Software on eBay

[Mike Henderson]

Whoa! Red flag.

Honestly, I would wipe my computer if someone did that. People can claim a lot of things over the Internet and even give you real names but that doesn't mean they are who they say they are.

I'm computer savvy enough to be able to see what he was doing. I have absolutely no concern that he did anything nefarious to my computer.

I downloaded the Office software from the Microsoft web site so there was no chance of having some bad stuff embedded in the software. And I did that before we did the remote connection. All he wanted to see was the problem I was having, rather than just hear my description.

Mike

[Mike Henderson]

It could also be a genuine key intended for school/student use which is generally free. If the seller's story is true then could be a part of a volume discount and almost certainly not a transferrable license (even if it activates). They could also be using some gray area / loophole at best. They will eventually go after these guys but they may come after people using the software too if their lawyers have fished out all the big fish.

Also, activation keys are not necessarily stored in a database. In many cases activation keys are just keys in a cryptographic sense at unlock the software features. So, even though it was activated via the Internet, Microsoft is probably not checking it against a database, but they do have all your information through your Internet Service Provider.

I'd call Microsoft and ask about this, and if this isn't all fine you'd probably still be able to get a refund from eBay.

I was logged in with my Microsoft account when I activated so they have good knowledge of who I am. When I had problems activating 2016, I got a message that I could use the software for 30 days and then it would stop working.

After I got everything working, I had a problem and called Microsoft about it. The tech did a remote control and checked my software to see that it was activated and it was. So Microsoft passed it as okay. They wouldn't have provided support if it was not activated and legal and he told me that.

Also, Microsoft makes the software available to students for a reduced rate - not free - and you have to show an email account at a school to activate it. There are other ways to get it activated, such as if you're home schooling, but it takes some jumping through hoops.

Microsoft can tell the difference between a retail package and what I think they call a MSI package (a corporate volume sale) and it shows in the activation. Mine was definitely a retail product key.

Mike

And let me add one additional comment. When you install the software, you are asked for your product key as part of the installation. The software checks the key to see that it is a Microsoft generated key (I suppose it's "self checking", that is, there are characters in the key that are dependant on the rest of the key). If you get by that hurdle, when you use the software for the first time, you have to "activate" and the software sends your product key to Microsoft and Microsoft can tell if that key has been used before. So they definitely have a database of the product keys. If the product key has been used before (although you're allowed a small number of uses so you can re-install if you get new hardware) you will be denied activation.

[Grant Wilkinson]

Since I started reading this thread, I have gone onto Ebay to look for Office 2019. The price of product keys starts at less than $3! I contracted a seller listing for $20 since his ad suggested that he was actually selling the software. He replied saying that he is selling the product key and he would supply a link to the Microsoft page where the downloadable file is.
I find it somewhat unbelievable to think that these keys are legitimate. This is very new software. Surely there are not a whole lot of retailers out there who bought this stuff and have done out of business already.
However, I called Microsoft and asked about these sellers. The MS lady told me that it is likely that the keys are legitimate. She said that once I get the key I was to log into my MS account and add the key to my account. She said that MS would then generate the key needed upon installation.
I have done this yet so I can't comment on my success or failure.

[Mike Henderson]

Since I started reading this thread, I have gone onto Ebay to look for Office 2019. The price of product keys starts at less than $3! I contracted a seller listing for $20 since his ad suggested that he was actually selling the software. He replied saying that he is selling the product key and he would supply a link to the Microsoft page where the downloadable file is.
I find it somewhat unbelievable to think that these keys are legitimate. This is very new software. Surely there are not a whole lot of retailers out there who bought this stuff and have done out of business already.
However, I called Microsoft and asked about these sellers. The MS lady told me that it is likely that the keys are legitimate. She said that once I get the key I was to log into my MS account and add the key to my account. She said that MS would then generate the key needed upon installation.
I have done this yet so I can't comment on my success or failure.

Since Microsoft will activate the software, I suppose the keys are legitimate. My question is where do the sellers get the keys? They sell them for such a low price that they have to get them very cheap or they're stolen. Anyone have any insight?

Mike

[Derek Meyer]

A lot of the keys come from what is known as "gray market", which were originally sold by Microsoft to a large manufacturer, like HP or Dell. The big guys get their licenses at a huge discount over what consumers or small businesses do, due to the sheer volume they buy. The caveat is that the licenses are termed OEM licenses by Microsoft, meaning that the OEM (system builder) is responsible for any tech support.

Usually, computers from the big guys come with the software already installed and activated. They include discs (sometimes) and license keys for this software with the purchase, but the initial activation is done with a bulk key, which is not the key they send with the discs. Thus, you can use your computer for years and never need the key they sent you. If you have to reinstall or reactivate the software for any reason, you'll need that key.

Microsoft does track activations for their product keys to ensure that you don't use one key to activate multiple copies of a product, but if you wait long enough (like 9 months to a year) you can use the same key again. I've done this with Windows 7 keys from laptop computers, and though it's not allowed under the terms of the license agreement, it will work.

One limitation to OEM products is that, when they are activated, they are tied to that device for life and may not be transferred to another machine (this is a limitation imposed by the license terms). This is one area where an Office 365 subscription is beneficial - you can move Office installs between machines as often as you want.

