Would You Buy MS Office 2007 Off eBay?

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Gawd
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I need to get MS Office 2007 Pro and went to my local Staples store. It cost over $400 retail at B&M stores like Staples. I go on eBay and it's under $200 from many sellers listed as "Brand New Software/Sealed Box/Licensed for 2 computers."

How the hell individuals can sell this on eBay for so much less than its MSRP is a mystery to me. The ole saying, "If it sounds too good to be true..." but it looks legit and if it is legit, why in the world would anyone buy it from Staples or other B&M stores? Heck, even at the Egg MS Office 2007 Pro is almost $400. What am I missing here buying this off eBay for under $200?
 
well it might be an upgrade version or perhaps a student version or something. Wouldn't hurt to shoot him an email and ask him for an explanation. Then you can judge by what he's telling you versus what you know (or what we know).
 
A lot of people has switched to Google's OpenOffice. It's free, and truthfully it's much better than ms office
 
You can do like me and buy the Academic version at Viosoftware.com for $180. They do NOT check any references even though I do have kids in lower school. Very reliable site and they do not require any proof of acaemic status.

Office 2007 Pro $180
 
Honestly, I don't think I would purchase it off ebay. I think your best bet without pirating would be Kaolin's suggestion.
 
Be really careful. I just bought Office 2003 Pro OEM off Ebay, and the CD looked OK, but the CoA was an obvious copy when I received it (the holographic ribbon was printed on, and was not holographic.)

This is a good guide:
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/howtotell/default.aspx?displaylang=en

Be sure to use Paypal to pay (they have some protection for this), and if the SW looks fishy try to sort it out ASAP (and BEFORE you install it) as there is a time limit on getting your money back.

If you can, stick with the home/academic version, as it's much cheaper, or try a free one like Open Office. There is a lot of value knowing you bought legit stuff from a reputable retailer...

Finally, in my opinion, Office 2007 is a step down. I'm definitely not an MS hater, but they screwed up on this one. Office 2003 is a nice set of SW, and once everyone was used to it, they retarded it up. Sorry for the rant :)
 
I absolutely dread the interface re-training that's going to inevitably crop up when we issue this to 20,000 people :(
 
I like Office 2003, too, but I'm concerned as to how long before it's no longer supported. I figure I might as well start getting use to 2007, just like we'll all eventually have to say goodbye to XP. I read horror stories about Vista, then tried it. It's not that bad although it did take some getting use to. I still have XP on one of my machines and I really have no need to change OS's. But I know down the road I'm going to be forced to run Vista, as well as having to switch to Office 2007.

I know one thing, I do NOT want pirated software on my machines, but if I can sore a good deal on legit software, then why not? Speaking of legit, how is it that you can load an academic version on your machine and not have any affiliation with an educational facility? That seems to me to be just as bad as pirated software, no? It would certainly seem to be in violation of the EULA.
 
If you do decide to purchase from a seller on Ebay, and it turns out that the software is a pirated version, you should report them to microsoft. By reporting the seller, you may be eligible for a free replacement with a valid license. They require it to be a clever copy, though -- something that has Office 2007 written in crayon on a TDK dvd wouldn't cut it. I'm not sure if this applied to office, but I know they do it for Vista and XP -- I don't see why they wouldn't extend it to office.

If your copy of Windows is not genuine, Microsoft can help you to quickly fix the problem and get genuine. Customers can contact Microsoft Support or visit the Microsoft Genuine Advantage support page to resolve the problem. Microsoft also offers several options to help victims of counterfeit software obtain a legal copy of Windows, including a complimentary offer for victims who were deceived into buying high-quality counterfeit copies. Read the Frequently Asked Questions to learn more about genuine Windows offers.
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Ask the seller for a picture of the disk and packaging. Also verify that they have a phone number that you can contact them at. If this pans out, and you're ok with the possibility -- then go for it. It may be a oem version, or some other special version that the seller was able to pick up. I know I went to a conference and received a copy of MS Office 2007 that I will never use. The license says it's not transferable, but it's still a full functional copy of Office. It may be something like that, which is just as ethical as using the student version if you don't qualify for it.
 
freakyhair said:
Be sure to use Paypal to pay (they have some protection for this), and if the SW looks fishy try to sort it out ASAP (and BEFORE you install it) as there is a time limit on getting your money back.
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If you do end up getting some pirated crap, don't expect ebay or paypal to do a damn thing about it. The last piece of software I bought on ebay was obviously pirated, burned on a regular cd-r. Paypal wouldn't even consider refunding my money without returning the $0.05 cd-r to the pirate first (at my cost of course), and since it was an international order it would have cost more then it was worth as Paypal wanted the return shipment sent via ups or fedex.

I even offered to ship the obviously pirated software directly to Paypal for them to examine, but nope no money back for you.
 
darkpaw said:
If you do end up getting some pirated crap, don't expect ebay or paypal to do a damn thing about it. The last piece of software I bought on ebay was obviously pirated, burned on a regular cd-r. Paypal wouldn't even consider refunding my money without returning the $0.05 cd-r to the pirate first (at my cost of course), and since it was an international order it would have cost more then it was worth as Paypal wanted the return shipment sent via ups or fedex.

