the competitive point is customer service and price When you're selling something online, photography is most certainly a differentiator. It is also a substantial barrier to entry for the competition, because quality photography is difficult and expensive. > Such stores generally use the manufacturer's images anyways. Manufacturer images, when they exist, are almost always terrible. Having good photos to clearly show off the product and everything included is the difference between a buyer clicking BUY and having them wander off.

Spoom 13y ago
Use a digital watermark. You lose the advertising edge if competitors use it but you can prove that the copyright belongs to you and force them to take it down.
- mark-r 13y ago
  Getting them to take it down is more trouble than it's worth, even if it works. You'll be playing whack-a-mole all day long. Ideally you want them not to use it in the first place, and a visible watermark accomplishes that.
- simoncion 13y ago
  > Use a digital watermark. As opposed to those analog watermarks that we've all be hand-applying to our JPEGs? :)
  - Spoom 13y ago
    Digital watermarks are typically invisible. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_watermarking http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_watermarking
    - simoncion 13y ago
      The results from this search are at odds with your assertion: http://images.google.com/search?tbm=isch&q=watermarked+images http://images.google.com/search?tbm=isch&q=watermarked+image... Regardless, you seem to have missed the gentle humour in my original post.

makomk 13y ago

No-one's forcing them to pay for ads on Google Shopping, it's just the only way to show up above the fold on Google searches for the products you're selling, which happens to be one of the main ways potential customers will look for sellers. (Google's the best-known search engine and set as the default almost everywhere, in large part based on their reputation from back when they actually tried to provide the best results rather than the most profitable ones.)

dmethvin 13y ago

> why would you invest a ton of money into quality photography and then cover it up with a watermark I can't speak to Google Shopping, but Amazon requires a high-quality image before you can list a product. So if you spend money on the shot you don't want others stealing it. EXIF data and other non-watermark solutions are easily removed.

TrevorJ 13y ago

This is pie in the sky thinking. The realities of the marketplace right now just don't match up with what you are saying. Often, your product image is one of the key factors in your conversion rate when your products are in third party marketplaces, and it's also not tenable to simply ignore a huge sales channel such as Google shopping.