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How is it that these guys can stay in business?

Cooknn

Cooknn

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Aug 23, 2003
2,111
0
Fort Myers, FL
www.cheapsoftusa.com
Basic Conditions of Purchasing at Downloadable Software online store
2.1. You are informed that the software is in English language only unless noted differently on the site or by the Support representative;
2.2. You will thoroughly follow the downloading and installation instructions on your account;
2.3. You cannot register the software with the manufacturer and updates are available not for all the products;
2.4. You do not receive printed license documentation;
2.5. You do not receive a copy of the software on a disk.
Click to expand...
I figured I'd shop around for a good price on Photoshop CS2 upgrade but I didn't expect to see it for $69 :eek:
 
Sounds to me like a scam...you can't register it? Or get updates? I dunno...I wouldn't want anything to do with it. Besides, I like having a hard copy on CD/DVD.
 
Cooknn said:
www.cheapsoftusa.com
I figured I'd shop around for a good price on Photoshop CS2 upgrade but I didn't expect to see it for $69 :eek:
Click to expand...


I really DOUBT they will give you a legitimate key for any of the software you buy and I doubt this is legal. If they did give you a real copy they wouldnt tell you to not register with the manufacterer.
 
These guys advertise on Google! Trust me, I'm not touching them with a ten foot pole (across cyber space). Crazy...
 
I once bought Adobe Illustrator for $10 from one of these shady places. Yes, I knew it was illegal and pirated.....:rolleyes: Anyways, they sent me a Windows version CD (didn't know at the time of ordering what platform it was for). So, I never used it and ended up giving it to a friend. Six months later, I got a call from the Secret Service. Apparently, the place I bought the software from was in a foreign country and had terrorist ties. Turns out the software was hacked and included malicious software that somehow assisted in their anti-american agenda.

Anyways, I told the SS guy I gave the software away and didn't know where it was. Pretty scary getting woken up by a call from the Secret Service asking if I know anything about pirated software with terrorist ties :eek:.
 
MoparShaha said:
I once bought Adobe Illustrator for $10 from one of these shady places. Yes, I knew it was illegal and pirated.....:rolleyes: Anyways, they sent me a Windows version CD (didn't know at the time of ordering what platform it was for). So, I never used it and ended up giving it to a friend. Six months later, I got a call from the Secret Service. Apparently, the place I bought the software from was in a foreign country and had terrorist ties. Turns out the software was hacked and included malicious software that somehow assisted in their anti-american agenda.

Anyways, I told the SS guy I gave the software away and didn't know where it was. Pretty scary getting woken up by a call from the Secret Service asking if I know anything about pirated software with terrorist ties :eek:.
Click to expand...

This seems like a good way to let the Windows users take care of themselves. "No, really, these guys are great!"
 
MoparShaha said:
Turns out the software was hacked and included malicious software that somehow assisted in their anti-american agenda.
Click to expand...

Oh, come now, if including malicious software is going to become a crime, Microsoft is never going to stay in business. :p
 
MoparShaha said:
I once bought Adobe Illustrator for $10 from one of these shady places. Yes, I knew it was illegal and pirated.....:rolleyes: Anyways, they sent me a Windows version CD (didn't know at the time of ordering what platform it was for). So, I never used it and ended up giving it to a friend. Six months later, I got a call from the Secret Service. Apparently, the place I bought the software from was in a foreign country and had terrorist ties. Turns out the software was hacked and included malicious software that somehow assisted in their anti-american agenda.

Anyways, I told the SS guy I gave the software away and didn't know where it was. Pretty scary getting woken up by a call from the Secret Service asking if I know anything about pirated software with terrorist ties :eek:.
Click to expand...



ROFL, its interesting how they didn't even bother arresting you or anything for buying the software...

Did you ask them why they needed the software though? Did your friend ever come to you and suddenly say "I gotta goto Afghanistan for some training now?"
 
Sheesh... if you're going to pirate software, you should at least have the courtesy (and the brains) not to pay someone for the privleage. I'm under the opinion that piracy is a bad thing, but profiting directly from it is ten times worse. Besides if both are equally illegal, you might as well do the one that costs you nothing.

One really does wonder how business like that manage to skirt the law and stay around. Operating out of a foreign country might keep you from being prosecuted directly, but how can they get money from a legit credit card clearinghouse? (Actually, no, wait; I'll bet they DON'T charge your card... just sell the nubmer to the highest bidder in Russia so you can "pay" later.)
 
i also guess its a scam.

but could it be that they somehow buy OEM software licences and resell them? then the deal could be legal dependeing on the oem licencing conditions. they could in different countries allow them to resell the software.

but honestly, i wouldn't touch it.
 
Their website is unusually professional looking; I can see how people might get seduced by the low prices and legit-looking website. Still, the "terms" really set the 'ol alarm bells ringing in a second!".

I hope somebody comes knocking on this scumbag's door in the near future with an all-expenses paid 10-year vacation to a Bulgarian correctional facility.
 
andiwm2003 said:
i also guess its a scam.

but could it be that they somehow buy OEM software licences and resell them? then the deal could be legal dependeing on the oem licencing conditions. they could in different countries allow them to resell the software.
Click to expand...

In a word -- no. The "It's OEM so we can sell it for way cheaper without the box" excuse has been used by pirates forever. It just plays on the ignorance of the buyer.

OEM software always has license restrictions - and almost always is prohibited from resale. OEM is often tied to the hardware: if you buy a PC with the OEM Windows installed, and the sticker on the side, you cannot move that software to another PC even if the original machine dies.

Site license software (such as when a company pays a flat fee for all their locations) is tied to the company. The software cannot be sold or used by anyone outside the organization.

But one scenario is that pirates order install CD's replacement CDs for $10 each which are a component of a site license -- these are just the media with no license and no serial number -- and they stick on a cracked serial or installation key.

Bottom line -- no matter what media it comes on on what package it comes in, when you buy software you are purchasing a license to use the software. Whether it is OEM, site license, clone factory or hand-burned CD-R, these cheap software places are ALL violating copyright and you are not getting a legal license to the software.
 
Lord Blackadder said:
I hope somebody comes knocking on this scumbag's door in the near future with an all-expenses paid 10-year vacation to a Bulgarian correctional facility.
Click to expand...
That's been an ongoing problem in that country, they have the laws but no one wants to enforce them. Check out this: "Software piracy continues to be a serious problem, although an industry legalization campaign, which began in 1999, has made noticeable gains against unauthorized software. Nevertheless, the lack of prosecutions and court judgments has kept the piracy rate at an unacceptably high level. Over the last three years, out of over 122 criminal prosecutions filed, only four have reached settlement and only one has produced a court judgment."
 
iMeobot, this is sure to be a dumb question, but why are many MR members' avatars growing the same hairdo? Did I miss something? :confused:
 
i wouldn't buy from a company that said "online soft" at the top, no matter how dumb i was or how cheap the deals were.

Old price, new price. Haha, it's like they just decided to knock $500 off the price one day. :p
 
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