Has anybody had any experience with buying used copies of Adobe products? With CS4 out there, CS3 retail is offered on ebay for $200 or so. And it seems genuine with the box and all. (There's some guy who sells a downloadable version and a "working serial number" for $50, but that's definitely fake.)
Anyway, what problems could I run into if I buy a used piece of software? Are software licenses transferrable? Or can I reasonably believe that a box in srink-wrap has indeed never been opened?
If you are talking about photo apps, companies like Adobe and Apple do allow you to transfer licenses from one user to another. If it is too cheap then the product is probably not genuine especially from ebay. CS3 for $200 is probably the right price because you will then be able to upgrade to CS4. I would check their feedback to verify how and what they are selling. Send the person an email and if they are genuine you should be able to tell from their response.
If you buy from an individual, they will need to fill out the license transfer document which will be needed if it is a used copy. This can be obtained from Adobe.
I don't know about "fake" -- it could be a working version with a working serial number, but the software could be pirated (the person downloads a pirated copy of the software for free and then turns around to try to sell it for a profit).
