8 Comments

Yes these are scams but when you buy a licence from Microsoft for say, Office 2023, aren't you buying a Perpetual Licence for Office 2023 (only)?

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Tes, and nobody in their right mind buys that product unless they have a massive VL discount, because the subscription products make far more sense economically.

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Like they say, there is no free lunch. Considering that anyone willing to create a free Microsoft Account can use Office on-line for free, why would anyone take the risk. Sooner or later, it'll catch-up with them (often at an inopportune time).

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Whew! Too much hassle for these old bones!. I'll just plunk down my $99 dollars a year for a Home subscription and be happy!

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My biggest complaint with software (especially with Microsoft and Adobe) is they keep changing the UI, necessitating relearning and crushing productivity.

I have a Microsoft 365 subscription but I won't get an Adobe account because I absolutely hate the changes to the Acrobat UI after Acrobat XI.

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I may be wrong but here's my assessment: if Microsoft could easily and/or readily identify improperly used bulk keys they would shut them down and word would very quickly and without fail spread all over the internet and people would stop buying gray market keys and the problem would be once and for all solved. So I have to assume Microsoft can't easily and/or readily identify improperly used bulk keys, so they do nothing. And this is likely the reason that these types of keys continue to be sold year after year and are almost never revoked.

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I think you're on the right track, but it's a little more complicated than that. If Microsoft could easily and/or readily identify the sellers of improperly used bulk keys they MIGHT be able to shut them down. But that's an expensive and time-consuming legal process, and the buyers of those keys are innocent bystanders. Shutting down access to their products would create a PR nightmare for Microsoft, with no discernible benefit., especially because those buyers are more likely to be budget-conscious home users. So, in this case, Microsoft basically turns a blind eye and focuses primarily on its business customers.

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what if you buy a sealed office 2021 that comes with a DVD. I have seen them for about $50 and I assumed they are retail, but I do not know?

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