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Cheapest way to get Adobe Photoshop CS3?

Nope. At least, not 7.01.

Code: 
[null] yellow$ system_profiler -detailLevel full | grep Photoshop
      Location: /Applications/Adobe Photoshop 7/Adobe ImageReady 7.0
    Adobe Photoshop 7:
      Location: /Applications/Adobe Photoshop 7/Adobe Photoshop 7.0
[null] yellow$ sw_vers
ProductName:    Mac OS X
ProductVersion: 10.4.11
BuildVersion:   8S165
 
PhaserFuzz said:
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!
Click to expand...

You can buy Elements and upgrade to CS3 for $299 plus tax and shipping.

I called Adobe yesterday for the deal and they never asked me for my Elements serial no.

The offer ends Friday, though.

More info:

http://direct.adobe.com/v?xJlqHqlEJTqTJvP&PID=2767030
 
beatzfreak said:
You can buy Elements and upgrade to CS3 for $299 plus tax and shipping.

I called Adobe yesterday for the deal and they never asked me for my Elements serial no.

The offer ends Friday, though.

More info:

http://direct.adobe.com/v?xJlqHqlEJTqTJvP&PID=2767030
Click to expand...

Beatzfreak beat me to it. I have a purchased copy of PSE4 on my MBP and have gotten 2 emails from Adobe advertising PS CS3 for all registered owners of PSE for only $299 until the end of this week.
 
PhaserFuzz said:
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.
Click to expand...

I never knew photoshop could teach you graphic design.
 
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...

OK.. I tell you what I did.

It's not an illegal act but maybe your clients might ask about miscellaneous charges on the invoice, chances are if they're under a contract to you, they won't moan too much.

Buy a full retail copy of Adobe CS3, what ever flavour you need, deduct the sales tax from the price and charge half or the full amount between all your clients.. if you have a lot, then everyone pays less. You have to remember, your buying the product to satisfy your clients needs, not your own.
 
PhaserFuzz said:
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!
Click to expand...

I love the older version more then new one... Not so much changes, so buy old one to economize your money! :)
 
There are many sites selling it for cheap but they are pirates.
The cheapest legal way is to try to qualify for an upgrade and work for an educational institution or government. This is what I did. We bought an upgrade (upsell) license to CS3 creative suite because we had full retail PS CS2 (regular CS3 design suite was ~$310 in these circumstances). The EULA allows to use the same license on two computers provided they are used by the same person and not at the same time (which covers my work iMac and my personal home PB).

But what is it in Photoshop that is so essential for you to make money? There are cheaper alternatives and unless you are a geek all this PS3 stuff is a bunch of overpriced bloatware that rivals and exceeds the bloatiness of MS office. They think that professional must mean bloated, when in fact professional means lean and efficient. I would not pay my own money for this stuff. Seriously.

So what is it that you are going to do that requires you to use only Adobe products?
 
UltraNEO* said:
OK.. I tell you what I did.

It's not an illegal act but maybe your clients might ask about miscellaneous charges on the invoice, chances are if they're under a contract to you, they won't moan too much.

Buy a full retail copy of Adobe CS3, what ever flavour you need, deduct the sales tax from the price and charge half or the full amount between all your clients.. if you have a lot, then everyone pays less. You have to remember, your buying the product to satisfy your clients needs, not your own.
Click to expand...

This is a clear violation of the Adobe End User License Agreement it you haven't purchased a volume license and have enough legal licenses.
 
xxx dollars

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.
Click to expand...


Excuse me, but the only one here that seems to be complaining is you!

This person has simply asked a question, you stuck your nose in to complain about something that you are not really interested in helping with. If someone is not willing to pay xxx dollars (whatever that means - is that some secret code for rich people?). It's most likely because they can't actually afford to pay the dollars! Try to pry yourself out of your own self absorbed shoes for a moment and put yourself in someone else's. We are not all as fortunate, we are more talented!

In reply to original Q. I wish i could help, but can't... I'm in the same boat and can't afford to buy!

Give them a break and bug someone else! :p :D
 
hah i do support the makers of software. I am against piracy as it indeed does slow down the development, manifacturers start to lack the funds and dont develop as much and fast as they could have. I do pirate myself, but just the stuff that i dont benefit financially from. Like i work i bought as i support the development and i use it for school, but things such as adobe creative suite i use time to time just for fun or edit a photo, add some random stuff, i will not pay for that as it is completly unbeneficial to me. there is my 0.02$
 
The OP clearly stated that he wants a legal version. Those who are suggesting anything else apparently didn't read his comments, or the sites' TOS, (or the gentle reminder in the thread??). Piracy is stealing, regardless of how you justify it.