I even offered to ship the obviously pirated software directly to Paypal for them to examine, but nope no money back for you.
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Are you in the US? In other words, did you order SW from another country? Not really a good idea (doing anything international on Ebay), IMO.

You could report the seller to the SW developer, and let them take a course of action. You may still get screwed on the deal, but at least they will be reluctant to screw others over.
 
Well this all seems like quite a gamble now that I've read all these replies! And I don't think it's ethically or legally proper to buy an academic or student version if you're not affiliated with any school or educational facility. So that's out (for me). That leaves OEM and Retail versions. So let me ask y'all this:

Is there anything wrong with purchasing the OEM version? I mean how likely is it that an OEM disk is pirated, especially if the seller has stated that the disk is sealed and "To comply eBay and Microsoft OEM policies, this package will be shipped with an OEM applicable hardware component (168pin memory) this originally came with."

Also, what about buying a factory-sealed RETAIL version that has the Microsoft Manufacturer Part# 269-11094. Wouldn't that be safe?
 
Kaolinchemist said:
You can do like me and buy the Academic version at Viosoftware.com for $180. They do NOT check any references even though I do have kids in lower school. Very reliable site and they do not require any proof of acaemic status.

Office 2007 Pro $180
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Read Microsoft's Academic software requirements, as long as you are a student, or parent of a student in school you ARE eleigible, it evens covers Pre-K children. So by all means if you have a kid in school you are NOT doing anything wrong buying tha academic version. and the link above is for Professional 2007 including Outlook, Publisher, Access along with Word, Excel and Powerpoint.

If you don't have any children in school, you can still purchase the Academic but it becomes a matter or morals.
 
Kaolinchemist said:
If you don't have any children in school, you can still purchase the Academic but it becomes a matter or morals.
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Which is why I'm asking specifically about OEM and Retail versions. As I asked above, I just would like to know whether to try and save a little money by seeking out sealed OEM disks or would y'all suggest looking for a sealed Retail box?

(by the way, someone just snagged the OEM disks I was referring to in my post above with a BIN. I likely lead them right to it with this thread. :mad:)
 
guys...you DO NOT HAVE TO BE A STUDENT to use Office 2007 Home and Student. You just can't use it for commercial purposes. That is new this year.

From the MS FAQ on Office 2007 Home and Student:
"Are there license restrictions to Office Home and Student 2007?

Yes. Office Home and Student 2007 is licensed only for noncommercial use by households. It cannot be used in commercial (business) situations."

"Do I need to have a student in my household in order to qualify to purchase and use Office Home and Student 2007?

No."

If you think I am wrong please find it in the EULA that you need to have some type of academic link.

If you are OK with the watered down version, just buy the Home version retail, it's not that much. If you need the professional version, do some shopping. The OEM version can only be installed on one computer, and is meant for system builders. I'm sure you can find loopholes to make that work.
 
freakyhair said:
The OEM version can only be installed on one computer, and is meant for system builders. I'm sure you can find loopholes to make that work.
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Is an OEM version of Office able to be legally installed on a system that was not built privately? i.e., OK to install Office 2007 Pro via an OEM disk on a Dell that did not originally come with Office?
 
I wouldn't purchase on ebay there are much many other alternatives like some people listed here.
 
I was using Office 2007 for awhile, while it is a ton better than office 2003, I don't think office 2007 is worth the money with how good open office is now. I use Open office for school and it's treating me well.
 
Happy Hopping said:
A lot of people has switched to Google's OpenOffice. It's free, and truthfully it's much better than ms office
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You have to be kidding me. Nobody can say OpenOffice or Google Apps beats Microsoft office. If you do, you obviously don't use it for more than the basics.


OP... I'd just stay away from Ebay. Newegg is the cheapest place for this stuff most of the time, and is obviously reputable.
 
No, I would not buy on ebay.

Openoffice is fine for the basics - intermediate use. In all truthfulness most people could use OO just fine without issue.

But true office still has way more features, better layout, and more robustness. OO kinda comes in behind and tries to mimick things as best they can.
 
TechieSooner said:
You have to be kidding me. Nobody can say OpenOffice or Google Apps beats Microsoft office. If you do, you obviously don't use it for more than the basics.


OP... I'd just stay away from Ebay. Newegg is the cheapest place for this stuff most of the time, and is obviously reputable.
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agreed, our company IS dept tried to convert our entire 500 pc network over to Open Office because it saved $XXX.XX per PC.......guess what.....even saving tens of thousands of dollars wasn't enough to put up with the incompatibilities and annoyances ....we promptly switched back to MS Office the following year;)
 
I wouldn't buy any opened software that requires authentication from eBay, and would look heavily at the feedback and description of the others -- there are too many dupes.
 
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