Kinguin WIndows

[darkninja8888]

I've heard of people getting Windows dirt cheap on Kinguin.net. It seems kinda shady though. Is it safe?

[alexhelvetica]

Shady: Yes

Legit: Probably not. 

Safe: Mostly 

Would I recommend it: No, if you are a student chances are you can get a free copy of Windows from OntheHub or your schools IT team. If you are not eligible, fork up the $100 or so. 

[JamesPlayzGamesHD]

I got Windows 10 there and It runs no problom.

 

LOL

 

[Cracklingice]

Even if it was a legit copy of windows and most of the time it is; either someone wants to launder money or people selling off unused site licenses.  The thing is that buying from anyone other than a first party authorized retailer is considered not legitimate by microsoft and the keys purchased from the site could eventually be de-activated for that reason.  So basically every microsoft product purchased on the site is technically NOT legitimate as they aren't purchased from an authorized retailer and are being resold without authorization.
That being said, I haven't really heard first hand of anyone having a working copy end up stop working.  I have heard of a few times where the key was not valid from the start though.

[darkninja8888]

1 minute ago, Cracklingice said:

Even if it was a legit copy of windows and most of the time it is; either someone wants to launder money or people selling off unused site licenses.  The thing is that buying from anyone other than a first party authorized retailer is considered not legitimate by microsoft and the keys purchased from the site could eventually be de-activated for that reason.  So basically every microsoft product purchased on the site is technically NOT legitimate as they aren't purchased from an authorized retailer and are being resold without authorization.

so should I do it?

[JamesPlayzGamesHD]

YES IT"S A SLAMMING GOOD DEAL

[Cracklingice]

That is something only you can answer.  If you do, keep backups of your data and don't lose those install CDs for your software; just in case.

[alexhelvetica]

12 minutes ago, Cracklingice said:

Even if it was a legit copy of windows and most of the time it is; either someone wants to launder money or people selling off unused site licenses.  The thing is that buying from anyone other than a first party authorized retailer is considered not legitimate by microsoft and the keys purchased from the site could eventually be de-activated for that reason.  So basically every microsoft product purchased on the site is technically NOT legitimate as they aren't purchased from an authorized retailer and are being resold without authorization.

And the game keys sold on those websites are often bought from humble bundle or indi developer's websites with stolen credit cards, so they get nothing for the sale because they have to refund the credit card holder refunded plus they have to pay a transaction fee. 

10 minutes ago, JamesPlayzGamesHD said:

YES IT"S A SLAMMING GOOD DEAL

11 minutes ago, darkninja8888 said:

so should I do it?

I condemn piracy. 

 

If you want to pirate windows don't pay someone else to do it for you. The only people who benefit off this is kingpin and the seller, you just get a pirated software for a 3rd of the cost of buying legitimately. 

[Notree]

Its fine. Just find a reputable seller. Dont buy from some random that sold like 3 copies and expect it to work. 

[Cracklingice]

5 minutes ago, Comic_Sans_MS said:

And the game keys sold on those websites are often bought from humble bundle or indi developer's websites with stolen credit cards, so they get nothing for the sale because they have to refund the credit card holder refunded plus they have to pay a transaction fee. 

I condemn piracy. 

 

If you want to pirate windows don't pay someone else to do it for you. The only people who benefit off this is kingpin and the seller, you just get a pirated software for a 3rd of the cost of buying legitimately. 

It's a massive stretch to call buying unused legitimate licenses piracy.  It's not entirely above the board, but it's not piracy.  Although, yes it would be much more preferable if there was a way for Kinguin to filter out credit fraud because that does happen and is why small sellers should be avoided.

[darkninja8888]

I think ill just get home from amazon

Just now, Cracklingice said:

It's a massive stretch to call buying unused legitimate licenses piracy.  It's not entirely above the board, but it's not piracy.  Although, yes it would be much more preferable if there was a way for Kinguin to filter out credit fraud because that does happen and is why small sellers should be avoided.

 

[Cracklingice]

4 minutes ago, darkninja8888 said:

I think ill just get home from amazon

 

Personally if I was getting windows 10 and had any inclination whatsoever to change my computer in the next couple of years, I'd buy retail and not OEM.
Here's another grey area for you @Comic_Sans_MS.  OEM software is not a legitimate license if installed on a PC that is not for resale.

[alexhelvetica]

15 minutes ago, Cracklingice said:

It's a massive stretch to call buying unused legitimate licenses piracy.  It's not entirely above the board, but it's not piracy.  Although, yes it would be much more preferable if there was a way for Kinguin to filter out credit fraud because that does happen and is why small sellers should be avoided.

Unused keys = unsold keys = stolen keys = piracy. 

Kingpuin and G2A do not care if the key is stolen or not, they are in the business to make money. If they did care,  developers could look through their database and could remove stolen keys, instead they have a BS return policy that you have to spend money on getting a refund if the developer locks down the key. Also developers get shat on from locking stolen keys, people are inconsiderate assholes, as long as they don't see that they have done anything wrong they are out of the blue. It is like someone buying a known stolen laptop and the police comes to collect it since it is stolen, but the "owner" says they own it because they bought it from their meth addicted friend. 

 

If a key is OEM it is locked to a certain computer, I don't disagree or agree to using an OEM key on a different computer but the software company would probably say it is not fine. Yes that is a grey area. 

[Notree]

27 minutes ago, Comic_Sans_MS said:

Unused keys = unsold keys = stolen keys = piracy. 

