Poll

A quick, informal poll for the few of you who may keep up with my posts.

Would you buy from http://www.softwarebargain.net/ ?






Heh. Someday, I need to learn how to do cuts, because now I'm going to bias you with my own answer and thoughts.

Buying online has added a lot of options, especially to people like me. Durango's great, but it lacks many major stores. And, of course, when you have so many out there to look at, why not hunt for bargains?

$60 for Photoshop 7? Well damn. The same for Windows XP Pro? Sounds awful good. It sounds... too good to be true, in fact. So when someone at work pointed out this site and asked about getting software there for the Herald, I had to look a bit closer. Me? I wouldn't buy here.

Most reputable companies have some sort of 'about us' information with contact numbers and a physical address. No such animal on this site. The closest thing I could find was mention that the software is shipped from "Eastern Europe." Hmm.

Another thing I look for at a site is how payment is accepted. The ability to take credit card payments is a plus, but this site *only* takes credit cards, and payment is handled by third-party sites (one for Mastercard, one for Visa). Both of these sites seem geared toward selling subscriptions to web sites, not products.

On top of that, when answering in their FAQ "How can you sell this software so cheap" the site goes on about how it's OEM - no retail packaging or manuals. THEN, it adds the little line "This software is recognized as a backup software." Umm... Backup software? Isn't that the copy you're making for your own use if things go bad? Also: "You also get the activation key, serial number or cd key necessary to activate the software so it work. Note, that you will not be able to register the software with the manufacturer and get their support..." Gosh, that's generally the situation when the software is already registered and in use somewhere else. Hmm.

So this is exactly the sort of site I'd steer clear of. The software may in fact work, but at the very least it sounds like the CDs being sold are copies made in violation of the license agreements. So, at best, it's illegal on a technicality some people value more than others. At worst... well, what's to stop them from taking the money from orders, closing up shop, and walking off without giving a darn thing back?

Comments

  1. tashiroSeptember 11, 2003 at 6:16 AM

    Basically, it looks to be very 'grey'. The fact they have no address or RL contact numbers would immediately make me not even remotely consider buying from them. And with the 'warning labels' thrown in, right there I'd say it's either grey market or black market material.

    ReplyDelete
  2. marinredwolfSeptember 11, 2003 at 9:34 AM

    Do you usually check for those things? Though I guess you may not do a whole lot of online purchasing anyway.

    ReplyDelete

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