[SOLVED] Is this a full retail copy of w10 or an OEM copy?

[Neostarwcc]

I'm looking for a copy of w10 pro for my wife. Newegg scares me a little bit because apparently a lot of people have paid $200 for a full retail key and gotten a bogus number. Never to be able to get their month back. I found this on Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Windows-Life...uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl

I purchased my retail key from Amazon a few years ago through a digital download and my key works fine. But, unfortunately it seems Amazon doesnt sell w10 keys like that anymore. Any suggestions or if that's a retail key I'll buy it ($130 is a good deal for a full retail key if it is one. Plus it comes preloaded on a flash drive which is desirable to me just sounds too good to be true).

 

[RealBeast]

I would be comfortable with buying from Amazon, and they will stand behind the sale if there are any issues. They show a Pro full version and the W10 on a stick does come in that kind of packaging.

 

[Wolfshadw]

I would note that this item is not actually sold by Amazon, but by Timiskitch. This is an Amazon Marketplace company and not actually Amazon (they pay Amazon to use their web space/store). I suspect that many of the issues you hear about Newegg are similar in that it's not actually Newegg as the seller, but a Newegg Marketplace seller.

-Wolf sends

Full Disclosure: I did purchase Windows 10 OEM from Newegg and I did have problems with activation, but after some back and forth, they did clear it up for me.

 

[Neostarwcc]

I would be comfortable with buying from Amazon, and they will stand behind the sale if there are any issues. They show a Pro full version and the W10 on a stick does come in that kind of packaging.

But, if you say it's a retail box (I wasn't sure because I've never bought a retail windows 10 before as a physical copy) I'll go with that one since $130 is a good deal. I paid $200 for mine as a digital download with no physical box or USB drive.

 

[Neostarwcc]

I would note that this item is not actually sold by Amazon, but by Timiskitch. This is an Amazon Marketplace company and not actually Amazon (they pay Amazon to use their web space/store). I suspect that many of the issues you hear about Newegg are similar in that it's not actually Newegg as the seller, but a Newegg Marketplace seller.

-Wolf sends

Full Disclosure: I did purchase Windows 10 OEM from Newegg and I did have problems with activation, but after some back and forth, they did clear it up for me.

Yeah afaik Amazon themselves do not sell retail copies of windows 10 anymore. They just sell OEM keys. Because I go to my order history and back to 2019 when I bought my key and click on the link that I bought it from and it's an invalid link now. When I did a search of Windows 10 Pro Retail Liscense, I get that one and I bunch of OEM keys.

 

[cryoburner]

You can click on the name of the third-party seller in the "sold by" section to the right below "buy now" to get user feedback and some more info about them. Doing so shows that the seller only has 43 lifetime reviews, with only 15 in the last year, 33% of which were negative. Some of the user feedback comments include...

"Beware! I was unable to activate the Windows because the product key was already used on another device!"

"I did receive the email with the new product key but the key still does not work. My pc is now unboorable. Requesting refund"

"USB didn’t work but cd key did so was able to get it done."

"This item is supposed to be the full retail version of windows 10 pro. After installing it identifies as OEM, not retail! Also, the usb stick is corrupt and would not install. I had to create and use an install usb drive from the windows site to get install completed. I need a new Full retail license key that I paid for provided."

"OEM key not valid, will not allow registration with Microsoft"

"This is not a valid microsoft key."

The only items this seller has for sale appear to be Windows 10 keys and "Silicone Stretch Lids (Surpise)". From the looks of their feedback page, they get overwhelmingly negative feedback from the keys, while the lids appear to be there simply to keep their feedback rating up high enough to avoid getting kicked out by Amazon.

So no, I would not expect these to be valid retail copies of Windows 10 Pro. If I had to guess, they're probably grey-market keys intended for sale in other countries that they got for next to nothing and bundled with some Windows 10 USB drives that they also got for very little without keys, and then packaged up nice to look like something resembling a new retail copy. If you want to buy Windows 10 from either Amazon or Newegg, either OEM or retail, you should make sure that it's being both shipped and sold directly by those companies and not through a third-party seller. Otherwise you might as well just be taking a chance with a much less expensive grey-market key.

Also, if you are looking to save money, Windows 10 Home will be nearly identical to Pro for the vast majority of people who don't require the handful of additional mostly business-oriented features that pro includes. See here for the differences to determine whether your wife would actually even need those features...

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/compare-windows-10-home-vs-pro

You can, for example, get a retail copy of Windows 10 Home on a USB drive "sold and shipped by Newegg" for the same price. Or a download copy without the USB drive for $10 less. Or a non-transferable OEM copy for even less.

 

[Neostarwcc]

I

You can click on the name of the third-party seller in the "sold by" section to the right below "buy now" to get user feedback and some more info about them. Doing so shows that the seller only has 43 lifetime reviews, with only 15 in the last year, 33% of which were negative. Some of the user feedback comments include...

"Beware! I was unable to activate the Windows because the product key was already used on another device!"

"I did receive the email with the new product key but the key still does not work. My pc is now unboorable. Requesting refund"

"USB didn’t work but cd key did so was able to get it done."

"This item is supposed to be the full retail version of windows 10 pro. After installing it identifies as OEM, not retail! Also, the usb stick is corrupt and would not install. I had to create and use an install usb drive from the windows site to get install completed. I need a new Full retail license key that I paid for provided."

