Massively inconsisent pricing

[twinbee]

I'm looking to buy W7 Pro, but am stuck at the massively differing prices on offer.

Going to amazon.co.uk and selecting new, prices range from £40 to £200. New. Many are at about the £100 level, and many are at £160. I don't want to post the exact URL for breaking some forum guidelines, but what gives?

I want to pay cheap sure, but I want to know I'm not losing out on anything and that it's legal etc.

Any advice?

 

[richc46]

There are 3 types of DVD
OEM, for manufacturers and for only one computer, very cheap
Upgrade, about $125.00 USA
Full Retail. much more expensive
If you have a qualifying OS, that you can upgrade from, go for the upgrade version. It is the same as the full retail.

 

[twinbee]

Thanks.

It will be a fresh install (on a 40 GB SSD drive). Do you think I will be 'safe' buying one which costs about £80 then? It is for a single computer, and should be Win 7 Professional. If the SSD dies at some point, obviously I would want to install from the original DVD to a new drive at that point.

The seller supposedly has a high rating.

 

[richc46]

What is your supporting OS? For 80, you are talking about the upgrade. What are you upgrading from and is it on the same computer?

 

[twinbee]

I'm installing fresh. The item is filed under the "full version" at Amazon.co.uk with no mention of the word 'upgrade'. Do you think the sellers are making a mistake or something?

In any case, there are others sellers at Google shopping selling around £100-110 and they make it clear by not mentioning the word 'upgrade'. How would these versions differ from the near £200 offers which in theory seem to be an identical product?

I can paste links if a moderator allows. (not to direct pages but to lists like at Amazon or Google Shopping)

 

[richc46]

If it is way underpriced it is not a mistake, it is a scam. I have helped so many at this forum that have been scammed at Ebay. Please, do not take a chance.

 

[twinbee]

Okay, but the seller has a very good rating (many sales too), and £80 is not *too* low compared to the £100 offers.

Am I safe with a £100 offer? There are loads (big, semi-famous names too) who are selling at that point with high ratings. Again, it looks like the same deal as offers around £180. Again, I can post links if you like, but you only have to visit froogle.co.uk to see for yourself. Then compare to some of Amazon.co.uk's prices (around £180).

I'm still confused at the price difference even here of 70 or 80 quid.

 

[richc46]

Here is a good price for Pro in the USA at Amazon. I would not go much lower than that.
Amazon.com: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional Upgrade: Windows XP: Software: Reviews, Prices & more
I want to help by making you concerned. It is so very easy to grab a cheap price.
You must make the final decision. I would not go below the price, as shown above.
The above is the upgrade price.

 

[Phone Man]

It is OK to post a link. Then we can look at it and see exactly what is being offered.

Jim

 

[twinbee]

Okay thank you both. As said before I need a fresh install, not an upgrade, so here are three different versions:

Vendor: Amazon.co.uk
URL: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional, Full Version (PC DVD), 1 User: Amazon.co.uk: Software
Price: £157.73 ($247.00)

Vendors: Sellers going through Amazon.co.uk
URL: Amazon.co.uk: Used and New: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional, Full Version (PC DVD), 1 User
Price: £40 - £200 (60-$300) .....and a crazy one at £400 - yeah he'll sell.

Vendors: Google Shopping UK
URL: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional - 1 PC
Price: £90 - £120 (140-$190)

As far as I know, all these are Win 7 pro, full version (not upgrade).

 

[Phone Man]

You really need to read each description from each seller.
The 3rd link looks like OEM versions which are locked to the first PC you install it on. Also you get only one disk, either 32bit or 64bit.

The Full and Upgrade versions have both 32bit and 64bit disks and can be reinstalled on any system but only one at a time.

The £40 from the 2nd link is just a product key to upgrade from Home ver to Pro ver. Its called Anytime Upgrade. And some of the others are shipped from the US.

Jim

 

[twinbee]

The 3rd link looks like OEM versions which are locked to the first PC you install it on.

