--- title: "Stock photo (stock image): meaning and marketplace rules | Herofab" description: "A photograph licensed from a library for use by many buyers, rather than taken for one brand or one product. Its licence sets what it may be used for." url: https://herofab.app/glossary/stock-photo language: en updated: 2026-11-06 --- # Stock photo A photograph licensed from a library for use by many buyers, rather than taken for one brand or one product. Its licence sets what it may be used for. Also called **stock image** · **stock photography** · **royalty-free image** With Herofab [Product studio](https://herofab.app/tools/product-photography) ![A gold filigree scent bottle on a marble block](https://herofab.app/img/ex/perfume-marble-1100.webp) Made with Herofab · Product studio Stock photos are made to be reused: a model in a café, a marble surface, a beach at sunset, a flat lay of props. Libraries license them under terms such as royalty-free, where one fee allows broad use, or rights-managed, where the price depends on medium, region and period. Royalty-free does not mean free of conditions: many licences exclude uses such as implying that a pictured person endorses a product. In a listing a stock photo can show context, never the product, because it does not picture the item for sale. Marketplaces commonly exclude stock and catalogue photos where buyers need to see the actual item, notably for used and second-hand goods, and some allow manufacturer images only to authorised sellers. Photos copied from another website or another seller's listing are not stock photos at all, and using them without permission infringes the photographer's rights. Stock imagery fits the places a product photo does not cover: banners, social posts, editorial pages and backgrounds behind a cut-out product, where the licence allows composites. Because the same image is sold to everyone, a competitor may already use it. Keeping the licence, the image reference and the receipt with the file makes a later claim simple to answer, and the full licence text, not the library's summary, is the one to check. ## Stock photo, answered. **Can I use a stock photo as the background for my product?** Yes, where the licence allows the image to be combined with other content in commercial use. The product is cut out and placed on the stock scene, which then has to match the product photo in light direction, perspective and shadow. Herofab's Product studio accepts an uploaded background image and places the product in it. **Can I use manufacturer photos instead of taking my own?** Often, with the brand's permission, though some marketplaces allow manufacturer images only to authorised sellers. For used or second-hand goods many ask for photos of the actual item instead. Images taken from another seller's listing are not manufacturer photos, and using them without permission infringes the photographer's rights. ## What marketplaces say about it. Updated 25 September 2026 - **eBay:** A catalogue or stock photo cannot be used when the item is listed as used [Official page](https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/listings/creating-managing-listings/add-pictures?id=4148) - **Vinted:** Stock photos, photos from ads and watermarked images; pictures taken from another website; any image that does not show the actual item being sold [Official page](https://www.vinted.co.uk/catalog-rules) - **Ricardo:** Stock images, and watermarks, QR codes, logos or contact details in feed images; in every listing image, any self-promotion or advertising for others, and contact details such as a postal, web or e-mail address [Official page](https://help.ricardo.ch/hc/de/articles/115002488945-Wie-beschreibe-ich-meinen-Artikel-professionell) - **Trade Me:** Watermarks, logos, artwork, photo borders or text conveying messages such as low stock or other marketing; contact details, website addresses or other branded marketing; images that breach intellectual property rights, such as images found online [Official page](https://help.trademe.co.nz/hc/en-us/articles/360007264991-Marketplace-photo-and-video-guidelines) - **Reverb:** Only authorised dealers may use stock photos; all other listings need current, original photos of the exact item for sale [Official page](https://help.reverb.com/hc/en-us/articles/41988278270747-Listing-Standards) - **CDON:** The merchant must own the copyright to the images used or have explicit rights to use them for commercial purposes [Official page](https://support.cdon.com/hc/en-us/articles/37519125790612-Product-Image-Guidelines) Related [Product studio](https://herofab.app/tools/product-photography) · [Canvas](https://herofab.app/tools/ai-image-generator) · [Lifestyle image](https://herofab.app/glossary/lifestyle-image) · [Main image](https://herofab.app/glossary/main-image) · [Watermark](https://herofab.app/glossary/watermark) · [All terms](https://herofab.app/glossary/) Free tools [Product photo checker](https://herofab.app/tools/product-photo-checker) [Marketplace image resizer](https://herofab.app/tools/marketplace-image-resizer) [Image compressor](https://herofab.app/tools/image-compressor) [AI image label checker](https://herofab.app/tools/ai-image-checker)