Windows 10 Pro for $35?

[jjcooke]

Hey,

 

I am new to the forum... and new to building computers. I'm buying parts for my build and pretty much just have the OS left. I heard about buying Windows licenses on Reddit. I want Windows 10, and I just found it here for pretty cheap... only $35. Is it safe to buy? I don't need a lecture on Microsoft's terms of use, I just want to know if it will work?

[themctipers]

it will work; its just a product key.

[Spuriae]

It will work initially, but if the person stealing the keys for resale is caught, all keys could potentially be revoked.

[Zando_]

Make sure it has a guarantee. Paul from Paul's Hardware uses a different site that offers keys about that price, and some of them are legit, and some are cracked, so MS rejects them.

[VVoltor]

Don't know if I would trust a random person on Reddit, but I have very good experiences with Kinguin. For a couple of bucks extra you can even buy buyer protection in case something goes wrong.

[Zando_]

Just now, VVoltor said:

Don't know if I would trust a random person on Reddit, but I have very good experiences with Kinguin. For a couple of bucks extra you can even buy buyer protection in case something goes wrong.

That's what Paul uses:

 

[VVoltor]

1 minute ago, Nimrodor said:

It will work initially, but if the person stealing the keys for resale is caught, all keys could potentially be revoked.

They're not all stolen keys, mainly licenses bought somewhere cheap.

[jjcooke]

Just now, themctipers said:

it will work; its just a product key.

Thanks for the quick reply! It looks like they have good reviews, and $35 is a lot better than $199 from Microsoft, especially if it does the same job.

[crzyces]

11 minutes ago, jjcooke said:

Thanks for the quick reply! It looks like they have good reviews, and $35 is a lot better than $199 from Microsoft, especially if it does the same job.

Another very common thing vendors do is buy a batch of junk computers, take the license key and motherboard, mail the broken mobo, send you the key digitally and allow you to download right away, there-by making reselling/using the key perfectly legal. Kingpuin is actually selling licenses as low as $6.99 atm (at least they were 5 minutes ago).

[Spuriae]

21 minutes ago, VVoltor said:

They're not all stolen keys, mainly licenses bought somewhere cheap.

Many of them are stolen via exploiting MSDN licenses.

Others are indeed valid OEM keys, but they're heavily discounted OEM keys given out explicitly to never be resold.

 

Microsoft (and sometimes the corporations rogue employees are stealing from) does crack down on occasion and disable these accounts. It's a situation similar to Intel Engineering sample CPU's; they're an incredible deal, but it's dubiously legal to use them and there's always a small chance that they'll suddenly stop working.

[nicknackwack]

I bought a Windows 10 key from /r/microswap about a year ago. That place is legit. I've recommended it to numerous friends and no one has had one issue.

[Redicat]

I bought it at full price

[crzyces]

20 minutes ago, Nimrodor said:

Others are indeed valid OEM keys, but they're heavily discounted OEM keys given out explicitly to never be resold.

The "never resold" is why many sites or sellers on eBay send a broken Dell (For instance) motherboard with the key, charge a high shipping cost, thereby not violating Microsoft's EULA. Lots of legal ways around it, lots of illegal. I don't see why anyone would intentionally buy an illegal key, when it really is only a matter of a few dollars (sometimes less) for the most part. To each their own though. Just don't pirate small game companies. I hate that. We'd end up stuck with a bunch of Activision, EA, and Ubisoft games with no other options :^( .