My Windows 7 copy looks fake. Typo on back cover. Came from China.

sygnus21 said:

Hi MPC Head, sorry to hear about your dilemma and hope you get it sorted.

One thing that I'm adamant about is getting my software from reputable places, especially my OS. The way I see it, I have to put my sensitive data on that OS, my thoughts and ideas on that Office suite, my creativity on that imaging program.

Point, this is data that I value very much and looking for cheap deals in dark alleys is akin to gambling in Vegas. Let's not forget.... the house always wins.

Don’t gamble your data with spotty software vendors. You never know what they did to, or with the software, or where it’s coming from. Sometimes cheap comes with a high price.

Legitimate software from legitimate vendors equals piece of mind, and secure data.

My two cents.

I didn't know counterfeit OS's even existed until this whole situation. I have been using XP since 2002, and all my OS's where preinstalled with the PC's I've bought. This is the first time ever I shopped for an OS only, since this is for my custom built tower. I'm new to the OS shopping "game"! I was just a consumer shopping on eBay like I do a lot of stuff!

Understand, and unfortunately innocent customers like you are usually the ones taken advantage of. I would say let this be a lesson learned and pass it on so that other are aware.

Anyway let’s hope this whole ordeal is a misunderstanding, if not, let’s hope it gets sorted.

MPC Head said:

I didn't know counterfeit OS's even existed until this whole situation. I have been using XP since 2002, and all my OS's where preinstalled with the PC's I've bought. This is the first time ever I shopped for an OS only, since this is for my custom built tower. I'm new to the OS shopping "game"! I was just a consumer shopping on eBay like I do a lot of stuff!

That's why a lot of people get caught, they simply don't know about or expect these things. Happens a lot more than you might think.

Wanna buy a Rolex for half price? :)

Regards....Mike Connor

Believe it or not I was at a computer sale where they get a bunch of vendors together in one place for those huge sales. Well to my utter surprise they had a vendor there who was actually "selling" Vista service pack 2 disks for $9.99! I couldn't believe it and actually reported him to the event staff.

Don't know what they did about it but how many unsuspecting customers got got on that one

My surmise would be that if the OS came from outside the US, I would say it's a bootleg copy. As far as getting your money back, I really doubt it. After all, he was/is in the "business" to make fast money and run. In the words of Fiona Glenann, "If something is too good to be true, it's best to shoot it, just in case."

I hope you get the information you're looking for.

I would agree with the couple comments above - just call Microsoft. They can tell you exactly whether your copy is genuine or counterfeit. You've clearly made the effort to buy it legally, it does not seem to be illegal to buy software on eBay per se, moreover, the activation and automatic "genuine-ness" test were successful. So in fact, you suspicions are based on that eBay email, sent to you after the sale was concluded and some typographic flaws of the package. The place of origin in my opinion is less suspicious - after all, 90% of stuff in your house is from China. So, if you just tell all that to Microsoft, I am sure they will be willing to help you establish whether your software is in fact fake or real, and will probably give you a legal copy for your effort. In any case, it's a free call.

unifex said:

I would agree with the couple comments above - just call Microsoft. They can tell you exactly whether your copy is genuine or counterfeit. You've clearly made the effort to buy it legally, it does not seem to be illegal to buy software on eBay per se, moreover, the activation and automatic "genuine-ness" test were successful. So in fact, you suspicions are based on that eBay email, sent to you after the sale was concluded and some typographic flaws of the package. The place of origin in my opinion is less suspicious - after all, 90% of stuff in your house is from China. So, if you just tell all that to Microsoft, I am sure they will be willing to help you establish whether your software is in fact fake or real, and will probably give you a legal copy for your effort...

I don't think so. Whether the software the OP purchased was genuine or bogus is irrelevant. He didn't buy it from Microsoft. Buying a product on eBay isn't illegal, but a vendor who sells a Microsoft product without having a license from Microsoft is liable for commiting a civil wrong -- a tort. And a buyer who knowingly purchases a Microsoft product from a vendor without a license is equally guilty. Microsoft isn't going to help the OP because the OP did exactly what Microsoft is telling people NOT to do. Microsoft is aggressively trying to protect its products from sellers who are not licensed by Microsoft to sell its products. This OP went to a 3rd party seller to buy a Microsoft product at a lower price. And got stung!!! That's what can happen when you buy one company's product from someone else. He would have reaped the benefit of buying the software for a lower price, and the other side of the coin is that he has to also bear the risk of the product being defective.

It's not that we haven't all done it --- it's just that if we do, we have to bear the risk of doing so.

Imperfect1 said:

He didn't buy it from Microsoft. Buying a product on eBay isn't illegal, but a vendor who sells a Microsoft product without having a license from Microsoft is liable for commiting a civil wrong -- a tort.

