Trying and buying AV from different sources?

[JRCATES]

I have a bit of an odd question here. Well, maybe not for some members here, but for me it is.

I saw where one site offered a "Trial" for an antivirus, which is what anybody should want to do ("try before you buy"). The problem is, the "price" offered through that web site is full retail. I've found other sites that will sell it (as a digital download) for a lot, lot less.

So my question is....a valid license key for a manufacturer's software product is independent of where and who it is purchased through...correct? I could "trial" it from one site, yet purchase it through another....as long as the license key is verified through the vendor/manufacturer....correct?

[berryracer]

I have purchased a license from Downloadcrew.com before

They are cheaper and legit, but the down side is. Should you run across a problem later on, they will not issue you a refund since that key is useless to them and the original AV vendor will not help since you didn't purchase the license directly through them.

So if you are 100% that that is the AV you want, go for it. If you have even a 5% doubt that you might not be pleased later on down the road. Then bite the bullet and pay teh full price

[JRCATES]

I was looking at Downloadcrew.com, but their price is full retail (what you would find either at the manufacturer's web-site or through a local retailer selling a hard disk copy in box)

The site that offers a free 30 day trial is "anti-virus4u.com". They have a "Best Antivirus 2013 Free Download/Trial version" section where you can download a 30 day trial for several of today's top AVs. BUT....once the 30 day trial is up, the price that they sell the AV for is close to or at full retail.

I've found other sites, such as "buycheapsoftware.com", "trinitysoftwaredistribution.com" or "discountmountainsoftware.com", etc. - that offer AVs at a fraction of the cost that others are selling it for.

I guess I'm just wanting to make sure that if I download a 30 day free trial and decide that I like it and want to keep/purchase it, that I will have the option to purchase it through a reseller at a lower price and obtain a license key that will work with the (installed) trial version and thus will turn it into a fully functional registered version.

[xxJackxx]

For the last several months I have bought all of mine through Amazon.com, there is almost always something on sale there.

[acr1965]

I think the best thing to do is to download a 30 day trial from the product's web page. You should be able to use any legit key for that trial. There are many large retail chains that have antivirus programs on sale for a fraction of the cost all the time, some even free after rebate although I don't like messing with those. I've never had a problem using a legit key purchased from one site and installing that key in a 30 day trial from the products official product page. Which av were you considering purchasing?

[JRCATES]

Originally Posted by acr1965

I think the best thing to do is to download a 30 day trial from the product's web page. You should be able to use any legit key for that trial. There are many large retail chains that have antivirus programs on sale for a fraction of the cost all the time, some even free after rebate although I don't like messing with those. I've never had a problem using a legit key purchased from one site and installing that key in a 30 day trial from the products official product page. Which av were you considering purchasing?

I'm wanting to trial Norton Antivirus 2013. And believe it or not....Norton doesn't offer a trial for their stand-alone AV!!! They do for their "suite", but not for the AV!

I'm not a big fan of "suites" and am perfectly content with Outpost Pro Firewall....so I'm wanting to trial just the AV to see how well it works, interacts with other software and behaves on my machine.

Since you've been able to use keys purchased elsewhere from where you downloaded the software from, I'm guessing that it should work out fine. But I definitely want to try it before I buy (I had serious problems with Norton several years ago)....and I don't see the sense in paying full retail when others offer the same product elsewhere at a fraction of the cost.....

[acr1965]

you can et a 60 day trial from softpedia-
http://www.softpedia.com/get/Antivir...us-Final.shtml

or a 6 month trial if you have a facebook account-
http://www.facebook.com/security/app...0715618?ref=ts
any legit key should work in either of those if you decide to purchase..I've used OEM keys in Norton downloads and that has worked in the past as well

[LunarWolf]

Is there any links other than Downloadcrew.com where they sell to international customers?

[d0t]

Yes, you can buy from any website you want. They key should work no matter where you bought it =) you won't need to reinstall.

Once you have the key, you'll have access to support if needed.

Just be sure you buy from a website you trust. Also check the software version. Some software may charge you in order to update (however, I don't know any AV that does that).

Now about 'refund', I wouldn't worry. I've bought several sofwares and I never had any problem the support wouldn't fix.. Anyway, it's a small risk.

[berryracer]

Originally Posted by LunarWolf

Is there any links other than Downloadcrew.com where they sell to international customers?

here ya go:

http://store.majorgeeks.com/

[JRCATES]

Originally Posted by acr1965

you can et a 60 day trial from softpedia-
http://www.softpedia.com/get/Antivir...us-Final.shtml

or a 6 month trial if you have a facebook account-
http://www.facebook.com/security/app...0715618?ref=ts
any legit key should work in either of those if you decide to purchase..I've used OEM keys in Norton downloads and that has worked in the past as well

Thanks for the heads up and for sharing those links.

Glad to know that you've been able to use legit Norton OEM keys in Norton downloads from other sites and that it should work.

Originally Posted by d0t

Yes, you can buy from any website you want. They key should work no matter where you bought it =) you won't need to reinstall.

Once you have the key, you'll have access to support if needed.

Just be sure you buy from a website you trust. Also check the software version. Some software may charge you in order to update (however, I don't know any AV that does that).

Now about 'refund', I wouldn't worry. I've bought several sofwares and I never had any problem the support wouldn't fix.. Anyway, it's a small risk.

