diff --git a/frontend/src/intake/Submit.tsx b/frontend/src/intake/Submit.tsx
index 2151898..c1332c7 100644
--- a/frontend/src/intake/Submit.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/intake/Submit.tsx
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import Input from 'antd/es/input';
 import Alert from 'antd/es/alert';
 import Spin from 'antd/es/spin';
 import Space from 'antd/es/space';
+import Checkbox from 'antd/es/checkbox';
 import { UploadOutlined } from '@ant-design/icons';
 import type { UploadFile } from 'antd/es/upload/interface';
 import { fetchIntakeLink, submitItem } from './intakeApi';
@@ -33,6 +34,10 @@ export default function Submit() {
   const [checking, setChecking] = useState(true);
   const [files, setFiles] = useState<UploadFile[]>([]);
   const [note, setNote] = useState('');
+  // Ticked by default. Most items look better cut out, and a submitter who
+  // wants their kitchen table in the photograph can say so — the reverse
+  // default would mean almost nobody got it.
+  const [removeBackground, setRemoveBackground] = useState(true);
   const [sending, setSending] = useState(false);
   const [sent, setSent] = useState(false);
   const [error, setError] = useState<string | null>(null);
@@ -62,7 +67,8 @@ export default function Submit() {
       // rather than map-then-filter because a type predicate cannot narrow to
       // File here — antd's RcFile extends it, so the predicate would widen.
       files.flatMap((f) => (f.originFileObj ? [f.originFileObj] : [])),
-      note
+      note,
+      removeBackground
     );
 
     setSending(false);
@@ -129,6 +135,7 @@ export default function Submit() {
             onClick={() => {
               setFiles([]);
               setNote('');
+              setRemoveBackground(true);
               setSent(false);
             }}
           >
@@ -171,6 +178,17 @@ export default function Submit() {
             placeholder="What is it, what is it made of, how big, what condition, where did it come from? Anything you know helps — a photo cannot show any of it."
           />
 
+          {state.kind === 'usable' && state.link.backgroundRemoval && (
+            <Checkbox
+              checked={removeBackground}
+              onChange={(e) => setRemoveBackground(e.target.checked)}
+            >
+              {/* Described by what it does, not by how. Nobody sending in a
+                  vase knows what a cut-out or an alpha channel is. */}
+              Remove the background from my photos
+            </Checkbox>
+          )}
+
           {error && <Alert type="error" message={error} showIcon />}
 
           <Button type="primary" onClick={send} loading={sending} disabled={files.length === 0}>
diff --git a/frontend/src/intake/intakeApi.ts b/frontend/src/intake/intakeApi.ts
index a743183..5a16d94 100644
--- a/frontend/src/intake/intakeApi.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/intake/intakeApi.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,11 @@
 export interface IntakeLink {
   label: string;
+  /**
+   * Whether there is a background-removal sidecar behind the checkbox. False
+   * hides it entirely rather than showing a control that would do nothing —
+   * an unconfigured environment is a working one, not a broken one.
+   */
+  backgroundRemoval: boolean;
 }
 
 export type LinkState =
@@ -36,13 +42,18 @@ export type SubmitResult = { ok: true } | { ok: false; error: string };
 export async function submitItem(
   token: string,
   files: File[],
-  note: string
+  note: string,
+  removeBackground: boolean
 ): Promise<SubmitResult> {
   const body = new FormData();
   // The field name the server's multer instance listens on. Sending several
   // under one name is what makes req.files an array.
   for (const file of files) body.append('images', file);
   body.append('note', note);
+  // A string, because that is all a multipart field can be. The server treats
+  // only the exact 'false' as an opt-out, so this is the one value that has to
+  // be got right.
+  body.append('removeBackground', removeBackground ? 'true' : 'false');
 
   const res = await fetch(`/api/intake/${encodeURIComponent(token)}`, {
     method: 'POST',
diff --git a/frontend/tests/e2e/intake-submit.spec.ts b/frontend/tests/e2e/intake-submit.spec.ts
index d5af958..507131f 100644
--- a/frontend/tests/e2e/intake-submit.spec.ts
+++ b/frontend/tests/e2e/intake-submit.spec.ts
@@ -73,4 +73,32 @@ test.describe('Sending in an item through a link', () => {
     // is not on the site.
     await expect(page.getByText(/Nothing is listed for sale until/)).toBeVisible();
   });
+
+  // Ticked by default, because that is the decision: most items look better
+  // cut out, and the reverse default would mean almost nobody got it.
+  test('offers to remove the background, already ticked', async ({ page }) => {
+    await page.goto(`/submit/${token}`);
+
+    const control = page.getByRole('checkbox', { name: /remove the background/i });
+    await expect(control).toBeVisible();
+    await expect(control).toBeChecked();
+  });
+
+  test('lets a sender turn it off and still send', async ({ page }) => {
+    await page.goto(`/submit/${token}`);
+
+    const png = Buffer.from(
+      'iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAYAAAAfFcSJAAAADUlEQVR42mP8z8BQDwAEhQGAhKmMIQAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==',
+      'base64'
+    );
+    await page.setInputFiles('input[type="file"]', {
+      name: `${RUN}-nobg.png`,
+      mimeType: 'image/png',
+      buffer: png
+    });
+    await page.getByRole('checkbox', { name: /remove the background/i }).uncheck();
+    await page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Send' }).click();
+
+    await expect(page.getByRole('heading', { name: 'Thank you — it arrived' })).toBeVisible();
+  });
 });
diff --git a/scripts/start-local.ps1 b/scripts/start-local.ps1
index 28af2cc..ec0ef67 100644
--- a/scripts/start-local.ps1
+++ b/scripts/start-local.ps1
@@ -270,6 +270,11 @@ function Start-Backend {
     # No PayPal credentials locally. DEMO_MODE lets the whole cart and checkout
     # path run without them and with no way to reach live PayPal.
     $env:DEMO_MODE = 'true'
+    # Needs to be set for the submission page's checkbox to appear at all, but
+    # not to resolve: no e2e submission reaches the sidecar, because the
+    # worker only cuts out after a draft and drafting is not configured
+    # locally.
+    $env:REMBG_URL = 'http://127.0.0.1:7000'
     New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force -Path $env:UPLOADS_DIR *>$null
 
     Write-Step 'Running migrations'