Buying NAV 2003 Cheap

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@ajmi81978 wrote:

I've noticed on some reputable web sites such as Amazon.com that there are numerous merchants selling "new" versions of NAV 2003 with "1 full year of free updates, not 90 days", and "registerable", "not a copy".  Some of the ads acknowledge that it is an "OEM" version (I don't know what that means), and most acknowledge that it is a sealed CD only, no box or printed manual.  The prices are under $20 including the shipping.

Is there anything I should beware of when purchasing one of these?  I don't need the manual or the box.  Will I be able to continue purchasing another year of updates at the end of my free year, at a reasonable cost?  (How much $?)

This is for a Windows XP computer.

NAV 2003 and all other Norton products sold at retail come with one year of updates.

OEM products, i.e. those pre-installed with a new computer, come with 90 days.  OEMs may also sell a one year OEM version if they choose, they will normally charge for that whereas the 90 days are free.

Under $20 is not really a deal when you can buy it for FREE or less than FREE after rebate.  Symantec provides upgrade rebates from all its products, and the Norton OEM version qualifies for everything but another version of NAV.  Norton retail NAV qualifies for the upgrade rebates.

People that are on top of this buy a copy for next to nothing, and then every year they don't get another year of updates, they buy another copy.  I added SystemWorks 2003 Pro to my machines for $2.99 this year, and will put 2004 on next year for a similar price.  Got Antivirus Pro (2 machines) for FREE after rebate last month, and sold it for $20 on Ebay.  Just sold Norton Internet Security 2003 Pro for $30 on Ebay, got it for FREE too.

Here are all of Symantec's rebates so you can review them ahead of time: http://www.symantec.com/homecomputing/rebates/

I explain this strategy and others in my newsletters that I send out.

Message Edited by rickmktg on 10-20-2003 08:35 PM

rickmktg, you stated that "I added SystemWorks 2003 Pro to my machines for $2.99 this year"

i have dell oem NAV2002, am i qualify for the upgrade to systemworks 2003 pro? if yes, how much would i pay after rebate?

i ask this because systemworks 2003 pro (new, 1yr free update) is selling on amazon for $6.99. is this worth it?

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@thanhvn wrote:

rickmktg, you stated that "I added SystemWorks 2003 Pro to my machines for $2.99 this year"

i have dell oem NAV2002, am i qualify for the upgrade to systemworks 2003 pro? if yes, how much would i pay after rebate?

i ask this because systemworks 2003 pro (new, 1yr free update) is selling on amazon for $6.99. is this worth it?

If you had clicked on the link I supplied, you could have read the rebate coupon yourself which clearly states that pre-installed OEM NAV qualifies for the SW 2003 Pro upgrade rebate.

However, the $6.99 price is NOT on the Amazon site currently, I just checked.  Check your Private Messages.

Thanks for the heads up.  I just ordered Systemworks pro 2003 for $6.98 from Amazon!

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@mentor00 wrote:
thanhvn, 

Thanks for the heads up.  I just ordered Systemworks pro 2003 for $6.98 from Amazon!

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you're welcome. i just checked amazon.com again, this same it's selling for 6.75 (plus 3.49 for s&h). also, ebay is selling the same thing for 6.40 (plus 3.55 for s&h). looks like this stuff is selling cheap everywhere. i just bought one myself, mostly for ghost and utilities.

found another one on ebay for 5.99 (plus 3.95 for s&h)

Message Edited by thanhvn on 10-30-2003 02:23 PM

NO, I don't want Systemworks nor the hassle of the rebate.  I don't want to clutter my hard drive with the extra memory that Systemworks will use up, and I have read from other posts on this site that Systemworks simply duplicates many of the functions that I already have with Windows XP (I'm having no problems with any of Windows XP's features.)

I do however think that $10 for NAV 2003 is a great price, better than what you would pay to resubscribe to an older version!  My original question was more concerned with whether these cheap items could be fakes that don't work properly, but the sites where the different vendors are advertising them are reputable sites (Amazon and Ebay's Half.com), so I trust it's ok to purchase.  I trust that they're simply OEM versions from computer makers who purchased too many, or from people who were able to get them cheap from Symantec, or whatever.

If you purchase, make sure ad says 1 year of free updates and not just 90 days.  A few have only 90 days of free updates.

ghost alone is worth the money. and true, $10 is cheaper than subscription. i just got my copy today (super fast shipping !!). it's sealed and looked genuine. i'll let you know in a couple of days how this thing works out.

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@bicyclebill1 wrote:
I bought System Works Pro 2003 on ebay for 5.95 plus 3.95 S&H. Got it in, installed it, and it works fine. I thought it was an unbelievable good deal!. So, are you saying that next year, instead of purchasing the update, to just buy the 2004 version the same way, uninstall 2003, and install 2004? Is this that simple? Is 2004 really going to be necessary?

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