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

[Ritz_Cracker]

You are correct. When the software arrived (from China) I installed it and a few days later went to register it with Adobe. It was DOA the next time I tried to open any of the programs. I then went to the appeal process and did get my money refunded by Ebay. Will I ever purchase anything again from Ebay? Yes, but I will be more cautious in the future.

[Ritz_Cracker]

Thanks for all who submitted the same solutions, I will do this in the future on Ebay.

[BobLevine]

So, in summary, you bought a bogus copy of the software and you're blaming Adobe?

Is that correct?

Bob

[Vibrant_coder15D5]

NO BOB  

I bought a genuine copy of CS4 at lower price than Adobe where asking although I run it on its own machine thats not connected to the internet.

All I have done is explain what can hapen to those who seek to use E bay and get themselves embroiled and how they should take steps to prevent it. To be honest except the price no body not even Adobe could tell the diference from a genine copy and a bogus one.

There must be 1000s if not 1000sof photographers world wide using other means. Just go to search engine and put in CS5 srial nos or crack. you get pages of offers.

Adobe do thier best to stop it but as fast as they close one door its opened again.

Whats the naswr I dont now oerhapesif Adobe priced it lower they can do for Students and teachers then the increased volume of sales would root out the bogus problem by maing ti to much of a risk.

Philip D

[BobLevine]

Phil,

My response was to James Svos. Some of these things get lost in the email responses.

Bob

[Ritz_Cracker]

If you purchase any consumer product, be it a car, phone, book, software, etc.... and it turns out that it does not work after you try to register it, one would first go to the manufacturer or reseller. For all I know, the product I purchased is real and from Adobe. The reason I suggested I may have a pirate copy is that when I contacted Adobe, "THEY" said the numbers were not good. If something looks like a rabbit, smells like a rabbit, tastes like a rabbit, it probably is a rabbit. There are numbering registration configurations out there that cannot be hacked! I know, I was a unlimited crypto tech for a number of years. If you were driving your "NEW" Ford and it stopped running, you would have a reasonable expectation if when you got it towed to the dealer to have them fix it under warranty, right? What would your reaction be if your Ford dealer (if you own a Ford) said your engine serial numbers were not valid and they will not repair your car! But they want to "SELL" you the new upgraded version of the same make and model of car at an outrageous marked up price! I think you or anyone else might be a tad bit pissed off.

Let me put my MBA hat on here. Since this seems to be a world wide systemic problem for Adobe as tens of thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) of pirate copies are floating in cyberspace, it would be in "THEIR" best interests to have a simple fix. I have spent hours trying to reason with tech support and get this resolved. Its very simple in that this problem is costing Adobe not only in revenue of lost sales but in the loss of "Good Will" as well. Having the ability to fix this problem by simply reformatting my hard drive is no big deal, I can do that. What I am pissed off at is Adobe's deliberate ignoring of the problem. I know there are a few files in the Windows registry that if I deleted, that would allow me to then delete the corrupted folders and files to rid my computer of the problem. The disappointment is in my knowing that Adobe has a fix for this issue and is not releasing it.

I have been in business and manufacturing for over a half century and am now retired. Over the course of life's experiences, I have found that solving the occasional problem that is "NOT" my problem comes back in repeat business and good will generated in the community. So here is the new improved problem.

I have a "GOOD" copy of Adobe Suite CS4 that has crashed and does not work and I cannot get into any the programs to delete them. Next question, does anyone have a fix so that I can disable or delete Adobe Bridge as well? Does anyone out there had the same problem and a fix to solve it? I cannot get the sub-par tech-support to help me solve the problem as Adobe's customer support was contracted out to the third world to raise revenue in the short term. Since Adobe is not supporting "THEIR" products and it appears to be a world wide problem for them in CS5 as well. And since I get zero support from Adobe except this forum, who out there would not be pissed off.

If I can't get Adobe to address this simple issue, what should my next course of action be? Should I create my own blog, (I program a bit too). I feel confident that with my skill set that I can impact their bottom line. How many people reading this will realize Adobe does not honor their commitment in product support? And those people will tell 10 others and those ten others..........

And finally, "ALL" the program worked fine until I went to register it. The next time I opened the program it refused me entry. It is not rocket science to figure out what happened. Adobe's solution to product registration that does not have "THEIR" numbers, is to deliberately send down the pipe a kill subroutine that disables "ALL" the programs and then deny "THEY' have a problem.

To: "James Svos" <jimsvos@comcast.net>

Sent: Friday, June 18, 2010 5:39:04 AM GMT -08:00 US/Canada Pacific

Subject: Thinking of buying from eBay?

So, in summary, you bought a bogus copy of the software and you're blaming Adobe?

Is that correct?

