Is Windows 7 64-bit Professional for $65 legit at amazon?

[DaveLembke]

Says Sponsored by Microsoft ... and I am surprised at this price tag for Win 7 Pro 64-bit

 https://www.amazon.com/OEM-%D0%9Cicrosoft-Windows-Professional-Bit/dp/B0758M4QFD/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1505096871&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=windows+7+64-bit+professional&psc=1

I bought 1 of these and if its not the real deal I will file a dispute with amazon and my credit card, but this is strangely inexpensive at $64.99 with free shipping for Pro, and Home is more expensive 

[Mark.]

last time I looked on the site I get my gear from, Win7 was $AUD219.
that was <6 months ago, now they don't even stock it.

that price does seem 'surprising'.

but who knows, the proof will be in the pudding.
I guess MS have finally discounted them to flog them off.

I know when I went from Win 7 to Win8, MS was giving good deals on the upgrade, only $AUD20.

[BC_Programmer]

Says Sponsored by Microsoft

The "Microsoft" indicator indicates who made the product; it does not mean it is sponsored by or affiliated with Microsoft.

Personally though I think the "Microsoft" indicator is a red flag. Go ahead and click it on that listing. The M isn't actually an M character, it is a unicode cyrillic capital EM character, which looks the same but is actually character code 41C (Hex) and not an "M" which is 4D (Hex). That raises ones eyebrows. Why would they obfuscate the manufacturer of the product in their listing?

You shouldn't have any problems returning it with Amazon if it gives you problems. I rather doubt it is in any way legitimate, it seems likely you may actually only receive a key.

Of course it is possible it's some kind of old stock, though the cyrillic character for the "M" would cause me to never go forward with a purchase.

[Salmon Trout]

Another red flag would be the "OEM" in the product description. Even if it's a genuine Windows 7 System Builder license, surely if you install it on your own PC, you'd be violating that? It says, doesn't it. that you must install the software using the OEM Preinstallation Kit and then resell the PC to a third party?. If you install that software on your own PC, you don't have a "genuine" copy of Windows. Although some may feel this is a grey area.

[Geek-9pm]

You would think Amazon would check it out.
Here is another on Amazon:

Windows 7 Ultimate with SP1 32/64 Bits Product Key & Download Link,License Key Lifetime ActivationPC
by Michale Mcgee
PC
$ 39 99
FREE Shipping on eligible orders
Only 14 left in stock - order soon.
Product Features
... Windows 7 Ultimate with SP1 32/64 Bits Product Key & Download Link ...

Here is the link:
https://www.amazon.com/Windows-Ultimate-Download-Lifetime-Activation/dp/B0743B35NS/ref=sr_1_8?s=software&ie=UTF8&qid=1505115106&sr=1-8&keywords=windows+7

Maybe there is some kind of grey market. Perhaps it was overstock and they just want to dump it.

Questions. Does Microsoft buy up overstock?   
If not, then Why does Microsoft not buy up all the overstock?

[camerongray]

They are almost certainly the same as the ones on eBay that come from recylcers selling keys from scrapped machines that are not legal to be used on any other machine.  In particular, Geek's listing says "Windows ESD-Version, consisting of a Key (no COA-Sticker) and a Downloadlink" - If you aren't getting a COA, it's not going to be genuine.

It's the same with all these things - Microsoft sets pricing and sells through authorised distributors.  If the price is signifiantly lower or coming from a random seller such as "Yao Shi Trading Co., Ltd." or "Pickbestgift" then I'd never trust it.  IMO, buying these dodgy copies is no better than just straight out pirating it, you are just paying someone else for the privilege of having an invalid licence.

[DaveLembke]

Well I guess I will be filing a claim then. I didnt notice the unicode cyrillic capital EM character as M. Looking back now I still dont see it with my eyes, maybe it needs to be copy pasted somewhere for it to stand out as its true identity, but did notice that the seller is no longer selling this and it now shows others who are selling in the same price range.

2 things made me think it was legit, then I questioned it after the fact.

