Has anyone purchased PS on eBay?

[dianajenna]

I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with buying Photoshop on eBay? I'm concerned that they might not be legitimate copies, because I've been reading things online that some of the keyboard shortcuts might not even work. So that tells me that they are NOT the real thing. I could understand if "someone" had an unopened box and they decided to sell it, but there are people on eBay that are selling lots and lots of boxes of Photoshop. Where are they getting them?

I would like to upgrade from CS2 to CS4, but I'm thinkin eBay would be a bad idea. Anybody have any input at all on this?

Thanks!

[aartist]

Maybe the seller bought the program specially for a photography class and then sold it after the class ended. There are many possibilities as to why people are selling their legitimate copies. I have always had good luck with EBay. I did run into a one time purchase from an England seller where I thought it wasn't legitimate software and requested a refund, which was provided immediately. Seller's normally don't want to get into trouble with EBay or PayPal.

Normally EBay and PayPal are pretty good at making sure buyers get what they pay for, either through EBay's feedback control or PayPal's dispute process which is pretty straight forward. Just make sure you pay using PayPal and you should be OK.

Just make sure you don't wait forever to file a complaint dispute with PayPal. Do it immediately if you think seller is fraudulent.

[dianajenna]

Thanks aartist. I've bought and sold on eBay, but I'm wary of buying software. That's why I was wondering if anyone else had. I'm glad you got your refund from the person in England.

[mistermonday]

How is the product being represented to you as: New, Open Box, OEM, Educational, Full Program or Upgrade? Read the text of the listing very carefully because the seller will be in trouble with EBAY for misrepresentation. If the info is vague or missing, email the seller for more details. What is the price? If it is very low relative to the MSRP it may be a hacked illegal copy. What is the status of the Ebay seller? Often you can tell from the feedback log and the seller's transaction history whether he/she has a good reputation or not. Get as much info as you can so you can make an intellingent decision. Some deals are legit. Sometimes you get people who bought or were gifted the program but found it too intimidating to use and just want to get some money for it. You will find legitimate deals but you will also find some devious pirates out there.
Rgds, Murray

[Doug Nelson]

I bought a copy of Acrobat from Adobe, and when I tried to install it I got an invalid serial number error. I called Adobe and they said that number was registered to someone in LA. Two weeks and several phone calls later I got a replacement serial number, but only because they saw the ship date and compared it to the false registration date (there are apps that generate serial numbers that will work for pirated versions, and evidently this one had come up randomly for the guy in LA). Anyway, my point is that if I had purchased it off ebay, even if it turned out to be a perfectly legit transaction, I doubt it would have ended well.

I buy from ebay a lot. Hardware, yes. Clothes (new), yes. Books and music CDs, yes. But one of the most pirated apps of all time? No.

[MiningArt]

Appreciating this thread, I have often wondered about all those versions and different packages. Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and pay full retail.

[DannyRaphael]

I bought PS 5.5 and PS 7 upgrade via eBay; that was before "activation" was required. No problems, though.

CS3 upgrade purchased from Adobe; will be taking that route in the future.

[aartist]

This thread caused me to just remember a software package I purchased about a year ago from Ama-zon.com and it came without a registration number and no way to install it because it asked for one at the beginning of install process. Others on the internet had the same problem.

It was a brand new, unopened box of a well known piece of software and sold by a well known retail seller. Never was able to install it out of the box. I had to resort to subterfuge!

So you just never know...

[vbrestorer]

My advice is to stay away from ebay packages of PhotoShop. I've gotten burned twice. (I'm a slow learner.) The first time I was buying what was proported to be a brand new, legitimate version of CS3 Extended for $100. What I received was Adobe's trial version downloaded and burned to a CD by the seller along with a registration generator hack program. In this case, I was lucky. I contacted the seller and he refunded my money. Then I saw a brand new, unregistered, still-in-the-shrinkwrapped box PhotoShop CS2 being sold for, I think, $200. I checked the sellers reputation, etc. and decided to buy. Upon receiving the product, everything looked legitimate. But after I installed it and used it a little, I found that the arrow keys wouldn't work. I searched the web looking for a solution, only to learn that this was a typical symptom of pirated PhotoShop packages produced in Singapore. Sure enough, that's what I had. The Singaporeans did a VERY good job of copying PhotoShop. The silkscreening (I guess that's what the process is for printing the label on the CD/DVD) was flawless. The box looked like the real thing, right down to the copyright notices. And the included manual passed muster upon first look. Once I knew I'd been ripped off, I looked closer at the manual and found the printing to be a little off, pages referenced via the index were wrong, and some parts listed in the Table of Contents just weren't there. By the time I contacted the seller, he said he had had no other complaints (mine wasn't the only PhotoShop package he was selling) and that he was no longer selling on eBay. Go figure. That money was never returned.
Having learned a hard, $200 lesson, I went to the Adobe online store and bought PhotoShop CS3 from them. This was in September of 2008 and I got PhotoShop CS3 (Full version) for $319.90 including shipping and tax. As it turned out, Adobe released CS4 close enough to my purchase of CS3 that I was eligible for a free upgrade to CS4 which I received, no hassle.
Good luck. As for me, I'm sticking with buying from retailers.

[vbrestorer]

Oh, one other thing. If you have been thinking of buying a Wacom Intuos tablet, consider buying it before buying Photoshop. I bought an Intuos3 (through Buy.com) AFTER I bought Photoshop CS3 from Adobe. Once I received my Intuos3, in the box was a coupon for a hefty discount on Photoshop. If you are going to buy both, this might be the best/cheapest order to buy in. Of course, I can't promise you what coupons might be packaged with current Intuos tablets, but if you can find a way to find out it might save you some money.

[metfan74]

i have had problems with ps on ebay, i bought cs2 a few year ago, when i recieved it the disc was cracked, i contacted the buyer and he sent another new sealed boxed edition, that was cracked too. he said i had been doing to get out of the deal, i think they were re-jects repackaged?
i buy student versions now which are a very long way cheaper it cost me £120.00 for cs3 extended new sealed original!

[dianajenna]

Wow. About everything you all are saying is what I have found out by googling, too. The stuff about Singapore, arrow keys not working, etc. My versions 6 and 7 were bought on eBay years ago, and I've had not one problem. I now have a CS2 upgrade directly from Adobe. So I was thinking I would get CS4 now, but I'm absolutely certain that I won't go the eBay route now. I'd be too skeered. That's good to know vbrestorer about the possibility of a coupon. Maybe I'll ask Wacom and see what or if they'll tell me. Thank you so much everyone for the input. It's exactly what I needed to make my decision.

[dianajenna]

Doug, I'm not sure what to think of your experience with ADOBE! Geesh.