Bob

[Guest]

James Svos wrote:

If I can't get Adobe to address this simple issue, what should my next course of action be? Should I create my own blog, (I program a bit too). I feel confident that with my skill set that I can impact their bottom line. How many people reading this will realize Adobe does not honor their commitment in product support? And those people will tell 10 others and those ten others..........

That seems to be the most intelligent thing you have stated here. 

Go with that.

[eli sloves]

If you bought a bogus copy of PhotShop, Adobe has NO obligation to support

you.

[David Ayars]

eli sloves wrote:

If you bought a bogus copy of PhotShop, Adobe has NO obligation to support

you.

Eli Sloves

I think James understands that.  (I hope so, anyway.)  His argument is not that Adobe is obligated to help him, but that it's in Adobe's interest to try and help him. I disagree.  I understand exactly why they don't want to touch this with a ten foot pole.  Once the OS becomes unstable, efforts to correct it are risky, because they can make the situation worse.  Or they can fix one issue (his inability to uninstall) without fixing others he hasn't even found yet.  Maybe his data is corrupted.  Maybe his browser is sending his credit card number back to China.  Anything goes wrong from here on, he blames Adobe and expects them to put in quite possibly dozens of hours on one-on-one tech support with limited chances for success, and maybe he even expects money or a deal to compensate him becaus he thinks Adobe inconvenienced him, when he and his Chinese pirate friend on eBay did it all by themselves.  All this, when Adobe has, as you say, no obligation.  If I'm them, I'm saying, "Sorry you got burned. We can't help you."

[Ritz_Cracker]

Best reply yet. I am moving on and since I was compensated by Ebay for my loss, the issue is now moot. Thanks everyone for all the posts. I don't think I am the only one who has learned something here. Perhaps all of this will help the next person who is considering the purchase of discounted software.

[David Ayars]

James Svos wrote:

I don't think I am the only one who has learned something here. Perhaps all of this will help the next person who is considering the purchase of discounted software.

Something else we can all agree on.

Good luck.  I hope your R&R is as painless as possible and fixes any other annoying issues you may have.

[David Ayars]

James, sounds to me like you've trashed your OS installing this bogus copy.  Could be embedded malware.  Could be a slightly corrupted copy.  Could be a coincidence, that your system was already primed to fail and this put it over the edge.  Doesn't matter to me that CS4 worked the first time you used it or if it or your system passes muster with any security software you've tried--I stand by my suspicion that the OS is trashed. I also do not agree with your judgment that Adobe has any interest in trying to help you fix this, because you don't have a valid serial number and an outcome that makes you whole again in any reasonable time they could put in on this is very unlikely, in my judgment.

If this is my system (and it wouldn't be, because I know better than to try buying this software on eBay), I'm restoring the system from a ghosted backup prior to the installation of CS4.  If I'm among the many users who doesn't back my system up, I'm moving on to a reformat and reinstall of the OS and all my apps.

[BobLevine]

James Svos wrote:

If you purchase any consumer product, be it a car, phone, book, software, etc.... and it turns out that it does not work after you try to register it, one would first go to the manufacturer or reseller.

Big difference between the seller and the manufacturer. Had you bought directly from Adobe or an AUTHORIZED reseller you wouldn't have had this problem. You ignored rule one in buying software...if it seems to good to be true, you can be pretty sure it is.

This not Adobe's fault nor is in their best interest to help you fix it. If they help you, they have to help every other sucker out there who bought from unathorized sellers and got burned.

If you were driving your "NEW" Ford and it stopped running, you would have a reasonable expectation if when you got it towed to the dealer to have them fix it under warranty, right? What would your reaction be if your Ford dealer (if you own a Ford) said your engine serial numbers were not valid and they will not repair your car! But they want to "SELL" you the new upgraded version of the same make and model of car at an outrageous marked up price! I think you or anyone else might be a tad bit pissed off.

Lousy analogy. Automobiles require way more paper work and have to be registered before you can start driving them. But if you bought a car from someone on craigslist or ebay and brought it to the deal and found it was stolen, guess what...you lose the car and your money and you need to prove that you didn't know it was stolen.

And finally, "ALL" the program worked fine until I went to register it. The next time I opened the program it refused me entry. It is not rocket science to figure out what happened. Adobe's solution to product registration that does not have "THEIR" numbers, is to deliberately send down the pipe a kill subroutine that disables "ALL" the programs and then deny "THEY' have a problem.

Got proof? Without it, you're spitting in the wind and IMO, if Adobe had such capabilities, I believe it would be in their best interest to let it be known so that would be buyers of pirated software would think twice.

As for the rest of your post...sadly, I must agree about Adobe's tech support. It's horrible as evidence by the amount of complaints registered in these forums. But that simply reinforces my first point. Adobe can't even adequately support legitimate sales. They sure aren't going to support pirated software.

