I am noticing a very strong trend in my niche for competitors to rent/buy links on blogs/forums/directories/sites that are very relevant to my site - lingerie! I know just because somebody jumps off a roof doesn't mean I should, right? I am seeing that they are climbing in the serps as well. The cost of these ads - text links and banners are pretty low, particularly on the blogs. I am aware that Google doesn't like paid links though so I am conflicted as I usually am. The ads might send me some traffic, but not much. They do get me backlinks but I am concerned about the Google monster. What difference does it make, if any, if these are highly relevant back links? These are the most relevant groups of links I can find? Any thoughts?