4 ms·

Like the OP said, because of the photos. In business a photo can often make the difference between a sale or no sale, or more important, which shop the sale go

Like the OP said, because of the photos. In business a photo can often make the difference between a sale or no sale, or more important, which shop the sale goes to. Some businesses, like fashion, are almost entirely "photo" based. Others, like food, cars, etc. rely on it extensively. Here's an example in which, for arguments sake, we state that all non-photo factors are equal and the best they can be. Your business spends $100,000 a year to have top quality photos taken for the products you sell and you find the photos lead to a five to ten fold improvement in sales vs. stock or no photos. Now say all your competitors just steal your images and use them for their sites. Your sales drop back to where they were and your advantage is gone. And now you've got to make up the $100,000 to top it all off. Having a watermark won't stop lesser competitors from sealing your image, but other "on par" competitors will likely not due to potential litigation. If you don't have a watermark everyone steals it with the line, "I didn't know it was something I couldn't use ... my web guys just found it on the internet. I'll talk with them." (or whatever) So now you have to constantly police the internet for competitors using your images, deal with take-downs, and lawyers. Hope I've cleared things up a bit.

jonknee 13y ago
... Then don't use advertising services like Google Shopping. It's a pretty easy equation--do you make enough money through Google Shopping that it makes up for any potential losses from others stealing your image (which you can of course still go after legally)?
- scrollbar 13y ago
  Don't like one of your professors this semester? It's a pretty easy equation. Drop out of college. Not happy with NSA collecting dragnet surveillance on you? It's a pretty easy equation. Renounce your citizenship. Neighbor making too much noise at night? It's a pretty easy equation. Move out (or kill them?) Why can't someone that's party to a relationship make a complaint about an aspect of that relationship?
- commentzorro 13y ago
  I think you're missing the point, which is that not allowing watermarks _is_ the problem (and what the OP was trying to say through his frustration). There should be no need to do any sort of cost benefit analysis nor to police the internet. In other words, a cry for Google to change the policy to minimize the problem rather than just abandoning Google Shopping.
- samuellevy 13y ago
  I hate this attitude that 'If you're using it, you have no right to complain'. Sure, you can always vote with your feet, but there are often times when I really like a service, but a certain feature, or a certain decision really irks me. In this case, using google shopping increases OP's revenue, which is great, but the "don't watermark your images" rule means losing out on one part of their competitive advantage (i.e. having the best product pictures which show exactly what the customer wants/needs to see). The answer isn't to stop using Google Shopping, and the answer isn't to 'put up or shut up'. I would hope that someone at Google Shopping might be able to figure out a resolution with OP that is the best for everyone involved - i.e. doesn't break google's TOS, and doesn't leave OP paying to produce high-quality photos that his competition will steal.

jonknee 13y ago

... Then don't use advertising services like Google Shopping. It's a pretty easy equation--do you make enough money through Google Shopping that it makes up for any potential losses from others stealing your image (which you can of course still go after legally)?

scrollbar 13y ago
Don't like one of your professors this semester? It's a pretty easy equation. Drop out of college. Not happy with NSA collecting dragnet surveillance on you? It's a pretty easy equation. Renounce your citizenship. Neighbor making too much noise at night? It's a pretty easy equation. Move out (or kill them?) Why can't someone that's party to a relationship make a complaint about an aspect of that relationship?
commentzorro 13y ago
I think you're missing the point, which is that not allowing watermarks _is_ the problem (and what the OP was trying to say through his frustration). There should be no need to do any sort of cost benefit analysis nor to police the internet. In other words, a cry for Google to change the policy to minimize the problem rather than just abandoning Google Shopping.
samuellevy 13y ago
I hate this attitude that 'If you're using it, you have no right to complain'. Sure, you can always vote with your feet, but there are often times when I really like a service, but a certain feature, or a certain decision really irks me. In this case, using google shopping increases OP's revenue, which is great, but the "don't watermark your images" rule means losing out on one part of their competitive advantage (i.e. having the best product pictures which show exactly what the customer wants/needs to see). The answer isn't to stop using Google Shopping, and the answer isn't to 'put up or shut up'. I would hope that someone at Google Shopping might be able to figure out a resolution with OP that is the best for everyone involved - i.e. doesn't break google's TOS, and doesn't leave OP paying to produce high-quality photos that his competition will steal.