Windows 7 COA from eBay...

[Noya21]

Are they legit? The seller has 99.5% positive feedback and has sold 30+ copies so far. Where did he get them? They're W7 Pro COA with a Dell hard drive. Will this work for my custom Gigabyte/Intel PC?

Full support/updates from Microsoft or?

Any other option for a sub $40 license?



I've had an SSD sitting on my desk for a month and thought I would fresh install with a genuine copy.

 

[stinger608]

In one word...............NO

 

[Noya21]

Wow, fantastic explanation!

So you're telling me all these W7 COA's being sold on eBay are garbage? Really adds up...

 

[VirtualLarry]

99% of:

1) Windows licenses
2) Flash drives (USB and SD card)

on Ebay, are FAKE!

 

[denis280]

The seller has 99.5% positive feedback

Yeah! is friends Lol

 

[Noya21]

Yeah! is friends Lol

Really? Do you guys treat everyone on this forum as if they're retards? Or am I just the special one?

Here's a link to his account.
http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISA...id=-1&de=off&items=25&interval=0&mPg=6&page=2

It looks like he's been selling computer items since 2005, with nearly perfect feedback.

Here's another seller with good feedback since 2003:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Windows-7-P...c&pid=100005&rk=2&rkt=6&sd=251832181554&rt=nc

To my noobish eyes, it just looks like they've bought bulk older hardware from a school or state and are selling the COA, am I right?

Or are they printing up these COA's with bogus numbers and are out to get my $30 through their nefarious ways?

 

[styrafoam]

With the info as presented: these keys are probably from lease returns or machines replaced under warranty. Will the key work? Possibly, but no one would be shocked if it didn't. If it did in fact work it would still be in a grey area. Each tower usually gets its own key on a physical authenticity tag. Many corporate users will utilize a volume license for their computers, so the key on the physical tag is never actually used.

 

[Noya21]

With the info as presented: these keys are probably from lease returns or machines replaced under warranty. Will the key work? Possibly, but no one would be shocked if it didn't. If it did in fact work it would still be in a grey area. Each tower usually gets its own key on a physical authenticity tag. Many corporate users will utilize a volume license for their computers, so the key on the physical tag is never actually used.

Thanks you for the intelligent reply.

 

[bbhaag]

Its 40 bucks man. Buy it and see if it works. Is $40 really going to make or break you? You've been a member here since '08 so you know this is a grey area. Stop bitching at members who say it won't work....no one is treating you like a retard they're just giving you their honest opinion.

 

[silicon]

Really? Do you guys treat everyone on this forum as if they're retards? Or am I just the special one?

Here's a link to his account.
http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISA...id=-1&de=off&items=25&interval=0&mPg=6&page=2

It looks like he's been selling computer items since 2005, with nearly perfect feedback.

Here's another seller with good feedback since 2003:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Windows-7-P...c&pid=100005&rk=2&rkt=6&sd=251832181554&rt=nc

To my noobish eyes, it just looks like they've bought bulk older hardware from a school or state and are selling the COA, am I right?

Or are they printing up these COA's with bogus numbers and are out to get my $30 through their nefarious ways?

be careful on ebay. I bought a copy of windows xp with coa and it was bogus. It was only $30 but.....If the price is too good to be true then usually the merchandise is no good and in this case the coa is a fake.

 

[razel]

Back in the day when Win7 was new, it was ridiculously easy to obtain a Win7 key. Just use your camera phone to snap the COA underneath any other computer. As with anything that's cheap, it's often too good to be true. Like others have mentioned you'll be taking chances.

I'd rather just buy from an authorized reseller myself, but honestly, I haven't bought an OS since WinXP. MS pretty much lets you use Win7, Win8 from 6 months to a year and with an SSD along with Easy Transfer, it'll probably take you only 30 mins to do a reinstall/Easy Transfer restore.

 

[abukwaik]

Are they legit?

the most (not all) are not. Read this

Where did he get them?

Actually you shouldn't ask that question, the guy selling them on eBay and eBay is covering you both so if something went wrong, you can easily get your money back.

 

[denis280]

Really? Do you guys treat everyone on this forum as if they're retards? Or am I just the special one?

Sorry if i offended you.and no we don't treat peoples like retards.and stupid is the word.a retards can be very smart.and your question.well ask me if buying a windows xp/7/or 8.from a flea market is good

 

[Homerboy]

There are users on these forums that will sell keys for the same price and are legit.
Post in FS/T forums.

 

[FrankRamiro]

Back in the day when Win7 was new, it was ridiculously easy to obtain a Win7 key. Just use your camera phone to snap the COA underneath any other computer. As with anything that's cheap, it's often too good to be true. Like others have mentioned you'll be taking chances.

