When photographing even the seemingly most simple things for the web, we need pure white backgrounds 98% of the time. By pure white I mean 255% white. How it is accomplished is within Photoshop a pen tool is used to draw around the item, and selecting the path, and filling the outside area with nothing or and white. This process is sometimes difficult depending on the item's shape, texture and degrees of opacity.
It's just one of the requirements of e-commerce photography. The other is good quality images. Several reasons for this: To stand out, for zooming, overall appearance and what the image quality says about your commitment to your product line. With so many e-commerce sites out there, you really need to stand out from the crowd and use professional photographs to highlight your company from others. A continuity of images, shot/photographed with the same quality as the one next to it.