To be clear you CAN purchase Microsoft products from 3rd party vendors/companies as long as they are licensed and authorized to do so..... otherwise Best Buy, Amazon, CompUSA, and a host of "brand name" computer stores and OEM manufactures wouldn't be able to seel Microsoft products legally.

Imperfect1 said:

Buying a product on eBay isn't illegal, but a vendor who sells a Microsoft product without having a license from Microsoft is liable for commiting a civil wrong -- a tort. And a buyer who knowingly purchases a Microsoft product from a vendor without a license is equally guilty.

I'm not sure I agree here. Yes you should always get your products from reputable dealers/vendors, but If I went into a computer store and bought a product with an OS installed I'm not going to know if the store is "legal" or not. And in reality, almost no one is going to ask to see a license authorizing the place to sell Microsoft products.

I also think you need to take into consideration that the OP IS trying to find out if the item is genuine so that he can take actions against the seller. After all that is why he posted his situation here

Lastly I think e-bay needs to bear some responsibility here as well since they knowingly allowed this seller to build a fan base selling presumably "fake" copies of Microsoft products. Where was that protection to customers they talk about?

Imperfect1 said:

This OP went to a 3rd party seller to buy a Microsoft product at a lower price. And got stung!!! That's what can happen when you buy one company's product from someone else.

So.....

Since I bought a copy of Adobe Photoshop CS5 from Amazon.com for $169.95 instead of the $199.99 charged at the Adobe store, that makes the transaction illegal?

That if the item was counterfeit I should expect it because Amazon is selling it below cost?

And that I would be wrong because I didn't ask Amazon if they were authorized to sell Adobe products?

Are you also stating that 3rd party vendors like Amazon aren’t authorized to sell software?

I do agree that you should only get your products from "authorized" vendors, but that doesn't mean that because a vendor is selling below costs they trying to rip you off. It means are authorized “reputable” sellers trying to get you to shop with them!

My two cents.

sygnus21 said:

Imperfect1 said:

He didn't buy it from Microsoft. Buying a product on eBay isn't illegal, but a vendor who sells a Microsoft product without having a license from Microsoft is liable for commiting a civil wrong -- a tort.

To be clear you CAN purchase Microsoft products from 3rd party vendors/companies as long as they are licensed and authorized to do so..... otherwise Best Buy, Amazon, CompUSA, and a host of "brand name" computer stores and OEM manufactures wouldn't be able to seel Microsoft products legally.

Imperfect1 said:

Buying a product on eBay isn't illegal, but a vendor who sells a Microsoft product without having a license from Microsoft is liable for commiting a civil wrong -- a tort. And a buyer who knowingly purchases a Microsoft product from a vendor without a license is equally guilty.

I'm not sure I agree here. Yes you should always get your products from reputable dealers/vendors, but If I went into a computer store and bought a product with an OS installed I'm not going to know if the store is "legal" or not. And in reality, almost no one is going to ask to see a license authorizing the place to sell Microsoft products.

I also think you need to take into consideration that the OP IS trying to find out if the item is genuine so that he can take actions against the seller. After all that is why he posted his situation here

Lastly I think e-bay needs to bear some responsibility here as well since they knowingly allowed this seller to build a fan base selling presumably "fake" copies of Microsoft products. Where was that protection to customers they talk about?

Imperfect1 said:

This OP went to a 3rd party seller to buy a Microsoft product at a lower price. And got stung!!! That's what can happen when you buy one company's product from someone else.

So.....

Since I bought a copy of Adobe Photoshop CS5 from Amazon.com for $169.95 instead of the $199.99 charged at the Adobe store, that makes the transaction illegal?

That if the item was counterfeit I should expect it because Amazon is selling it below cost?

And that I would be wrong because I didn't ask Amazon if they were authorized to sell Adobe products?

Are you also stating that 3rd party vendors like Amazon aren’t authorized to sell software?

I do agree that you should only get your products from "authorized" vendors, but that doesn't mean that because a vendor is selling below costs they trying to rip you off. It means are authorized “reputable” sellers trying to get you to shop with them!

My two cents.

As long as the 3rd party vendor is licensed to sell the products, they may do so. BestBuy, Amazon.com, CompUSA, etc. all have license agreements with the authorized representatives of the products they sell. Ebay is a different story. Some vendors who sell products on eBay may actually have gone to the trouble and expense of obtaining a license, but I would surmise that most have not. And I think the public pretty well knows that. In any event, I'm sure you've heard the old adage that "Ignorance of the law is no excuse." There is truth to that. The responsibility is on the buyer to make sure he/she is buying a product from a licensed seller, not the other way around. The fact that the OP is merely trying to find out whether or not his/her software is genuine does not take away from the fact that he/she purchased the product from an unlicensed seller and now has no recourse from Microsoft because this is exactly what Microsoft is spending millions of dollars to prevent. This is BIG BUSINESS and these companies are not playing!