#1 they had it advertised looking like it was Microsoft Sponsored.

#2 they had it listed as limited time so I figured it was a sale by Microsoft.

Good thing is that I dont file claims very often and I know that the CC company will help with this like they did many years ago when I had an issue with an ebay purchase scam in which someone sold me a DOA Wireless Modem device that they likely trash picked to sell as good still in original box and then I shipped it back contacting the seller about the problem and never got a replacement or refund for a dial-up to Wireless modem made by RCA. I got a refund from my CC company from the scam but I was still out the cost of shipping it back to some oriental named guy in New York City.

[BC_Programmer]

I didnt notice the unicode cyrillic capital EM character as M. Looking back now I still dont see it with my eyes, maybe it needs to be copy pasted somewhere for it to stand out as its true identity

For most fonts, the two look identical. For example from character map, here is a Capital M and here is Capital Cyrillic EM; they look pretty much the same to me. Clicking  the "Microsoft" link underneath the main title took me to a page not found basically saying something like "&#41C;icrosoft not found" which is what tipped me off to it.

[patio]

In Amazons huge appetite for growth they have forgotten that shady vendors affect your reputation eventually...
They should be weeding out unscrupulous vendors

[DaveLembke]

Yup now I see what you mean BC when clicking on that with the  "&#41C;icrosoft not found" ... Thanks everyone for input in this. Its rather embarrassing that I bit at their hook. Will be contacting Amazon as well as CC company when I get out of work to cancel this and share with them the probable scam they have going on.

I started here at newegg looking for a boxed unopened Windows 7 64-bit, but they only have the download available in which I am guessing they give you an e-mail with key and link to iso download. https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832397771&cm_re=windows_7_home-_-32-397-771-_-Product 

*Newegg* I have started losing trust in since so often is the case that I need a part and it says it ships from China and it might take 3 or 4 weeks before I get it. Seeing download of an ISO and a Key that I am guessing is e-mailed to me sounds shady so I avoided that. When searching Amazon and sorted by price, i saw a copy for $39.99 which I knew had to be a scam, but then I saw the one for $64.99 and Microsoft Sponsored ..... well I put too much trust in Amazon to monitor their vendor offerings I guess.  Newegg use to feel like a parts company that unless it was out of stock you had it in under a week, now days you have to be careful because they are more like a drop ship for some vendors that take quite a while to get you stuff and quality of products some of which are total junk. While I do like a bargain and quality isnt important for some things such as a display repair kit with plastic tools and guitar picks that served the purpose for $4 to pry a kindle fire apart safely. I have found myself double or triple checking as well as looking at feedback before buying.

A friend many years ago in college got XP Pro off of ebay and the strange thing is that it self activated so after entering the key it didnt run out to microsoft to authenticate, so he didnt know it was a counterfeit until an update told him it was and this is after he was already using it for a while. 

[BC_Programmer]

If you avoid Third party sellers, Amazon is tends to be OK.

I've found third party sellers more problematic. I was looking to get some concentrated Hydrogen Peroxide for a project (I was going to de-yellow some plastics), and couldn't find any locally, so figured amazon.ca was a safe bet.

But it wasn't, because while they shipped it, they shipped it from the U.S and Canada Post destroyed it at the border. Why are they selling things on amazon.*ca* and then shipping them via USPS (which hands off to Canada Post) things which Canada Post legally must destroy?

Not being able to procure it was a blessing in disguise though, as I later discovered that the project actually damaged the plastic polymers, despite the improved appearance.