"OEM key not valid, will not allow registration with Microsoft"

"This is not a valid microsoft key."

The only items this seller has for sale appear to be Windows 10 keys and "Silicone Stretch Lids (Surpise)". From the looks of their feedback page, they get overwhelmingly negative feedback from the keys, while the lids appear to be there simply to keep their feedback rating up high enough to avoid getting kicked out by Amazon.

So no, I would not expect these to be valid retail copies of Windows 10 Pro. If I had to guess, they're probably grey-market keys intended for sale in other countries that they got for next to nothing and bundled with some Windows 10 USB drives that they also got for very little without keys, and then packaged up nice to look like something resembling a new retail copy. If you want to buy Windows 10 from either Amazon or Newegg, either OEM or retail, you should make sure that it's being both shipped and sold directly by those companies and not through a third-party seller. Otherwise you might as well just be taking a chance with a much less expensive grey-market key.

Also, if you are looking to save money, Windows 10 Home will be nearly identical to Pro for the vast majority of people who don't require the handful of additional mostly business-oriented features that pro includes. See here for the differences to determine whether your wife would actually even need those features...

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/compare-windows-10-home-vs-pro

You can, for example, get a retail copy of Windows 10 Home on a USB drive "sold and shipped by Newegg" for the same price. Or a download copy without the USB drive for $10 less. Or a non-transferable OEM copy for even less.

Hi! I showed her the page you linked and she didn't seem to have a problem with me getting home instead. That saves me big money so awesome! If you do get a windows key that's invalid, newegg will help you right? Or are you out the $130?

Obviously you can't get a refund but maybe they can send you an extra key after they confirm that it is in fact, invalid?

 

[Wolfshadw]

If you do get a windows key that's invalid, newegg will help you right? Or are you out the $130?

As I stated, it took a few days of back and forth between Newegg and Microsoft, but eventually, I received a new key from Microsoft. Also, it's not like I was really missing my computer for those few days. Aside from some cosmetic limitations, it was completely functional without activation.

-Wolf sends

As an aside, now that you can transfer Windows 10 to another computer with the license assigned to your MS Account, what's the difference between Retail and OEM these days?

 

[USAFRet]

As an aside, now that you can transfer Windows 10 to another computer with the license assigned to your MS Account, what's the difference between Retail and OEM these days?

Exactly.
MS has significantly blurred the line between OEM and Retail. To the point of "it makes no difference".

The only "OEM" now seems to be that which is preinstalled from one of the majors. Dell/HP/Asus/etc.
Something you buy and install can almost certainly be transferred to new hardware.

 

[Neostarwcc]

As I stated, it took a few days of back and forth between Newegg and Microsoft, but eventually, I received a new key from Microsoft. Also, it's not like I was really missing my computer for those few days. Aside from some cosmetic limitations, it was completely functional without activation.

-Wolf sends

As an aside, now that you can transfer Windows 10 to another computer with the license assigned to your MS Account, what's the difference between Retail and OEM these days?

Okay so Microsoft will honor a false key.

I wanted a retail license over an OEM license because OEM licenses aren't legal right? Wouldnt Microsoft eventually deactivate your OEM key because the keys are meant for Dell ...etc computers and not new builds right? So wouldnt microsoft deactivate your key after awhile? If they dont you can get oem keys on Ebay for like 12 bucks. What's the difference between a $12 OEM key and a $100`one if that's not the case?

 

[USAFRet]

"Okay so Microsoft will honor a false key. "

Will == might.

Buying a cheap grey market license:

• May not work
• May want you to pay extra for 'insurance', so they just give you new ones until one of them works
• May become deactivated eventually
• Might be supporting criminal activity. Stolen credit cards/money laundering.

If your boss decided he was going to reduce your paycheck by 90%, would you agree?
If your customer decided he was only going to pay 10 cents on the dollar, and you MUST continue to supply him...would you agree?

 

[Wolfshadw]

Okay so Microsoft will honor a false key.

I wanted a retail license over an OEM license because OEM licenses aren't legal right? Wouldnt Microsoft eventually deactivate your OEM key because the keys are meant for Dell ...etc computers and not new builds right? So wouldnt microsoft deactivate your key after awhile? If they dont you can get oem keys on Ebay for like 12 bucks. What's the difference between a $12 OEM key and a $100`one if that's not the case?

Whoops! I screwed that up. I got the replacement key from Newegg. Not Microsoft.
Sorry about that.

OEMs are perfectly legal. OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer. Generally, that meant companies like Dell, HP, Acer, etc... but as building your own systems became more and more popular, individual builders became the manufacturers and OEM software became how custom builders like us could legally get Windows installed onto PCs. The license agreement only stated that the computer the license was attached to was to be sold. It said nothing about price of the computer or usage of the computer until it sold.

So you build a computer for $1000, put a $5000 price tag on it and use it until it sells (lol) and you only did that much in case anyone asked.

OEM keys should only be purchased from authorized resellers. A lot of these OEM keys that you're finding on other non-authorized sites often come from less than legitimate means, I mean, I've seen E-Bay auctions for Dell OEM disks where it's actually printed on the disk, "NOT FOR RESALE", but as long as people buy them, people will keep selling them.

Some work. Some work for weeks/months. Some fail right off the bat.

-Wolf sends