Asking for permission

A lot of people have suggested that I don't ask for permission to feature Etsy pieces and just send them a convo afterwards saying they have been featured. While that would be the easier way to go about, I've actually had people who decline to be featured and I think it's a matter of common courtesy to ask them if they mind me using their listing photo. It's one thing if I have purchased the item and then take my own photographs. It's another to use someone else's work and not ask them. Maybe this is because I have a background in professional writing and so I take intellectual property very seriously and try to have my blog up to my normal ethical standards. Regardless, the downside of it, or upside depending on how you spin it, is that there will be times where I do shameless promotions of my work which at the end of the day can never be a bad thing for me right? =D