Buying FCP on eBaY a bad idea?

[Michael]

I do a ton of eBay purchasing, and here are the rules of thumb to which I subscribe:

1) Don’t buy from anyone with fewer than 25 transactions. If a seller has over 1000, a few bad transactions are acceptable, as long as his satisfaction rating is at least 98 percent.

2) Check the sellers last few transactions. If the seller sells dolls, for example, make sure you e-mail the seller and ask why they’re now selling software. Sometimes seller’s names get hijacked. Consistancy in items sold is usually a good sign.

3) Open a PayPal account and deal exclusively with folks who use PayPal. Yes, it costs a little extra, but PayPal guarantees all sales. If something goes wrong you can get most of your money back, if not all.

4) If something looks too good to be true, IT IS.

5) Be careful about acedemic versions. Ask to make sure it’s the full licensed version before bidding. Acedemic versions sell for half price and can get tricky to upgrade to the next release.

That said, I bought my first legal version of FCP on eBay, I bought FCP 1.0 when 2.0 was already in stores. There were fewer bidders for old software and I got a still sealed version for $250 dollars. Then I bought the upgrade and wound up with a fully licensed legal version for about $600 dollars. Good deal. I’ve done this with several pieces of software and it’s a good plan to get software for less.

-Michael

[Jeff Carpenter]

E-Bay is tricky. You have to make sure that you’re getting the original CDs in the original box with the manuals.

Ways that people try to cheat you on E-Bay with software:
1) Send you a COPY of the software, meaning they kept it and you don’t really own it.
2) Send you an UPGRADE instead of the full version meaning you can’t load it
3) Sell you some kind of student-version meaning it either lacks functions and/or you can’t upgrade it later

And those are just 3 I could think up. I’m sure there are many more ways to get cheated.

So, what to do? Well, first of all, I’d advise you to ignore very, VERY low prices. Second, only consider items that have original, home-made photos. If they’re using the clip-art from Apple.com, skip it. The photos should include everything you’re getting AND the text of the ad should CLEARLY state that you’re getting an original version that’s NOT a student or evaluation version and it includes all of the codes and books. If that’s not spelled out 100% clearly…skip it.

And finally, see if you can find some way to trust the person. Read all of their comments from people they’ve sold to in the past. E-Mail them and see what response you get. Ask if you can call them on the phone and talk to them. Ask them WHY they’re selling it. If they hesitate to do any of these things, skip it.

I bought a version of DVD Studio Pro once on E-Bay and it was fine. But that’s because I followed all of my rules AND…here’s the most important part…I was only saving about $40 under retail. When you’re saving a lot of money, you have to ask “Why isn’t this person asking more?”

[Debe]

I second the emotion.

I bought my first copy of FCP (2.0) sealed and unregistered off of eBay back in 2000 or so because I was just starting out with my new business and cash was tight. It took forever for it to arrive (okay, really, a week…but i SEEMED like forever…)

I installed it on my BLue & white G3, and life was gooooood!!

Upgrades in hardware and software came along, and it was a really good way to get my foot in the FCP door.

As long as it’s a legal copy and a reputable seller, there’s no legal issue for you. Like Michael says, beware the Academic version. You can’t upgrade those….

debe

[Scotty Pupkin]

Thanks for all the responses…..I really appreciate it.

[David Smith]

Well, I take a slightly different attitude. I wouldn’t bother with the risk for $40, but i agree that if the price is way too low, it’s probably a scam. I bought a full Final Cut Studio box on Ebay last summer but really took time and used the rules stated already by others. I had to return the first purchase as I had emailed the seller and was told it was not an Academic or NFS (Not for Sale) version. Turned out to be NFS and the seller took it back with no problem.

My second purchase turned out just fine, it was a sealed Studio box and I registered it with no problem. I saved about $500 off of retail. Again, I wouldn’t bother if it was one or even two hundred off.

One final safety tip…. use Paypal and pay with a credit card….. ALWAYS. Your credit card company will warrant against bogus sales. Paypal will only give you $175 back and the process is a real pain. I got scammed for a tripod dolly that was misrepresented and had to get the balance of my money from the credit card company. It was a hassle, but I got back every penny, the seller lost his ebay account and his paypal account was frozen. No fun for me though.

Oh, and I also have bought AppleCare on Ebay and saved quite a bit. Again, be very careful and read the listings “with a fine tooth comb”.

Good luck with your purchase!

David

[David Smith]

[David Smith] “I had emailed the seller and was told it was not an Academic or NFS (Not for Sale) version.”

Sorry, that should read NFR – Not For Resale. Make sure what you buy is NOT Academic (Apple does not allow upgrades of Academic software) or NFR.