Okay so let's say I need to upgrade the motherboard in the future, or the hard drive / SSD breaks, can I make the change/upgrade if need be? I thought OEM meant a lesser warranty, minimal packaging and no 'extras', but the lock in sounds like a concern. At any time, I'll keep it on one PC, so I intent to stay legal.

Also you get only one disk, either 32bit or 64bit.

I'll just choose and keep with 64bit, so that's not a concern.

The £40 from the 2nd link is just a product key to upgrade from Home ver to Pro ver. Its called Anytime Upgrade. And some of the others are shipped from the US.

How did you figure that out? It doesn't say. In fact, I tried "adding to basket" to see what it would say, and the item was listed as:

Microsoft Windows 7 Professional, Full Version (PC DVD), 1 User - Microsoft; DVD-ROM
Condition: New
In stock
£40.00
You Save:
£179.99 (81%)

Thanks for looking at those. Some of the confusion is lifting, though the massive disparity in the prices is still weird... (£80 difference (100 -> £180) just because of OEM is still big)

 

[bigmck]

Condition: New
In stock
£40.00
You Save:
£179.99 (81%)

Thanks for looking at those. Some of the confusion is lifting, though the massive disparity in the prices is still weird... (£80 difference (100 -> £180) just because of OEM is still big)

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Considering it is an OS, go to a local store so you know what you are getting. If you have Windows on your system now, you can get the Upgrade. If not you need the Full Version. If you buy the OEM, it locks the OS and computer together.

 

[Bill2]

Why dont you buy straight from Microsoft?

Purchase Windows 7 Upgrades and Featured Accessories

Unless you need the specific features of pro, I would suggest you buy the home premium family pack. If you see the link above, you get three licenses for $150. Thats a great deal. See the link below for a comparison of features between different editions.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/14422-compare-windows-7-editions.html

BTW, Pro upgrade is priced at $200 in the MS store.

 

[LiquidSnak]

Buying the £40.00 one from amazon you will get the product you paid for, since it adds to the basket as shown below.

If you don't get the proper thing, open a claim with Amazon.com.

 

[Phone Man]

Here is the listing for the £40.00.



Read the last line. It states it is Anytime Upgrade. Anytime Upgrade is a special procedure to upgrade from one version of Win 7 to a higher version and is just the new Product Code.

The OEM version was originally sold to PC vendors to be used when they sold a new system and is tied to the PC it is first installed on. You can repair the PC with new parts as long as it matches the original equipment and it will be fine, but you cant upgrade to a newer motherboard.

I know it gets confusing so if you find what you want post back and we will review it. If you own a copy of XP or Vista you can use the Upgrade disks, but there are set procedures to get it to activate.

Jim

 

[LiquidSnak]

Weird. It said full version with DVD for me... That's confusing as heck.

 

[twinbee]

Read the last line. It states it is Anytime Upgrade.

Like LiquidSnak, it doesn't for me either. Maybe it's because I'm in the UK and the site adjusts itself accordingly - I dunno.

I'm tempted to get the £70 ($120) one just below - does that say 'anytime upgrade' for you as well? This is a bit confusing.

Thanks all anyway. I've got a decision to make now. Everything hinges on whether I want to risk getting a version which locks itself to the motherboard. It's a new motherboard (Asus P5QL Pro), but it could break (unlikely), or I might find that 16 GB RAM (its max) isn't enough in the future as I do some heavy graphics work. In theory though it should take the new Fermi GPU I hope also to get in the future.

 

[LiquidSnak]

Anyway, if you add it to your cart, and it says "full version" it doesn't matter, because if you don't get the full version, Amazon will take care of you

 

[tw33k]

The one for £40.00 is definitely the Anytime Upgrade. Take a look at on that page at the "25 new" and you'll see all that are available and the different prices.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-li...w?ie=UTF8&qid=1287939361&sr=8-7&condition=new

The "Full Version" is £157.73