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Question of the Day: If you were buying a TV today, which brand would you choose?
Microsoft - Buy here or in US?
- Thread starter Londo
- Start date
Perdition
Expert Member
Actually MS generally prices software according to region so you should be able to get it at the same price if not better than in the US. Just don't buy from Incredible Corruption, they seem to mark up MS software an insane amount.
Why would it be illegal??
It's legal to buy most consumer goods there and bring it into the country why would an os be different??
The only issue might be the support offered by the south african ms phone line you might have to call the us support line to get any help. But I don't think you would have any trouble using the os.
It's still the same product just bought in the US at a cheaper price.
Not true MS doesn't enforcing price . For instance when vista launched. MS on their global site had a recommended price when converted to R for home premium of R1800. The cheapest you could find here was R2400. Thats the retail version before everyone starts screaming.
While in the US retailers there were selling at MS recommended price or lower the retailers here were selling at higher prices.
I remember having an argument with the guy at pc game world about this. He claimed it was customs fault. I also ask MS about this and they said they don't control prices and only recommends prices but have no control over what the retailers charge.
Perdition
Expert Member
Agreed, I didn't mean to imply that MS enforces price on retailers, merely it is available to retailers at the same price if not better than in the US (due to MS adjusting for weaker rand). What retailers sell the software for is another issue altogether. One can get Home Premium for R1000 (or better) now and Ultimate for R1700.
No thats oem pricing you mention there. The pricing I was talking about is retail version.
And that still expensive compared to the US. Without much searching when I convert newegg's pricing on their vista ultimate oem I come to R1400 and home premium is R 785.
Retail for home premium is R1500 and ultimate is R2300.
And again this is just looking at 1 site if I really did some searching I could probably find it cheaper.
US pricing is simply cheaper and if you can go to the us and buy there you should you would be silly not to enjoy their better pricing.
Saw MS Office Standard Ed for equivalent of R450 in Europe.
LazyLion
King of de Jungle
It's not that it is illegal. It just says on the box that the software was intended for sale in the United States, and that any use outside of the USA nullifies the EULA. In other words you can buy it there but you will not be able to get any support for it here.
That happened to me when I bought Win ME (don't ask) in the USA. When I brought it back here it was no better than an OEM version.