I'd rather just buy from an authorized reseller myself, but honestly, I haven't bought an OS since WinXP. MS pretty much lets you use Win7, Win8 from 6 months to a year and with an SSD along with Easy Transfer, it'll probably take you only 30 mins to do a reinstall/Easy Transfer restore.

You can't use win product key,on a different motherboard.

 

[ArisVer]

You can't use win product key,on a different motherboard.

You can if it's a retail version. And sometimes you can when it's OEM. From what I've read it depends on how many part changes you do on a computer. Put it this way. If my main board dies why do I have to buy another license for Windows?


Regarding the OP. Most eBay Windows you find are OEMs and not very legal. My Windows 7 Home Premium was from eBay, a DELL OEM version. Activasion was unsuccessful and required a call to Microsoft where I explained fully the situation and they activated my Windows; this is on an HP computer. I also got a Windows Server 2012 R2 last month from eBay (retail) and was perfectly legal and did not require a call to Microsoft; actually I installed it a few hours ago.

 

[pcgeek11]

And no they do not come with Microsoft Support. Microsoft doesn't support OEM Licenses The OEM is required to do that.

 

[cubby1223]

Really? Do you guys treat everyone on this forum as if they're retards? Or am I just the special one?

Here's a link to his account.
http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISA...id=-1&de=off&items=25&interval=0&mPg=6&page=2

It looks like he's been selling computer items since 2005, with nearly perfect feedback.

Here's another seller with good feedback since 2003:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Windows-7-P...c&pid=100005&rk=2&rkt=6&sd=251832181554&rt=nc

To my noobish eyes, it just looks like they've bought bulk older hardware from a school or state and are selling the COA, am I right?

Or are they printing up these COA's with bogus numbers and are out to get my $30 through their nefarious ways?

The problem is they show you an image of a genuine legit COA, but deliver you a completely different, counterfeit, COA. The feedback is high because the keys are real and Windows still activates, Microsoft assumes the end user is innocent. And unless you work in the computer support business, you're not going to know what you bought is counterfeit, because you don't have experience with all the legit varieties out there.

If this one person is selling original Microsoft printed COA's, he is the exception, not the rule.

There are printing companies in China that openly advertise and sell counterfeit COA's in bulk on their websites. You can get them in styles to match the various Microsoft COA's, you can get different brands, if you want Dell, HP, Lenovo, you can order thousands at a time.

 

[cubby1223]

Regarding the OP. Most eBay Windows you find are OEMs and not very legal. My Windows 7 Home Premium was from eBay, a DELL OEM version. Activasion was unsuccessful and required a call to Microsoft where I explained fully the situation and they activated my Windows; this is on an HP computer. I also got a Windows Server 2012 R2 last month from eBay (retail) and was perfectly legal and did not require a call to Microsoft; actually I installed it a few hours ago.

A call to Microsoft is not the deciding factor of legal/not legal. If you have a laptop you bought from the store, 100% legit oem license, if you take a Windows 7 ISO from Microsoft, reinstall Win7 on the same laptop using it's own key, automatic activation will also fail requiring a phone call to Microsoft.

 

[PhIlLy ChEeSe]

The thread should be locked, as there is talk of doing illegal things period. The OP seems to be pushing cheap copies of windows, all I do is go in flee Bay and find an image of one if I was a rocket scientist.

 

[Fardringle]

To my noobish eyes, it just looks like they've bought bulk older hardware from a school or state and are selling the COA, am I right?

Possibly, but if that is what is happening, even though they would be real license keys, they are still not legitimate because OEM licenses are tied to the computer they are originally sold with and cannot legally be used to activate Windows on any other hardware (although sometimes it does work but will later be invalidated/deactivated).

 

[Ketchup]

Possibly, but if that is what is happening, even though they would be real license keys, they are still not legitimate because OEM licenses are tied to the computer they are originally sold with and cannot legally be used to activate Windows on any other hardware (although sometimes it does work but will later be invalidated/deactivated).

Exactly, and I don't know why eBay allows these to be sold at all.

 

[FrankRamiro]

Hi guy;i've been reading this thread,i want put my 2 cent worth.
For me i don't like E-bay but,if you risk your money and find a cheap copy of win or what ever and it works, more power to you.these morals of oh, it's not legit,for me is crap;because it's not the responsibility of the buyer but the seller to foresee that whatever has been sold to be legit,like EBay or Amazon or other sellers,all these sellers should be responsible for what they sell.
In my case my worries when i buy something of these sellers, is to check if it works or not,if it does work,if not just file a complain.Why the hell should i be worried if it's legal or illegal,it just doesn't make sense.