Using stock photos

[Mountainwind]

Not sure where to post this, so I thought this might be the place.
Can pictures from a knife companies website be used on Ebay, or does this cross the copyright line?
I noticed some sites have the name and copyright on the pictures, but can they be used as stock photos?

 

[Spark]

It's generally poor form to directly link to someone else's photos for an ebay auction.

 

[Keith Montgomery]

Ebay auctions should have photos of the actual product that is for sale. I hate when people use photos taken from a manufacturers or dealers website. Those photos don't give me any idea what condition the knife I am bidding on is in.

 

[JD Mandrell]

Technically it's most likely not OK, but I could see a knife company overlooking it if the seller is an honest business person and therefore the product is not being associated with a negative image.

If the seller is a real full blown Ebay "business" that sells many copies of the same factory new knives, that would be one thing, if it's a seller just selling 1 knife, I would want an actual pic' of it, not a stock photo.