The Transfer of OEM Licenses from a dead PC to Another PC

Subscriptions sound like a better deal than full-retail copies.

When I contacted MS about my product key and how I got it non 100% EULA-compliantly from Ebay, I hope they don't blacklist my key. Do they only do that if its a VLC that has been sold?

A Key becomes blocked when MS can show that it has been used outside the terms of the license - usually because either it's been sold and activated on multiple machines, or has been reported as returned.
In the case of Volume licenses, they can also be blocked because of overuse, or because the subscription has been rescinded for whatever reason.

Subscriptions sound like a better deal than full-retail copies.

Of course they make it sound like that. They are trying to move you into subscriptions. They are not going to make it seem unattractive. That would be stupid.

The whole point is to stop you owning it.

Very bad idea.

You have NEVER 'owned' anything with any software, unless you wrote it yourself.
The only thing you purchase is the right to use the software.
Windows has so far been a perpetual license - and until Office 365, so was Office. This allowed you to use the software until doomsday should you so wish, so long as you could find something to run it on.

Subscription software is identical - except that the license is time-limited and will deny access as soon as (or at least soon after) you forget to pay the subscription. It does have the advantage that in theory it provides 'free' upgrades when a new version is released. Many people will feel that this makes budgeting easier - and it may be the case that in a business it will also give a tax incentive.

lct01a said:

A Key becomes blocked when MS can show that it has been used outside the terms of the license - usually because either it's been sold and activated on multiple machines, or has been reported as returned.

So It's a possibility that MS will kill my PK because I contacted them?

Possible - but very unlikely, I think. So long as the same Key doesn't appear on multiple machines in a short period , then you should be fine.

Office installs - some of them - have a license which allows installation on two machines at the same time, providing both machines are owned and primarily used by the same person.

As far as I am aware NO Office OEM license allows this - and most certainly, no Publicly available Windows license (except for the Family Pack upgrade license, and Volume licenses) have this ability.

You can find the precise license terms for most public current MS products here. License Terms

Retail licenses have always been more expensive than OEM ones - because they include MS support (for 90 days after activation) and allow transfer to new machines. However, now that Windows 7 Retail is no longer publicly available, there is a rarity value attached - and counterfeiters can be expected to try and take advantage of this.

The price of $409 for Windows Pro is exorbitant - and far higher than RRP ever was.

It is perfectly clear:

Directive 2009/24/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the legal protection of
computer programs (OJ 2009 L 111, p. 16).

Where the copyright holder makes available to his customer a copy – tangible or intangible
– and at the same time concludes, in return form payment of a fee, a licence agreement
granting the customer the right to use that copy for an unlimited period, that rightholder
sells the copy to the customer and thus exhausts his exclusive distribution right. Such a
transaction involves a transfer of the right of ownership of the copy.

Therefore, even if the licence agreement prohibits a further transfer, the rightholder can no longer oppose the resale of that copy.