When I worked at a local computer store we purchased some cheap Office copies from a seller on Amazon, and what we got was a cardboard sleeve with an Office disc and a product key on the back, exactly like the ones that Dell and HP ship with their new computers. Where the seller obtained these copies is anyone's guess.

[Curt Harms]

My opinion is that subscription software is really a benefit to the manufacturer - it provides them a stream of cash that they can depend upon. When you sell a software product you can get a lot of sales (and cash) in the year you release it and then a lot less in the subsequent years. It also puts pressure on the company to keep coming out with new releases to perk up their cash flow.


Mike

I'd read some time ago that Microsoft has been trying to become like a utility - get paid every so often forever. It looks like they've partially succeeded. There's speculation that in the future Windows on new machines will be free for a certain period of time but if you want support & updates beyond that time you'll need some sort of subscription.

As far as hardware, how difficult would it be to design one or more components that become increasingly unreliable over time? If all manufacturers went along with the program, it'd probably work. Or only support firmware e.g. UEFI for so long. If can't-live-without-it software required recent vintage firmware to work, that would limit useful life of hardware.

[Mike Henderson]

A lot of the keys come from what is known as "gray market", which were originally sold by Microsoft to a large manufacturer, like HP or Dell. The big guys get their licenses at a huge discount over what consumers or small businesses do, due to the sheer volume they buy. The caveat is that the licenses are termed OEM licenses by Microsoft, meaning that the OEM (system builder) is responsible for any tech support.

Usually, computers from the big guys come with the software already installed and activated. They include discs (sometimes) and license keys for this software with the purchase, but the initial activation is done with a bulk key, which is not the key they send with the discs. Thus, you can use your computer for years and never need the key they sent you. If you have to reinstall or reactivate the software for any reason, you'll need that key.

Microsoft does track activations for their product keys to ensure that you don't use one key to activate multiple copies of a product, but if you wait long enough (like 9 months to a year) you can use the same key again. I've done this with Windows 7 keys from laptop computers, and though it's not allowed under the terms of the license agreement, it will work.

One limitation to OEM products is that, when they are activated, they are tied to that device for life and may not be transferred to another machine (this is a limitation imposed by the license terms). This is one area where an Office 365 subscription is beneficial - you can move Office installs between machines as often as you want.

When I worked at a local computer store we purchased some cheap Office copies from a seller on Amazon, and what we got was a cardboard sleeve with an Office disc and a product key on the back, exactly like the ones that Dell and HP ship with their new computers. Where the seller obtained these copies is anyone's guess.

I think we have the answer here in Derek's post. I've continued to work this issue - here's what I've done and discovered.

I searched for "How to add Office product key to my microsoft account" and came up with www.office.com/setup

On that page, you log on with your Microsoft account and then enter the product key for your Office. The product keys that I got on eBay were not accepted, even though I had been able to activate the software. In other words, I could not add those keys to my Microsoft account.

So I went back to eBay and found a seller who said his product could be added to your Microsoft account. His was more expensive but still quite a bit less than retail.

I ordered a copy and, sure enough, I could add that one to my Microsoft account. So I now have a copy that I can move to other computers when I need to.

So I think the keys I got originally were OEM keys and would only work on one computer (could not be transferred to a new computer).

So if you can live without the ability to put the product on a new computer, those OEM keys will work for you. If you want the security of being able to move the software to a new computer, look for a supplier who can provide a key that can be added to your Microsoft account.

Mike

[lowell holmes]

Why not try this free software?

https://www.openoffice.org/download/

I have it on my computer.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ap...are_Foundation

[Kevin Beitz]

I agree with the above. Open Office. You can get a CD off E-bay for $6.00.
Works great. Never runs out.

[Greg R Bradley]

I wouldn't have worried about MS discontinuing support. I still have dozens of people using Office 2003 and a fair amount that have added on Project 2000.
Did you logon to office.com/setup to create an account or logon to your MS account? Did you install from MS?
OR, did they send you a download link that downloaded an entire .iso file? If so that is someone that bought a MS site license and is illegally selling as many as possible until MS figures it out and disables the key. In other words, you may activate it now but when you need to restup the computer it will fail.

[Mike Henderson]

I wouldn't have worried about MS discontinuing support. I still have dozens of people using Office 2003 and a fair amount that have added on Project 2000.
Did you logon to office.com/setup to create an account or logon to your MS account? Did you install from MS?
OR, did they send you a download link that downloaded an entire .iso file? If so that is someone that bought a MS site license and is illegally selling as many as possible until MS figures it out and disables the key. In other words, you may activate it now but when you need to restup the computer it will fail.

I went to office.com/setup, logged on to my Microsoft account, and entered the product key. Microsoft accepted the key and told me it was added to my MS account. Then I installed from my Microsoft account under "services and subscriptions". This is for the product key that I bought that was advertised as "add to your Microsoft account".

For the earlier product keys, I downloaded an iso, installed and entered the product key during the install and then activated when I first brought up the software.

I have two computers and bought an "add to your Microsoft account" key for each of them. Both added to my MS account and activated (and installed) fine.

Read post #22 (by me) for more details.

Mike