Thinking of buying from eBay?

[BobLevine]

Edited October 23, 2008

The original article that this post referred to has expired but there's still quite a bit of good information in this thread.

The point is that eBay software is a risky purchase with much of it illegally pirated.

Bob

[Guest]

Should make this a sticky.

[Guest]

Maybe with a note about the "CS2 made in Singapore" story.

[_Jeff_Brislane_]

In Australia there are people selling CS3 on Ebay in un-opened shrink wrapped boxes for around $300 which is far less than the cheapest retail here of $860. I've contacted a few of them and all claim to have sources in the USA who ship them bulk genuine copys of CS3. One guy even phtoographed the inside of the cd case to show the discs but I can't verify if these are genuine as I haven't even seen genuine CS3 discs. I know about pirate downloads and CD copys but these look like the real deal in real boxes that might have been purchased cheap in bulk. Should I risk it?

Regards Jeff.

[Desert_Foxey]

Be very careful Jeff, I bought a sealed copy in box ,of CS4 standard upgrade

and the disc label was correct, but when I installed it, it wasCS4  extended and of course it wouldn't work. It ran one time and after that I got error messages. It took me 2 months dealing with the seller and then I told ebay that I wanted a refund and promptly got it.  The seller only had one copy for sale and I think he was duped also.

Nancy

,

[Guest]

no. these "mid priced" copies are generally the result of a rash of high quality pirates. they copy discs manuals etc, shrink wrap and instead of charging 50 bux which is a major clue to a rip off, they charge 300 or 400 so the buyer thinks they're getting a "deal".

don't do it.

[_Jeff_Brislane_]

What is the retail price for CS3 in the USA? Do Adobe sell bulk wholsale copies for as low as $200USD?

[Guest]

300 standard upgrade, 650 standard full vers

350 extended ed. upgrade. 1000 bux ext ed full vers (holy carp!!! that's gone up!!!)

how's that compare with the aussie dollar?

[_Klaas_Visser_]

Prices in Australian dollars, from a reputable retailer:

PS CS3 full version AU$899
PS CS3 Extended full version AU$1489
PS CS3 upgrade AU$275
PS CS3 Extended education AU$399

Current exchange rate US$0.92 equals AU$1.00

so converting the above:

PS CS3 full version US$827
PS CS3 Extended full version US$1370
PS CS3 upgrade US$253
PS CS3 Extended education US$367

Klaas

[Kees de Bruin]

Bob Levine wrote:
> http://biz.yahoo.com/bizj/080215/1592630.html?.v=1

I bought my copy of CS2 through eBay but first asked for the serial number
and checked this with Adobe. After they told me the serial number was valid
and not yet registered I ordered the software.

--
Kees de Bruin

"A vacation is having nothing to do and all day to do it in"

[Phil J Rose]

Hi Bob, long time since you posted about this but how do you go about checking a SN with Adobe? Be interesting to know!

Thanks Phil

[BarryBrum]

Okay, Bob, way to go! You prove to be a logically wary fellow. Been seeing a few posts on the different forums where folks not only unknowingly purchased  pirated software off of Ebay, but also installed a heap of trouble in the form of Trojan Key stroke trackers hidden within the software.  My advice is to leave the Ebay stuff alone, people, unless you follow Bob's process of eliminating potential problems first. Brum

[Guest]

I find it surprising that a software dealer would provide you with a licensed serial number before purchasing the products? If you decided not to purchase the software, would it be fair to the next buyer that his/her product key was leaked beforehand? Seems like a risky business practice!

Thanks,

Steve Mullins

[Guest]

>After they told me the serial number was valid and not yet registered I ordered the software

that's wise. you got a good deal kees! no one's saying that EVERYTHING on ebay is pirated, but the legit ones seem to be in the minority. (at least as far as what's been discussed here.) a careful buyer can lessen his chances of getting burned by being as diligent as you were.

[_Jeff_Brislane_]

Kees,

The other consideration is not only whether or not it's a legit copy but also whether or not it's so cheap because it's a real copy but stolen and sold for cheap. I have no doubt that the occaisonal box of new software goes missing from time to time.

There's a new guy selling CS3 on Ebay Australia starting from this week and in his ad he has a screenshot of the photoshop initialising screen on his own computer but if you look carefully you can see the words beta in the top right hand corner! The beta version is not the retail version is it? Here is a link to his ad:

[expired link removed that was long enough to impact the forum layout]

Regards Jeff.

