Office 2003 Pro on eBay

[mcp6453]

Can someone explain to me how this seller on eBay can _legally_ sell
Office 2003 Professional for $160? http://tinyurl.com/72m9o The
wholesale price for the OEM version from my distributor is $315. I know
that the software does not have that much markup.

 

[Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]]

Um, copied, already activated, or otherwise legally unusable? Or, how about
this, to part fools from their money?

--
Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]

Post all replies to the group to keep the discussion intact. Due to
the (insert latest virus name here) virus, all mail sent to my personal
account will be deleted without reading.


After furious head-scratching, mcp6453 asked this group:

| Can someone explain to me how this seller on eBay can _legally_ sell
| Office 2003 Professional for $160? http://tinyurl.com/72m9o The
| wholesale price for the OEM version from my distributor is $315. I
| know that the software does not have that much markup.

 

[Paul Ballou]

The seller was probably looking to recover just some of their cost for the
software.

--
Paul Ballou
MVP Office
http://office.microsoft.com/clipart/default.aspx
http://office.microsoft.com/templates
http://office.microsoft.com/home

Control the things you can and Don't Worry about the things you can't
control.

 

[mcp6453]

The seller was probably looking to recover just some of their cost for the
software.

Would you (and Milly) agree that there is no way that a new, opened copy
could sell for $160, unless someone just wanted to get rid of it? That
is, no dealer could buy it and resell it at a profit for that price?

 

[mcp6453]

Um, copied, already activated, or otherwise legally unusable? Or, how about
this, to part fools from their money?

I'm acquainted with the guy who bought it. He had no trouble activating
it when he installed it. Is is possible that he will have to call to
activate on the third instead of the fourth hardware configuration?

 

[Paul Ballou]

On eBay I would say it would be possible for any high priced software to
sell at extremely low prices in comparison to the retail price. You may not
know who the buyer is and would have no control over whether or not they
resell the software at a higher price. Some people will use auctions to get
items at cheap prices then resell the items at higher prices, it's all about
making money for some people.
--
Paul Ballou
MVP Office
http://office.microsoft.com/clipart/default.aspx
http://office.microsoft.com/templates
http://office.microsoft.com/home

Control the things you can and Don't Worry about the things you can't
control.

 

[mcp6453]

On eBay I would say it would be possible for any high priced software to
sell at extremely low prices in comparison to the retail price. You may not
know who the buyer is and would have no control over whether or not they
resell the software at a higher price. Some people will use auctions to get
items at cheap prices then resell the items at higher prices, it's all about
making money for some people.

If you purchase a supposedly unopened OEM version from eBay, before
installing it, can you call Microsoft to see if they have a record of it
being previously installed?