And thanks for this bit of info as well. Ya know...you just jogged my memory regarding support. I just remembered, I bought a year subscription for McAfee years ago and McAfee's customer support helped me a few times...even though I purchased the software really cheap from an online retailer. I seriously doubt that I would get a refund after purchasing and receiving a license key through an online reseller.....but if the price is reasonable enough and the manufacturer will honor and support the product, I don't see any reason not to give it a try. I definitely want to trial the software first before I purchase it, though, to make sure it is compatible with my machine and to see how I like it.

Thanks again, I really do appreciate everyone's feedback and thoughts on this.

[chriswiles]

Originally Posted by berryracer

They are cheaper and legit, but the down side is. Should you run across a problem later on, they will not issue you a refund since that key is useless to them and the original AV vendor will not help since you didn't purchase the license directly through them.

No, that's incorrect.

If you buy a code from any retailer/reseller, whether it's Amazon or a digital software store, you are buying a code provided by the manufacturer. If you buy a Kaspersky code from a retailer/reseller, you are still entitled to the same support as you would get from buying direct. There's no different. The AV vendor will give you free support as a registered user, irrespective of the source of the serial code.

However....some AV vendors have support departments which are, in effect, a sales centre for encouraging you to buy remote support, a new license from them and so on.

I won't name names, but you'd be surprised where some of these AV vendor 'support' centres are located. One big AV brand has a call centre in the Philippines and, like I said above, they are more interested in selling you stuff than offering support.

Wherever you buy your code, whether it's cheap via Amazon or from a digital download store, the codes are all sourced from the same location. For instance, we buy all our Kaspersky codes from an official Kaspersky UK distributor, our AVG codes from AVG UK, our PC Tools codes via the PC Tools reseller portal etc etc. These codes entitle you to the same support - once registered - as if you bought directly.

Of course, the downside of buying from a retailer/reseller is you can't get a refund on activated serial codes as the retailer doesn't own the code. But this is no different from buying a boxed security product, opening the box, activating and then requesting a refund for the opened box product. That's why it's always very wise to give the trial version a test before committing to any order.

[Firecat]

Originally Posted by chriswiles

One big AV brand has a call centre in the Philippines and, like I said above, they are more interested in selling you stuff than offering support.

Interesting statement; and I think I know who you're talking about

[Firecat]

Got a question: If you buy a license from one of these stores; how do you use them for renewing a current subscription since they don't sell renewals but are sometimes available very cheap?

Originally Posted by Firecat

If you buy a license from one of these stores; how do you use them for renewing a current subscription since they don't sell renewals but are sometimes available very cheap?

I think it's impossible.

[zfactor]

Originally Posted by Firecat

Got a question: If you buy a license from one of these stores; how do you use them for renewing a current subscription since they don't sell renewals but are sometimes available very cheap?

you would have to ask the company first if they can add the time to your existing lic. i know avast can do this without much issue but some vendors will not do it, in which case i simply wait tillthe last day of my old lic key and enter the new one.

[chriswiles]

Originally Posted by carat

I think it's impossible.

It's definitely not impossible. Why is everyone giving out the wrong info?

Most AV vendors allow you to extend your current license using a new retail code. Not all, however. Bitdefender do not make it easy. However, you can get around this by simply reinstalling the current security product. You can simply drop in the new retail code during installation, as you would as a new user. A new install won't affect your settings.

[Firecat]

AFAIK earlier versions of BitDefender simply allowed you to enter the new license key in the license info tab and it would automatically add the remaining days and use the new key, creating a "composite" license. Is this no longer the case?

I know it's quite easy with vendors like Kaspersky and ZoneAlarm; at the same time I feel it's a bit more difficult with vendors like Trend Micro, BullGuard, AVG, etc.

It's not (properly) covered in the FAQs of these vendors either.

[chriswiles]

Originally Posted by Firecat

I know it's quite easy with vendors like Kaspersky and ZoneAlarm; at the same time I feel it's a bit more difficult with vendors like Trend Micro, BullGuard, AVG, etc.

With AVG it's easy. It's just a case of registering your new retail code (which they call a 'sales code') online.

We rarely get complaints from any user who can't extend an existing license, apart from Bitdefender users. But even they (people who have issues) are few and far between. Most users on this forum are certainly above novice level.

[Brocke]

is Cheapantivirusdeals.com ok to shop at?

I see they have a Nod32 AV 1 user for two years for $22.95

http://www.cheapantivirusdeals.com/checkout/#

[acr1965]

Originally Posted by Brocke

is Cheapantivirusdeals.com ok to shop at?

I see they have a Nod32 AV 1 user for two years for $22.95

http://www.cheapantivirusdeals.com/checkout/#

no, not even close

[chriswiles]

Originally Posted by Brocke

is Cheapantivirusdeals.com ok to shop at?

I'd be very dubious when they say in big red letters:

"Keys are guaranteed to work or your money back!"

And the footer says: "© 2012 Buy Best Cheap Antivirus Software Here | Email: zftday@gmail.com "

In addition, they only accept payments via PayPal.

Very professional.

[Firecat]

MajorGeeks, V3 store etc. seem to have the same offers as downloadcrew - do these guys do the legwork for those companies?

I found this site, not sure if it's reliable but the deals are quite sweet....for e.g. look at Norton and Webroot prices

http://www.digitalzone.co.uk/

[chriswiles]

Originally Posted by Firecat

MajorGeeks, V3 store etc. seem to have the same offers as downloadcrew - do these guys do the legwork for those companies?

Yes, my company. We work across various international publishing partners and one of those roles is to manage, host and maintain the software stores.