Kingpuin and G2A do not care if the key is stolen or not, they are in the business to make money. If they did care,  developers could look through their database and could remove stolen keys, instead they have a BS return policy that you have to spend money on getting a refund if the developer locks down the key. Also developers get shat on from locking stolen keys, people are inconsiderate assholes, as long as they don't see that they have done anything wrong they are out of the blue. It is like someone buying a known stolen laptop and the police comes to collect it since it is stolen, but the "owner" says they own it because they bought it from their meth addicted friend. 

 

If a key is OEM it is locked to a certain computer, I don't disagree or agree to using an OEM key on a different computer but the software company would probably say it is not fine. Yes that is a grey area. 

The thing is most of the keys are legit. I can count on one hand the times I've seen games that were stolen and developers take away those keys. And as far as windows keys go. If you buy from some unknown dealer and get scammed well thats your fault. I dont know anyone who buys full retail copys anymore. Its pointless unless you build yourself a new rig every 6 months.

[kaylexmorgana]

people still pay for windows? huh?

 

48 minutes ago, Comic_Sans_MS said:

Unused keys = unsold keys = stolen keys = piracy. 

Kingpuin and G2A do not care if the key is stolen or not, they are in the business to make money. If they did care,  developers could look through their database and could remove stolen keys, instead they have a BS return policy that you have to spend money on getting a refund if the developer locks down the key. Also developers get shat on from locking stolen keys, people are inconsiderate assholes, as long as they don't see that they have done anything wrong they are out of the blue. It is like someone buying a known stolen laptop and the police comes to collect it since it is stolen, but the "owner" says they own it because they bought it from their meth addicted friend. 

 

If a key is OEM it is locked to a certain computer, I don't disagree or agree to using an OEM key on a different computer but the software company would probably say it is not fine. Yes that is a grey area. 

and what is the problem with g2a?

pay 30 or 60 $$$ for a game.

 

tough choice.

[Cracklingice]

5 hours ago, Comic_Sans_MS said:

Unused keys = unsold keys = stolen keys = piracy. 

Unused keys are still paid for the first time.  They were bought, not used and transferred.  This is similar to buying a sealed music CD and reselling it still sealed if the music CD had a EULA that said you cannot transfer it.

5 hours ago, Comic_Sans_MS said:

Kingpuin and G2A do not care if the key is stolen or not, they are in the business to make money. If they did care,  developers could look through their database and could remove stolen keys, instead they have a BS return policy that you have to spend money on getting a refund if the developer locks down the key. Also developers get shat on from locking stolen keys, people are inconsiderate assholes, as long as they don't see that they have done anything wrong they are out of the blue. It is like someone buying a known stolen laptop and the police comes to collect it since it is stolen, but the "owner" says they own it because they bought it from their meth addicted friend.

There is no way to determine if a key was purchased via fraud or otherwise stolen unless it has been reported to the vendor and the vendor isn't going to offer that information to a key reselling service like Kinguin or G2A.

5 hours ago, Comic_Sans_MS said:

If a key is OEM it is locked to a certain computer, I don't disagree or agree to using an OEM key on a different computer but the software company would probably say it is not fine. Yes that is a grey area. 

I'm talking about all Microsoft OEM software, not vendor locked software.  Microsoft changed the license terms on all OEM operating systems (and likely their other products) a while ago to state that the OEM software is for pre-installation on systems for resale only.  I have yet to hear of any person actually being told by Microsoft help reps that they cannot use it on their personal computer.

[alexhelvetica]

8 hours ago, Cracklingice said:

Unused keys are still paid for the first time.  They were bought, not used and transferred.  This is similar to buying a sealed music CD and reselling it still sealed if the music CD had a EULA that said you cannot transfer it.

 

There is no way to determine if a key was purchased via fraud or otherwise stolen unless it has been reported to the vendor and the vendor isn't going to offer that information to a key reselling service like Kinguin or G2A.

 

I'm talking about all Microsoft OEM software, not vendor locked software.  Microsoft changed the license terms on all OEM operating systems (and likely their other products) a while ago to state that the OEM software is for pre-installation on systems for resale only.  I have yet to hear of any person actually being told by Microsoft help reps that they cannot use it on their personal computer.

1. Okay a lot of the windows keys are keys that were bought cheaply for developers or for educational use. They may have been bought, but the requirements of the cheap sale price are not meet, so they have been stolen. It is like selling day old bread to a charity for next to nothing instead of selling the bread with a 50% discount. Then you find out the charity is not a charity and is selling the bread for more than what you sold it to them and less than what you are selling it at for personal gain. They cannot distinguish which company they sold it to their terms and conditions, but they know one of them is

 

2. True. That is why you should avoid it at all costs. Some of the people who are selling keys on their are stealing from developers or the humble bundle or are buying keys for not much on humble bundle and selling them to make a profit. Both are groups I want to avoid giving money to. I understand some people who are selling games are selling games they got with their graphics card, but if I got a game free with my graphics card, I'd give it or trade it with a friend that doesn't have it.

 

3. Microsoft doesn't care if someone buys an OEM key for their own desktop from Microsoft. They don't make that much less from the sale. But how are they getting the OEM keys if they are not an OEM? Once again the tale of the stolen keys.

[Sintezza]

its illegal simply as that.

Nor kinguin nor G2A is licensed by MS as a official partner to sell their licenses.

They are basicly just a market place, like any other market places out there.

They work with third party sellers who offer those keys.

 

 

Most of the time, those keys work for a while.

But at a certain point in time, it could be that those keys are getting de-activated and bannend.

You could of course argue, if your key works for arround 2 years, that you still had a good deal on that.

However you basicly pay for piracy which is kinda stupid.