Bob

[Ritz_Cracker]

I agree, but if enough discourse is generated, I might get a solution. I just don't want to be stuck in the problem. Perhaps if I clarify my position a bit, I can move on with this issue.

Rather than casting stones, does anyone out there have a fix on how to delete Adobe CS4 Suite if you cannot delete the program, it's folders or files? Does anyone out there have a fix on how to delete Adobe Bridge if you get the error message "Bridge is being used by another application so it cannot be deleted. If you can't provide a positive fix, let's all quit the banter and move on. The online forum should be about solutions, not my whining. I appreciate all of the feedback but if these specific questions can't be addressed, let's all drop it and move on. Thank you.

[BobLevine]

James,

Have you tried the Adobe CS4 clean script?

http://www.adobe.com/support/contact/cs4clean.html

Bob

[Ritz_Cracker]

Thank you, I will try that.

[Ritz_Cracker]

I digress, I now know I am not the only cabbage head that fell off the back of the truck.

[andyraz77]

just got one from ebay, is cheap and sometimes they ship fast.  There was one auction where I won and they never ship it to me.

<link removed>

[Joprysko]

If its coming from china you can bet that its fake.

If it will not register on this website. it most definatly is fake.

the box looks real, the cd looks real the literature looks real, but it is fake.

If you check your Hosts file, you will see a a bunch of entries blocking communications with adobe to prevent them from deactivating the softwares bogus SN.

I would go back and demand your money back, if they refuse file a complaint with ebay, thats what buy protections for.

[Valathome67]

I actually did that and Ebay did not do Squat. I even tried to settle with

the seller and still got no where. I even sent the product back for a refund

but the seller shut his site down. So i vary vary rarely buy from them

anymore. I lost about 600.00 so i am just a little upset if you could

imagine.

[Michael D Sullivan]

It sounds like you might have been scammed. Contact Adobe customer service and ask if the serial number is legitimate. If it's not, contact the seller, Ebay, and your credit card company.

Some pirated versions have a hacked activation and registration system that doesn't actually contact Adobe; it just says that you are activated and/or registered. As to not getting the email from Adobe, that's not a very good indicator. Adobe tends to take many months to send the email with link for the registration bonus.

[Vibrant_coder15D5]

Hi All yes in Britain you too can buy CS4 of E Bay but yes its a fake USA copy. This has happened to me on 3 occasons and yes sellers have refunded my monies. All of them had bought copies "made in USA" They took the loss.

So yes ask if it states made in USA and then dont bid.

There is another problem here in UK priate KeyGens and accompanied by software to stop CS4 going to Adobe. They work but what you dont know is that they also place a Trojan Horse  Virus into your machine that sends back to them all the websites you use. So if they see you using a web site like a bank account or Paypal they then enter your computer by the back door find your paswords if you leave them there and next you know your monies have been pinched.

This scam is also bult into some of the Cds that are circullating they satisfy Adobe but  are pirate fakes and have put your finances at risk.

You can go onto adobe register and use thier serial number check to see if its genuine if it is not you get a red warning.

There is so miuch scam about on Adobes  CS series that my option was to get a cheap lap top to work my Internet and run CS4 on my main machine along with all my images and other programs. My lap top is belt and braces buffered against viruses.

My main machine if they do get into it there is nothing there for them  .

Philip Davies UK

[Guest]

A person awhile back, asking for help, posted his CS4 install log that showed it was a fake. It also showed the software trying to write to "F" drive when he had no "F" drive. ET phone home baby!!

[_david_baston_]

Thankyou Michael

For your reply it was good of you to do so
Sorry i have not been in touch with you sooner
i have been ill but i'm better now i will do
as you say and see what transpires from it
but i have written 2 emails to the person who sold me the
software and have not had a reply as yet although i do not think i
will get one and i will be supirsed if i do
So tomorrow i'm going to ring up adobe and ask them about my copy
also i will gert in touch with my credit card people
but i do not know what they can do as it has been paid already into the persons account but will keep you posted.
But i'm in a quandery realy as i'm a pensioner and the price of the software is out of my price range to but normally that is why i turned to ebay just in case there was a bargain
Sometimes you can be lucky.
The quandry part is if i tell adobe they may want the software and therefore i will loose the use of the software or adobe may say you can have a reduced priced version say at £250 which is still cheap if you bought it elswhere but even that price is out of my league £150 is my max.
The software i have is working perfectly it has even updated the software so i'm a bit loathed to part with it now so you see the problem i have
I do have the adobe elements 6 but i now have moved on from that software that is why i bought photoshop cs3
and that is where i'm at, at this moment in time.

[Guest]

you should try using photoshop elements david. that sounds like what you need. check it out at amazon. i believe elements 6 is the latest version...