Listing Agent- it's not that I'm being difficult it's that you're rude

Dear Listing Agent,

1.     I believe you that it is common amongst Listing Agents to "give" each other photos of homes for listing purposes as a matter of courtesy and convenience.

2.   I completely understand that you are now listing for sale a home that we have been managing so that we now share a common client.

3.    No, I am not trying to make the sales transaction more difficult.  

4.    I believe that you are sincere in your view that this is "no big deal."

5. Yet, I won't give you our listing photos. It's not that I'm being difficult, it's that your question is rude.

At Delgado Property Management we have invested several thousands of dollars in camera gear and countless hours learning both the Art (subject, composition, perspective, color, lighting) and the Science (aperture, shutter speed, ISO, RAW vs jpg, and again- lighting) of photography.  

Our photos are much higher quality than the typical overly-dark, out-of-focus, crooked photo that listing agents freely share back and forth. You're rudeness stems from the obvious value you place on our photos as evidenced by your repeated "requests" for them yet you expect them to be given to you for free.  Having the client call us to parrot your "request" didn't help. The photos were obviously not free to create so it is presumptuous of you to expect them to be given to you free.  

Also, I don't need the "advertising" you suggest that I will get while you use our photos to enhance your own profitability.  Given that so many buyers are investors there is a high likelihood that the buyer will also become my new client and I will be using those exact same photos again just as quickly as you can sell the property. 

The high quality of our listing photos sets us apart from all others in our area and is a huge component of our company marketing and branding.  Our photos ARE our advertising and even of our public identity and we are doing very well without your "help" thank you very much.  Sharing them with you would not only be giving away our hard work for free, but it would undermine our branding that we have worked so hard to establish.

Yes, I am the Broker.  But I am also a Photographer. A camera phone and an app don't make you a photographer any more than sending a text makes you an author.  The photos that I see listing agents share were not taken by Photographers.  Would you ask an author to give you his work for free?  

I'm not being difficult.  You are being rude.