Got Scammed on Adobe CS5 Web Premium

Olaf99

Olaf99

Active member
As the title states... The "company" I ordered it from was selling CS5 at a discount (I presumed because it has since been replaced by 5.5) and by everything on their site, it looked like they were reputable. I also scanned the net with their company name, "Designer Tech Software" and I couldn't find anything positive or negative about them. Needless to say, when I opened the package it was the Educator/Student edition. I've called and left two messages and emailed through their, "Help" screen and haven't gotten any responses.

My question is: Is it possible to run the education version without having a student or teacher ID? It looks to me like Adobe is pretty good about making sure you're legit. This guy (yes the company is just one guy. Big surprise!) claims, at the very end of the web page that one can install and run it with no problem even if you're not an educator/student. I find that hard to believe. Any thoughts on this?
 
Yep, you can install and run without any id... the ID only comes in handy when you're purchasing it, you need to show proof that you're a student of teacher.

So you're in the clear.

And if you hear any rumors that you're not allowed to work on commercial projects on the academic edition, I've heard it from the Adobe source itself at NAB that you can do whatever the heck you want on it.
 
This dude ripped me off pretty bad. I could have had the edu/student version of 5.5 for $200 cheaper but, I'm in a time crunch. I'm seriously thinking about opening the box and installing it. Thanks for your opinion.
 
If he claims at the end of the webpage that you can install it without an ID then he must have revealed, even if it was fine print, that his was a student edition. If that's the case you don't have a whole lot of legal ground to stand on. It may be good to just accept this as a $200 lesson - no feedback isn't the same as positive feedback.
 
Hi,
I feel your pain. I'll explain later in my message.
But first, to answer your question:
Back in the CS4 days, I did buy After Effects CS4 for Windows and CS4 Master collection for MAC OS back when I was a student. Back then they required academic verification to purchase it. Once you cleared that, they shipped the product to you with a serial/actication number included.
Fast forward to CS5 in the year 2010. Now You can buy the academic versions no problem. However they clearly say on the box, activation number not included. So, how it works is you open the box and get on the Adobe site. You fill out the information including proper academic verification. Once approved they email you the activation number so you can use the software beyond the trial period. If you cannot provide verification you can only use it for the free trial period.
So, basically anyone can BUY the student versions now. But to USE it, you have to be able to prove you are a student.
At least that is how it was for me. So if that is still the case, you will not be able to activate the student version without proper verification.


I needed Premiere Pro CS4 for an older computer of mine (non-64 bit OS with 32 bit Matrox hardware) and bought it listed as "full retail" and "factory sealed" from a "tong_market" seller with great feedback. It arrived sure enough in factory sealed box just like After Effects CS4 I had bought previously back when it was still in production. But it was the student version. Being the nice guy I am I decided not to raise a stink since I knew the student version would work just the same as the retail version even though it was clearly mis-represented on the ebay listing. In fact I left it unopened since my computer actually went down on me until I was able to repair it. Some time went by and needing money, I decided to sell it, and it was still unopened. So I sold it for a little less than I paid for it and the buyer promptly contacts me informing me it's a counterfeit that cannot be activated. First I couldn't believe it. After talking more to him, I could tell he was being honest and I refunded the money and had him ship it back. When I got it back I looked inside and the thing looked just like the real thing with the exceptions that it had 3 discs in it when it was a 2 disc case, and when you tried to install it, disc one was actually disc 2 and disc one didn't work at all. You installed it from disc 2, but of course it wouldn't activate as it came back invalid from Adobe. Anway. After ebay fees, return shipping, refund and all, it was about a $400 lesson. And I sold it because I NEEDED money! Too much time had passed so I couldn't get my money back or even leave negative feedback to warn others about the seller. When I contacted him, he first blew me off, saying he'd be out of the country until a certain date. And then he offered to sell me a license activation key for an additional $70 dollars and to have me download a trial version of CS5 to use it with. What a guy! :cry:Obviously not legit and I said no. I want a refund. No further response from him.
 
Right or wrong, I opened it. It came with a serial.number on one of the disks. It works fine and does not appear to be a trial version. I just wish I'd seen this joker's additional "note" at the bottom of the page. He was deceptive but, as they say, buyer beware.
 
The other bad part of having a EDU/Student version is that there is no future upgrades.
 
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