There was a time when piracy was considered to be a necessity. The unavailability of the software locally along with dollar pricing made it impossible for anyone to even contemplate purchasing the software. However, things have changed a lot since then. Local availability along with local pricing has made these products far more accessible.
But, and the big but, is affordability. The pricing is certainly competitive from a commercial perspective but personal users would still find the price prohibitive, especially when the usage is limited to writing personal documents and filing income tax returns. Piracy can’t be condoned, so what other valid options are available?
By valid, I refer to the ability to download and register the software using official sources. I remember getting a Windows 8 license for less than $10 during its launch due to a Microsoft promotion and I wish they were generally generous in their pricing in developing countries. However, I presume Internet anonymity has made it difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff.
Hence, it becomes necessary to take recourse to other options. One of the most prominent ones is the Microsoft Software Swap Marketplace on Reddit, though there are other forums available. The prices are certainly competitive compared to retail pricing but still on the expensive side for those not dealing with USD as local currency. Hence, the best option is to head to good old ebay.com. The price fluctuates from seller to seller and availability is entirely dependent on timing. However, if you are in luck, then the prices range in low single digits, as far as USD is concerned. Local credit cards might not work directly with ebay.com but PayPal comes to the rescue. Do keep in mind to use your bank conversion since the fees are usually much less than PayPal’s, the premium mostly being less than 5% depending on the size of the transaction. The proclamation is that these codes have been salvaged from scrapped machines and hence it is legitimate to resell the same. What I can confirm is that the codes work fine with office.com and are instantly redeemed along with the download links for any Microsoft account. Similarly, Windows activates just fine with the supplied key, if used with a fresh installation.
If you prefer Office 365 instead, then there are Educational subscriptions available that offer multiple year access for about the same price. This one certainly feels a bit dodgier because you are restricted to an academic email address being governed by administrators. However, it offers multiple installations and 1TB of SkyDrive space, though it is difficult to trust an address you are not entirely in control of.
Whatever be the case, there are certainly legitimate options available that if nothing else help protect from options that are untrustworthy and laden with malware, at a significantly affordable price.
