What would you do?

[ratspike]

As an advertiser I probably shouldn't weigh in, but I think it's okay for the professional photographer part of me to throw out his $0.02 USD.

No business should ever be using photos that they don't own or have permission to use to advertise or promote their product or services. The photos should also accurately represent that product or service. Fred's Kilt Barn makes kilts but they're really not very good, so Fred "borrows" photos from Rob Roy's House of Awesome Kilts. Fred's excuse is that since the photos are of kilts, and he makes kilts, it's okay because they're the same thing. This happens in the photography world a lot and it's totally sleazy. Advertising on a web forum is a privilege, and if you're sleazy and misrepresent your products then you should lose that privilege.

I wouldn't buy from a business I knew used stolen photos to represent their products because I know I can't trust them. If those aren't their photos, how do I know what I'll actually be receiving? How do I know I'll receive anything at all? They've shown that they don't have a problem with stealing so how can I trust them to deal honestly with me as a customer?