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robolovsky
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October 14th, 2009 13:00
OEM or Retail?
Has anyone else noticed that Dell's offer of MS Office 2007 Home and Student with a new computer for £59.99 is actually an OEM version?
This would not be so bad were it not for the fact that the full retail version costs just £12.40 more at £72.39. So what is actually the problem with the OEM pricing?
Well the OEM version is a single user licence and is tied to the machine it arrives on. Under no circumstances can it be legally installed on any other machine even if you completely remove it from the other hard drive. The retail version on the other hand may be legally installed on up to three devices. It is also not tied to any given machine.
The difference in price of just £12.40 between OEM and retail makes this a no brainer but Dell do not exactly shout OEM from the rooftops when you take up their offer with a new machine. Only when you have it and think it might be nice to install a copy of Office on your second computer will you realise that it is simply not possible to do so. Indeed to get a second copy for another machine you would have to buy the retail version elsewhere at between £70.00 and £100.00.
Many people I am sure do not even realise that Dell sell the retail 3 user version at just over £12.00 more than the severely restricted OEM one. I do believe that Dell should make this much clearer or at least give both options during the customisation process. Obviously the retail version is far better value., so much so that I am surprised at Dell even offering the OEM one as an option.
I would be interested to hear the community's views on this. Better still I would love to hear Dell's response.
robolovsky
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Posted October 15th, 2009 09:00
Hi RobinBredin. Well, yes, my point exactly. The mystery is, why don't Dell point this out? Is their profit more on the OEM version perhaps? Surely they should include the option to purchase the retail version in the customisation options with a new machine.
I have looked in Dell's Terms and Conditions as well as on the software customisation pages but can find no reference to the fact that the software on offer is OEM. I feel that this is very misleading to the customer. The fact that it costs a little less than the retail version offered by Dell is also no indication as I have seen retail versions selling for less than Dell's OEM version elsewhere on the web.
What I would like to see is Dell coming clean about the licences they are offering instead of letting the customer purchase the product in good faith only to realise their mistake when it is too late to go back. After all, as the purchaser of a new computer you would expect Dell to look after the customers welfare in all departments and ensure that they get the best deal available.
RobinBredin
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Posted October 14th, 2009 13:00
Hi robolovsky, The version of software offered by dell is OEM. The only difference between the two is, the retail can be put on 2 other systems, were the OEM can only be used for the system it is issued to. With only £12 difference, your better off buying the retail version.