Should You Use Stock Photos for Your Product on Amazon?
Should you use stock photos for your product on Amazon?
If you’re selling your product on Amazon, you might be thinking about whether or not you should use stock photos for your product if you don’t have professional photography done.
Sorry to break it to you, but our honest answer is no when it comes to using stock photos for your product on Amazon. There are many reasons for this, but the main being that you will be misleading your potential customers on what your product actually looks like. A stock image, although pretty generic, will be very different from your product and not represent it correctly.
Here are several other reasons why we don’t think it’s a good idea to use stock photos for your product on Amazon:
Stock photos may not meet Amazon’s requirements. Amazon has certain requirements for images associated with products. If you are posting a white background photo of your product, the background needs to be pure white to blend in with the rest of the screen. The images must also be of the product being sold. A generic stock photo does not meet these requirements.
You are misleading your consumers by posting a generic stock photo. When selling products online, you need to be 100% transparent about what the product looks like and what your consumers can expect. The last thing you want to do is provide them with a generic stock image that sets a certain expectation with them, and then surprise them with your product that is completely different. This will upset consumers and lead to bad reviews, which is not what you want (we think!)
Professional images are always better than stock images. While stock images may give your consumer an idea of what your product is, stock images will never compare to customized product photos of your product. When you hire a product photographer, they will work with you to capture images that are unique to your brand and help your product stand out from its competition. It’s 100% worth the investment to hire a product photographer to take photos for Amazon because it can make all the difference when a consumer is deciding between your product and another company’s.
At the end of the day, it is up to you as to whether or not you decide to use stock photos for your product on Amazon. We understand that the biggest factor is budget constraints, and this is a valid concern. In the long run, the big investment made upfront to purchase professional photography of your products will pay off in growing your business. We promise!