Coreldraw 4

[Jack Harper]

Hello - I am considering buying Coreldraw 4 and see it for $149.00 new unopened, full version, not academic from an Ebay power seller. How can this be, what am I missing here? Thanks for your feedback.

[Dave Johnson29]

Hello - I am considering buying Coreldraw 4 and see it for $149.00 new unopened, full version, not academic from an Ebay power seller. How can this be, what am I missing here? Thanks for your feedback.

Hi Jack,

I hope you mean X4?

Is it an upgrade version? They usually run around $179. You would have to have a previous version of Corel for it to install. I am not sure what previous versions qualify for the upgrade.

You would need to find out if your current version of Corel qualifies. I would imagine you can find that on Corel's website.

[Jack Harper]

Hi Jack,

I hope you mean X4?

Is it an upgrade version? They usually run around $179. You would have to have a previous version of Corel for it to install. I am not sure what previous versions qualify for the upgrade.

You would need to find out if your current version of Corel qualifies. I would imagine you can find that on Corel's website.

Dave - Yes, I am referring to X4. The price of $149.00 offered by the power seller is not an upgrade or academic version, but rather the full retail version, never opened or registered. They have more than 10 available and the price is a buy-it-now. It just sounds too low and wondered what the catch was. Being a power seller on ebay suggests they are not some fly-by-night seller. Thoughts?

[Angus Hines]

Hey Jack did you notice if they had X4 Technical...which is X4 with 3D tools?

[Dave Johnson29]

It just sounds too low and wondered what the catch was. Being a power seller on ebay suggests they are not some fly-by-night seller. Thoughts?

Hi Jack,

It does sound too good to be true but it may be distressed stock and they have used the Upgrade price. Maybe you should tell them after buying a copy and it installs and registers OK as a full version.

As you say, as a Power Seller it should be fairly safe, although I do NOT use ebay after being ripped off several times and ebay were not much help. Albeit the rip-offs were not with Power Sellers and it was several years back.

Personally I'd go with the old adage, "if it looks too good..."

[Mike Christen]

One thing I saw with the package is that it says

***Returns policy: Corel software is not returnable for any reason.***

May want to think twice before purchase

[Martin Boekers]

I've seen sites that sell software cheap, usually without support or documentation. They say they are legal as they were bulk purchases designated to be a package that came with a new computer purchase.

I've never really explored these though. Software is how I get my work designed and to the laser. I want to make sure I'm legal and have a "supportable" copy.

Marty

[Dan Hintz]

Jack,

I just looked through most of the ads currently listed on eBay. Many say "Full version, not academic or upgrade", but what they fail to mention is it's OEM. OEM versions are supported by the bundling company, not Corel directly. When they say "No manual" or "Not retail box", it means OEM. I do not know where Corel stands on upgrades from OEM bozes, but they probably choose not to do so.

[Dan Hintz]

Since this topic comes up from time to time, I decided to provide a more definitive answer as it pertains to Corel. The following quotes are directly from Corel's website:

OEM stands for "original equipment manufacturer" and OEM software is a phrase that refers to software that is sold to computer builders and hardware manufacturers (OEMs) in large quantities, for the purpose of bundling with computer hardware. The third-party software that comes with your digital camera, graphics tablet, computer/PC, printer or scanner is an example of OEM software.

In many cases, this bundled software is a version of a program that is also sold on its own as a stand alone product. Sometimes it is a feature-limited version of the retail software, often dubbed as a "special edition" (SE) or "limited edition" (LE).
OEM software may also be an unlimited, fully-functional version of the product that can be purchased at a discount with a new computer because the system builder sells in large quantities and passes the savings on to the buyer. There are often special license restrictions attached to OEM software which attempts to restrict the way it is allowed to be sold. For example, the end-user license agreement (EULA) for fully functional OEM software may state that it is not allowed to be sold without the accompanying hardware.
There can be confusion about the legality of OEM software because many unethical online sellers have taken advantage of consumers by offering drastically discounted software under the "OEM" label, when it was never authorized by the publisher to be sold as such. Although in most instances it is perfectly legal to purchase OEM software, the phrase has often been used to trick consumers into buying counterfeit software. In these cases, the software was never published under an OEM license, and the seller is offering pirated software which may not be functional, and you may well not even receive it.

OEM or "bundled" software releases are not offered with warranty support. Live telephone support is a paid service and is available for OEM, "white box," jewel case (CD only), trial, or Academic versions of our products.

If you see Corel software programs offered for sale at less than our retail price, make sure that the software is being sold legally. Some "vendors" sell our software programs for a very low price, and often offer only the program CD Rom discs without the associated packaged manual, box, etc. Unfortunately, some software pirates use the legitimacy of some Internet Auction Sites to reach a broader pool of software users, or take content off Corel's main website to appear legitimate, and therefore customers end up purchasing illegal software unknowingly and become a victim of software piracy. You should contact the "vendor" you purchased from and demand a refund. Corel's OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) CDs must be sold in conjunction with hardware. This includes computers, scanners, printers, and cameras. Some products, like WordPerfect Office X3 OEM, must ONLY be sold with a personal computer. The selling of OEM product as stand alone is a type of software piracy known as "Grey Market Piracy." The practice of selling our OEM software as a stand alone product is in direct violation of our OEM Agreements. It is also an infringement, and an inducement to infringe, Corel's copyright in these products. We refer you to the recent ruling of the United States District Court, San Jose Division, in the case of Adobe Systems, Inc. v. Stargate Software Inc. case no. C 99-20284 JW. If you are unsure of the legitimacy of the vendor, please contact Corel and we can help clarify.

A vendor that is selling CDs only may be offering you illegal software. IF YOU PURCHASE SOFTWARE THIS WAY, YOU MAY NOT REGISTER THE SOFTWARE WITH COREL, NOR ARE YOU AUTHORIZED TO INSTALL IT ON YOUR COMPUTER, OBTAIN UPGRADES, TECHNICAL SUPPORT OR OTHER SERVICES OFFERED TO COREL USERS.

[Larry Bratton]

Jack,
I think it becomes a no-brainer after reading THAT! Advice would be to save your money and buy a legal copy. Upgrades are actually pretty cheap after the original purchase.

[Jack Harper]

Thanks to everyone for their input. I knew I would get to the bottom of it here on the Creek.

[Scott Shepherd]

We bought X3 from here :

http://www.buybusinesssoftware.com/p...DGSX4ENPC.aspx

(That's a link to X4). Registered it, full version, installed and have had no issues. It is the retail box, had the manuals with it, and all the key codes to unlock it, all sealed and opened by us.

I know several people on here who have bought from them and had no issues.

In the link above, it shows X4 out of stock, but shipping in 4-7 days or something like that.