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Cheapest way to get Adobe Photoshop CS3?

P

PhaserFuzz

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Dec 12, 2007
485
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I just purchased my first Mac and I need to get Photoshop. However, there has got to be some place that has it cheaper than $650! I noticed the upgrade alone is significantly cheaper. Can I buy an older version then get the upgrade to go with it? That would save some money I'd think.

Thanks for any help!
 
you can not install the upgrade without an older version.
Do you need photoshop or do you need a photo editing program ? Maybe you should have a look at photoshop elements or the gimp. Even iPhoto that comes with your mac could be an alternative.
 
No I am not a student and yes I'd prefer Photoshop. A friend gave me a copy on my old PC, but I wanna buy it for my new Mac. I plan on doing graphic editing for a side job, so I wanna "legally own" it haha.
 
You could try buying an older copy on eBay and then purchasing the upgrade. May be kind of risky though, since I don't know if they can tell if the original copy has been upgraded or anything before.

Upgrade is about $200, so keep that in mind.

Have you looked at Photoshop Elements? if you aren't doing print work, it is a very economical way to go.
 
I know that if you get the CS3 upgrade you need to have CS2, CS or 7 installed. If you can find version 7 then and get the CS3 upgrade for $200 then that would probably be the cheapest.

Don't know much about it but Photoshop Elements is around $100 for the Mac.
 
If you have a friend at university, you could get them to buy if for you-it will be around $300US. also look to see if you can get the design standard (PS, Illustrator and InDesign) for the same price as that is often the case...
 
This is in violation of the EULA because the end user is not an "academic."


bocomo said:
If you have a friend at university, you could get them to buy if for you-it will be around $300US. also look to see if you can get the design standard (PS, Illustrator and InDesign) for the same price as that is often the case...
Click to expand...
 
This is my unsolicited opinion, so take it or leave it. YMMV.

I think the free GIMP would suffice just fine. There's virtually nothing PS CS3 does that the GIMP can't at least come close to.
 
PhaserFuzz said:
No I am not a student and yes I'd prefer Photoshop. A friend gave me a copy on my old PC, but I wanna buy it for my new Mac. I plan on doing graphic editing for a side job, so I wanna "legally own" it haha.
Click to expand...

So you want to "Legally own" it using a COPY that a friend GAVE YOU. How is that legally owning the product? Updates are for people who ACTUALLY BUY the program, not have them given a copy.

Suck it up, buy it once THEN get your updates at a discount.
 
I qualified for student discount and I was only taking one class? Will you be willing to take a graphics course and get the discount? I got mine at Journeyed.com I sent them my roster and ID copies and passed. Now I am half time student.
 
Bobioden said:
So you want to "Legally own" it using a COPY that a friend GAVE YOU. How is that legally owning the product? Updates are for people who ACTUALLY BUY the program, not have them given a copy.

Suck it up, buy it once THEN get your updates at a discount.
Click to expand...

No, you read my post wrong. I said I want to legally buy it for my new Mac. Yes, my friend gave me a copy, but that was on my old PC. I had that for a few years and learned a lot, and now I'm ready to put my talents to use. I'd like to make graphic designing a side job, so yes.. I'm definitely gonna buy it now so I can use it to make money. I was just checking here to see if anyone knew of any sites selling it for cheap.

Thanks for the advice guys! Also, Photoshop Elements is not an option.
 
I've said it before elsewhere, and I'll say it again:

If someone is unwilling to pay XXX dollars for software, then they obviously don't need it. Pros pay the price because they need it for their livelihood.

So, if someone is unwilling to pay the price, then there are plenty of freeware and lower cost options available out there, like the GIMP. If freeware and lower cost options aren't "good enough" (and often they are), then suck it up and pay for the mainstream software and quit complaining about it.
 
I am close to being in the same boat as you. Keep in mind that you CANNOT install PhotoShop 7.0 on OS X. So, if you're running that you need to install CS and then upgrade it to CS 3. Yes, it's $$$...I'm hoping to buy a used CS license from a friend.
 
have you looked at the latest update of pixelmator. OK it's not photoshop but it's worth a look and it is a fraction of photoshop $$$$
 
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