[charles fry]

I bought CS3 from ebay and it seems to be ligitiment...loaded software and registered it...all seems ok....got it for $280.00...said made in usa on box.

[SkipRunge]

Yes, I bought the same thing from ebay and everything was wonderful until the serial number mysteriously "expired" after about 90 days.  I couldn't even load the program without getting the annoying, "Please supply a valid serial number" message.  By that time, of course, the seller had totally vanished from the ebay landscape. 

Hope you got a better deal.

[Doc81harley]

I am new to posting in forums but have found some useful info in the past.  I found this thread on buying software via eBay and it hits home with me.

I recently purchased a fully licensed version of Photoshop CS5 (not knowing about pirated versions) installed it on my computer using key that came with CD.  It registered without problems and got a message from Adobe thanking me for registering my product.  I have since received a couple messages from Adobe pertaining to items of interest from their company, which I don't think I would have got since this is my first registered Adobe software program and have never received anything in the past from them.

But with all this talk about pirated software and such, I went online and checked my account and it shows I have a registered version of Adobe CS5 Extended and as well shows my serial number and date of registration.  If this copy was pirated, wouldn't Adobe have noticed this when I registered the program or advised me that it was a 90 day program?

I have been using the program daily along with my Wacom Intuos4 Graphics Tablet with no problems...no crashes, hangups or error messages of any kind.

That being said, how could I verify if this was pirated software or not?  Either way if it keeps working as well as it does, I am pleased.

I appreciate any feedback as I have not had the program for over 90 days and at this point could file a complaint as it is covered by eBay & Paypal insurance protection.

Thank you, Kevan

[Noel Carboni]

Not every copy of software sold online is pirated, but if you got a "great" deal on it, I'd be quite worried.  Deep discounts on Photoshop CS5 just aren't available.

I should think your best bet would be to call Adobe and verify it.  I don't wish the experience of going through the Adobe telephone support channels on anyone, but I would certainly do it to make sure I had documentation.

-Noel

[Noel Carboni]

P.S., Do you see a "Deactivate..." entry in your Help menu?

-Noel

[Ritz_Cracker]

The problem I had was insideous.  In order to uninstall some programs from Adobe, the process has to be started from inside the open program.  My problem was that I could not access or open the program to avail myself of this feature.  When I contacted Adobe support, everyone I communicated with was just reading from a script in a binder.  So much for outsourcing customer support. 

My solution was to make all the hidden file visible and then carefully delete them one at a time using the install date as my reference.

In my case it worked out.  By all means be carefull out there when buying third party software.  I also am gratefull for all the support and knowledge provided by those in the user groups.

James

[Doc81harley]

Yes...I see a Deactivate in my Help Menu.  Does that mean something?  I only

show that is says something about using that if you want to put the program on

another computer or something.

Kevan

[Doc81harley]

I got hold of Adobe and spoke with customer service via online chat.  I told him my concerns with the PS5 program being a possible pirated edition and/or that it would expire in 90 days as well as concerned it would at sometime in the future quit working.  He started off by asking for my serial number of the Photoshop program which I gave him.  He had me wait while he checked it and then told me the serial number came back to a "genuine Photoshop CS5 Extended Version".  I did not even tell him what program I was inquiring about, he gave me the information via the serial number.  He as well stated it was a fully licensed version and would not expire in 90 days and assured me I should have no concerns about the program.

I was very relieved to hear this.  BTW....I have included a link to the site where I bought the program from, the seller has 10+ pages of Adobe products and has been on eBay since 2005 with a 99.9% rating.  I was able to do a best offer and got my program for $525.00.

I appreciate all the responses I got from my question, this is a nice forum with a lot of good feedback.

Here is the link to the eBay site where I bought my program:http://cgi.ebay.com/Adobe-Photoshop-CS5-Extended-New-Full-Version-Windows-/130394047479?cmd=ViewItem...

Thank you all, Kevan

[Guest]

Can you smell the fish?

The majority of feedback for that seller on eBay came only from the last 6 months, even though their banner shows that they have allegedly been around since 2005.

And their domain was only registered in 2009.

Count yourself lucky that you have what Adobe identified as a proper product but even with your anecdote, I would not trust that seller.

[Guest]

Does not mean other people who bought from this seller were given the same serial number. The adobe employee may only have the ability to check if the serial number is real and maybe not be able to check the authentication server. This server checks to see how many people and how many machines use the serial number. So if the server detects something wrong it will shut the software down.