Buying a used IPB license online.

Discussion in 'Member Articles & Tutorials' started by MordyT, Apr 19, 2010.

  1. MordyT

    MordyT Grand Master

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    So you are making the switch to IP.Board. But you don't want to dish out $149 for their core package, you rather spend more like $65-$85. Easy to do, if you buy a used license. Only issue is, you have never bought a used IPB License before and don't feel like getting scammed toady.

    Thanks to Abomination for his research on this.

    What you need to know about IPS:
    1) IPS does not transfer licenses. In fact, they frown upon selling your license. The only way to sell a IP Product is to sell the account. The new user then goes in and changes all the information to his own. The only issue with this if the original owner claims to IPS that his account got hacked, they will reset the information/account back to him.

    2) Unlike other paid software, IPS licensing is bought in increments of 6 months for $25. The advantage is that you will never pay more, regardless of how many major version later, $25 for 6 months. In fact, you could let your license expire for years on end (no access to updates) and then renew for $25. While your license is expired, you have no access to the customer forums and no access to updated downloads.

    What you need to know about buying online safely in general:

    1) Verify that the seller actually has a license to sell. Yeah, it's great that he show a screenshot of his client area, but ask him for the URL that the software is being used on. After you verify that the offered software is in fact being used on that site, contact the site owner to make sure that he is selling it. Usually, the first member in the member list is the admin. For extra security, send him a code in your message to him on his site that he needs to send back to you on the site where the transaction is accruing.

    2) Feedback. Ask teh seller if they have sold before, and if so, where? Go to that place (Digital Point comes to mind) and ask look at his record (maybe iTrader if he has) and get a sense of who he is. Be careful though, some people will send you to other peoples profiles. Maybe a similar setup, PM with codeword that he returns on the other site.

    3) Google his username. Add a "is" at the end. Chances are that he uses the same user handle on multiple sites. If so, maybe you can find out more about him there.

    4) Use a major payment system. PayPal works great, maybe Google checkout. Some system with a dispute center just in case things do not work out. Remember, if the seller is legit, he should have no problem with this.

    5) Half now, Half later. This may not always work. If the seller will agree, pay half now, half after the transfer is complete. However, if he is a thief, he will take the half you sent and run. In that case, refer to number 4 above.

    6) If you have been a victim of a scam and you used PayPal, file a dispute ASAP. As soon as you file, the money gets frozen and can't be sent to a bank. As time goes on (before a dispute), he has more time to get it out of PayPal's hands. Although you will win the case, in that time he could have withdrawn the money and closed the account. Very little you can do at that point. If you used another system, check with them. But do it quick.

    7) Be patient. After all that, I hope I didn't scare you too much. After you sent the money, wait a reasonable amount of time. If he is local (same country), maybe 2-4 hours, unless there is some reason why he can't get to the computer. In my case, he was in constant contact with me until I sent the money. Then he disappeared. I gave 24 just to be safe, but I reported it as soon as the 25th hours struck.

    That's all for now, if I think of something later I will add it in.

    --MordyT of RvO Clan Forums

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  2. Nick

    Nick Regular Member

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    Great article, Mordy!
     
  3. Outdoor-Fishing

    Outdoor-Fishing Adept

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    Great article! Did you get burned by someone? If so, what's the story?
     
  4. MordyT

    MordyT Grand Master

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    I did. See here.
     
  5. Outdoor-Fishing

    Outdoor-Fishing Adept

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    Great job for staying on top of things throughout the entire transaction. Glad you were able to pull your funds back!

    Always those few bad apples that ruin it for everybody else.:rolleyes:
     

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