OP: Have you looked on eBay? Once in a while, someone buys it, doesn't use it, and sells it for less than retail. Also, if your PC version given you by a friend was transferred to you, (meaning he uninstalled it from all of his systems and transferred the license solely to you), then you can call Adobe about a crossgrade from windows version to OSX version. If that transaction was as mentioned above, you can then use the crossgrade OSX version to upgrade to CS3. That's all I have for suggestions. Good luck to you.
 
yellow said:
This is a clear violation of the Adobe End User License Agreement it you haven't purchased a volume license and have enough legal licenses.
Click to expand...
Please point to the specific part in the EULA where this is prohibited. I ask because in all industries you pass your overhead to your clients. Why this is this any different?
 
Tom Yt said:
Please point to the specific part in the EULA where this is prohibited.
Click to expand...

Section 4.4. No Transfer.

Tom Yt said:
I ask because in all industries you pass your overhead to your clients. Why this is this any different?
Click to expand...

Overhead is one thing. The poster was talking about charging 50% + of the software's price to their clients. I seems immoral to me to buy $1000 in software, and then continually charge $500 - $1000 to each client for the cost of the software.
 
Tax implications

The other way to look at it - to the best of my understanding that is - is from an income tax point of view. Tax accountants please correct me if I am wrong.

The OP stated that they wanted to make graphic design a side business - presumably charging money for this and writing off business expenses. Software is depreciated (for accounting purposes an "expense") very quickly for businesses, so you can write off the cost of CS3 against revenue. I don't recall how many years it takes to fully depreciate software - but if the OP isn't doing this full time its possible they might be able to fully balance revenue vs expenses and not have to pay income tax.

I agree with some of the comments above that talk about tools of the trade for pros. Pros buy the tools they need (not necessarily happily) in order to do their trade. Its just what you have to do. I'm a photographer.... I need to have the tools to do my job.
 
yellow said:
Section 4.4. No Transfer.
Overhead is one thing. The poster was talking about charging 50% + of the software's price to their clients. I seems immoral to me to buy $1000 in software, and then continually charge $500 - $1000 to each client for the cost of the software.
Click to expand...

He most certainly did not. And i quote "amount between all your clients.. if you have a lot, then everyone pays less.". He meant: since this is a business, and this is a overhead cost, you divide (part of) the expenses by the number of clients and you charge it to them.

And section 4.4 deals with partial rights transfer, the poster never suggested "charge your clients the cost, and in-turn allow your clients to use the software under restrictions."


snberk103 said:
The OP stated that they wanted to make graphic design a side business - presumably charging money for this and writing off business expenses. Software is depreciated (for accounting purposes an "expense") very quickly for businesses, so you can write off the cost of CS3 against revenue. I don't recall how many years it takes to fully depreciate software - but if the OP isn't doing this full time its possible they might be able to fully balance revenue vs expenses and not have to pay income tax.
Click to expand...
Not sure exactly what the tax amortization rules for software are in the states, but I think it's three years straight line. IE: if you spend $600, you expense $200/year for three years. And yes, that can be claimed against income given there is income. Or the losses can be carried forward until such time as the OP starts making money.

BUT income tax benefits/consequences should not be your concern at this point. And I say this as an accountant. I agree with everyone who says you have to spend money to make money. If you are considering a considerable time investment in a trade where you think you could be earning income, there is no point in half ass-ing it. If this is something you want to do, and Photoshop is something you will most definitely need (not just want) then you should bite the bullet and buy it.
 
Tom Yt said:
He most certainly did not. And i quote "amount between all your clients.. if you have a lot, then everyone pays less.". He meant: since this is a business, and this is a overhead cost, you divide (part of) the expenses by the number of clients and you charge it to them.
Click to expand...

He most certainly did.

UltraNEO* said:
Buy a full retail copy of Adobe CS3, what ever flavour you need, deduct the sales tax from the price and charge half or the full amount between all your clients.. if you have a lot, then everyone pays less. You have to remember, your buying the product to satisfy your clients needs, not your own.
Click to expand...

I don't care what he might have meant. I am concerned with what he actually wrote. If he meant distribute the total cost evenly amongst all his clients, then he should have been more specific about what he meant. I found his post to be ambiguous enough to be construed either way.

That being said, I see your perspective now.
 
Cheapest way...

Buy a unregistered copy of an earlier version of Photoshop for less than $50 on eBay, then buy the upgrade version. Perfectly legal.
 
OMG! The OP is asking for Photoshop CS3. Not Elements. Not any freeware. He isn't asking for any cheaper versions.

Just look around on the internet.
 
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