[DaveLembke]

Not being able to procure it was a blessing in disguise though, as I later discovered that the project actually damaged the plastic polymers, despite the improved appearance.

nods and I have heard that it takes a smooth finish and makes it chalky as well because of the break down at the surface of the plastic. Did you happen to find another method of whitening or you just left the patina on the plastic? I have some old handheld games that run on C batteries that have Vacuum Florescent Displays and plastics have yellowed and I have been too scared to try anything on them to try to make them look like new. I have a generic 1980 hand held from Hong Kong that is Space Invaders with RED LEDs on a board with a silk screened clear plastic that shows the aliens and there was some crud on the surface that I wanted to remove and I used goo-gone and it hurt the surface eating some of the old plastic. I should have probably just left it be.  For a while I was buying up the old late 1970s to mid 1980s miniature arcades and fixing the ones that were sold with problems and reselling them. Then decided to keep some for myself to build a collection of them. Still looking for a battery cover for a mini Galaxian game which i hope to find someday or get from a DOA unit that didnt have its batteries explode in the compartment etc.

[BC_Programmer]

It was for a rather yellowed Super Famicom which I have left as is. It was to create "retrobrite" which is really just hydrogen peroxide. The claim is that the yellowing is due to bromine being released from the plastic because the brominated flame retardants weren't used in appropriate amounts. Once I read the backing literature surroudning it I realized that the guy who made it up had no idea what he was talking about. They talk about how plastics have bromine added and over time it leeches out and causes the colour.

I found this rather unlikely. I think the primary reason was that I wasn't dead. The yellowing of the plastic would be the least of one's concerns if one is being exposed to elemental bromine. I lookedi nto it but it didn't even involve the Brominated Flame Retardants at all, but is an inherent issue with ABS plastics.

Older ABS plastics yellow because a part of the butadiene polymer can be encouraged to oxidize when exposed to enough energy. The resulting carbonyl radicals will react with other parts of the plastic and resulting "molecular debris" result in the yellow colour.

Hydrogen Peroxide removes the colour because it breaks down the resulting compounds, but it also greatly accelerates the original reaction while it is there (but merely oxidizes the results) and more importantly it also oxidizes the UV Stabilisers and UV Absorbers which are present in such plastics to slow yellowing, meaning that it will yellow faster after the treatment.

I keep seeingvideos where people "apply retrobrite" and I shake my head every time.

[DaveLembke]

Interesting.... most plastics that I have seen discolor it was the result of light exposure over the years as well as accelerated in a Florescent lit room due to the UV from that lighting. We had some older computers that were white and over a matter of 7 years they started to yellow. Their replacements were in a dark closet and due to the reliability of the computers mainly just needed to be rebuilt for OS but just about never a hardware failure. It wasnt until we were upgrading the business from old IBM 386 and 486 systems that were on early NT 3.51 to newer Pentium III computers that were Windows 2000 Pro and Server back in summer 2001 ( because Microsoft was no longer gonna support 3.51 ) that we had them together stacked and it stood out how the light/UV exposure made the plastic yellow. The plastic on the keyboards yellowed darker than the plastic on the cases. Oddly it wasnt just the surface either it was almost like the UV was able to penetrate and yellow it. I tried a pencil eraser as well as a scrubby and sand paper and it wasnt until I cracked open a keyboard to see the color of the plastic on the inside that I saw that it was a deep yellow where light was and like new plastic on the inside. 

[Geek-9pm]

I have a question about Windows 10 .

While we are on this topic, what about the vendors who claim they can sell you a legal Windows 10 key for 32 or 64 home or pro. On eBay there are at least a dozen  and many have the price set at about $10.
Yes, I know, eBay is full of crooks and con artists. Still, I am sure Microsoft monitors eBay. Or hires somebody to monitor it.

What they say:
• Only for a specific if edition (Enterprise?)
• Orly for English.
• You get a bad motherboard in the deal.

It is no secret that you can download the ISO for most versions of Windows 10 for free direct from Microsoft.
I just now got Win10_1607_English_x32.iso in less that one hour. You can burn it to DVD using the right tool and it will boot.

You do a custom install on a blank partition and you have windows 10 for 30 days unless you got a real product key. Everybody already knows that. - Right?

Well, not everybody. I just talked to a family member who does not spend a lot of time with the computer. He has better things to do. He did not know yum  could put it on a DVD. The 1607 version is current. ISO burner programs are free.

No, I did not buy a key from  eBay.
 I  will wait and see if somebody else does.