Adobe, you've lost a customer.
I can't find an email address in contact or support and I can't find a forum for customer feedback or complaints, so here I am. I am very disappointed in the licensing policy your company has taken. I have a license for Creative Suite 3 Design Standard that I have been using, it only came with Mac install disks. My Mac recently died and I went with PC to save some money and for the flexibility PC allows. I am now finding out that there is no way for me to use my VALID CS3 license with my PC. How is this right? I called a sales representative to ask about license transferring which I saw on your FAQ. Apparently the only way to switch from Mac to PC or vice versa is to buy/upgrade to the latest version CS5.5. According to the sales rep, this is because you guys have no way to get a copy of CS3 or even a serial number for CS3. Who do you think you are kidding? You want us to believe there really is no way for you to let us switch OS's on a product we already have purchased? It's obvious this is just a way to get more money out of your already legitimate customers. I was expecting maybe a $50 "transfer" fee or "restocking" fee, something like that. I'm sure CS5.5 is outstanding, but I'm fine with CS3. I just graduated school last year, so I'm still trying to break through as a freelance artist, so I can only purchase absolute necessities. When my mac died I needed to get a new computer, I use the computer to do my artwork and manage my contacts etc. I DO NOT need CS5.5. I have a legitimate and perfectly fine copy of CS3 that will enable me to produce work but you will not allow me to use it. I don't understand your marketing plan: force existing customers to upgrade, leaving a bitter taste in their mouths and not being happy with the company. When on the other hand you could allow us to use the product license we already have, keeping us happy, and then later when we've started to make some money with the current product, we have money to spend on your new products since we are happy with your company and customer service. Doing a simple google search shows that people in a similar situation to me are all over the internet and are not happy. This stance on forcing customers to spend money is not a successful one and an abuse of your power over the computer design program market.
As of now I've started looking into open license or other alternatives to Adobe products. Large companies all over are wondering why people are pirating. Yes there will always be some people who just don't want to pay for a product and would rather steal, but the biggest problem and cause of pirating is accessability. If you can't give reasonable service to your customers or a reasonable level of accessability to your product, people will turn to piracy and illegitimate means. I won't because I disagree with piracy, but I will be supporting other companies that hopefully can someday grow to challenge your solitary hold on the market and force you to rethink some of your unreasonable policies that you can only get away with because of your position in the market.
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