How safe buying retail Windows 7 Ultimate from ebay?

[Antagram]

Been looking at Windows 7 Ultimate prices on ebay, as similar to pre-order prices of Pro version. So immediately thought its true good to be true.

Concerned it could be deemed counterfeit by Microsoft and gets de-activated months later and seller is long gone so lost money. Or seller has noted product key and it gets used on multiple machines causing de-activation.

SO is there any specific codes I should be asking about to confirm its retail and designed for UK market instead of imported Far East territories?

Are there counterfeit versions readily available doing the rounds? And any flaws in packaging to determine so.

Is it better to buy from an ebay store compared to random seller? Or if store is just someone working from home does it offer no more protection than a random seller?

[Biscuit]

There is always counterfeit codes going around but i dnt get involved in it so i couldnt tell you what to look out for.

I would never go for anything like this if i am honest, its just too much of a risk BUT if it is an original boxed and sealed copy of windows then IIRC the code will be inside the box making it pretty safe.

I think a store does offer you better protection, mainly because they will usually have lots of ratings and reviews to check through. Remember if it does turn out to be a duplicated or counterfeit CD then you ust need to call microsoft and get it checked out as soon as you have it. At that point if it is you contact the seller and make a report on paypal, this should put the money back in your account.

[finlay666]

why not just buy it from somewhere like software4students.co.uk instead and not risk it?

[smargh]

Buying Windows on Ebay is like running though every lane of a motorway with a blindfold on. No sane person would do it.

Just get the OEM version if it's for home use. Professional OEM costs £106.28 from CCL.

If you will only be evaluating the OS in various testing scenarios (https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/.../ms772427.aspx - see #11) then a TechNet Standard subscription costs about £162 for a year, with subsequent annual renewals of £121.

[Antagram]

Decided against OEM as would probably transfer it to a different system before next version of Windows comes out. And I’m not eligible for student, or guardian of child in education schemes.

I know I could activate any of the above, but wouldn't be meeting requirements of licence.

[Funkstar]

I know I could activate any of the above, but wouldn't be meeting requirements of licence.

The chances of doing a lot worse with eBay software is pretty high. At least with any of those options you will end up with a "legal" product, even if you are breaking the license. There is just too great a chance of it being stolen or knocked off for me to even consider eBay for that kind of thing. Amazon stores is bad enough.

[Antagram]

Yeah, I think you're right. Will wait for Windows 8 and see if Microsoft repeat the cheap pre-order prices, as I haven't got a SSD yet to need Trim from Windows 7.

Didn't know Amazon market place was also a risky option. Thought there would be too much comeback on the seller or Amazon to risk any funny business.

[Funkstar]

Perhaps they are cleared out some dodgy sellers, but there was a spate of Adobe software going far too cheaply for a while.

[Fornowagain]

Honestly don't buy Windows from eBay. I made that mistake once and received the best looking fake, totally identical until you tried to register it.

[oolon]

Don't do it, it could be money down the drain and probably is. Microsoft do not allow secondary selling of their products and get them removed from ebay. If however you can prove you have legitimately bought the software, Microsoft may give you a real version, so long as you can prove who sold you the fake. However as always pay directly by credit card (not by say PP) and if it looks too good to be true it normally is.

[goodl]

Id say avoid, I got burned with a Vista Ultimate license key that took weeks to get resolved

[arthurleung]

If it is retail packaging and sealed it is probably real. Otherwise the seller probably recycle the box from somewhere and stick a Dell Win7 DVD in for example and put a generic key in, which could be blacklisted in the future.

Consider the shipping cost for buying/returning on Ebay and high chance of counterfeit product there is no point to buy there.

On a side note, on China's equivalent of Ebay, people sell keys obtained from MSDN for about 4 quids. Obviously illegal in terms of licensing but the key itself is genuine. It only takes a few clicks to get a new key so there is no point to offer otherwise.

[mikeswrx02]

buying from ebay u must check out the feedback from the seller. if under 100 then be careful GL

[Saracen]

buying from ebay u must check out the feedback from the seller. if under 100 then be careful GL

Personally, I'd go a lot further than that. If I wasn't sure the seller was reputable, I would touch a product like Windows on ebay. And I'd also be of the view that if it was especially cheap, it wasn't likely to be genuine, and even if it wasn't especially cheap, it may well not be.

It reflects my levels of risk aversion, I guess, but I'd rather pay more to a store or reputable online seller and be sure I was getting the real thing, than end up being ripped off by trying to save money. It can end up being much more expensive in the long run.

[Fornowagain]

Just a word of warning I bought a copy of MS Office from one of the biggest online retailers via one of their market sellers with dozens of great feedback and guess what it's a fake. Amazing counterfeit, I'll put some pics up so you can see. You'd be hard pressed to know its fake unless you've something to compare it against. The worst of it is, even though I have complained and complained about the seller to this massive retailer. The item is still for sale over a week later!!



One real, one fake. But which is which?

[jim]

I'm assuming the one on the left, on the basis that the number is a scam. No idea though.

Don't Microsoft tend to replace counterfeit software if you report it to them though? I have heard of it happening in the past.