Dangers of Purchasing QuickBooks from "Secondary" Sources

I recently received an e-mail from a reader that went like this...

"I bought QuickBooks secondhand and called to register it (editors note - product registration is required). The rep on the phone asked me if I bought it at a retail store or someplace else. I told them "someplace else" and the rep would not register it for me".

So I wrote her back and told her that was a bunch of crap. She could register authentic QuickBooks software at any time, regardless of where it was purchased. Heck, I've sold hundreds of authentic copies of discounted QuickBooks software via my web site since 2003.

WE DIG A LITTLE FURTHER AND IT GETS BETTER... 

 

She writes back and says that she called Intuit to try and register yet again and relayed my message (not sure if she used my exact words or not). Now the plot sickens..

This time, she indicated the rep would not register her QuickBooks because it had already been registered to another company.

Now we've gotten to the bottom of it! This time, the rep was spot on - Intuit will not register QuickBooks to a new owner if it has been previously registered, even if the QuickBooks is "shrink wrapped, in a box, and looks like it was brand new" (as she described in her e-mail to me).

PARDON ME - DID YOU JUST ASK ME FOR A TRANSFER OF OWNERSHIP?

In the event that QuickBooks software is changing hands from one business to another, Intuit will ask for the seller to complete a "transfer of ownership" form and then will review the details to determine if a transfer of the license to the purchaser will be approved or denied. This is typically the only way I know of that a license can be transferred - it just can't be sold on places like eBay, etc.

IS IT BOGUS?

In this case, my hunch is that my reader was duped into thinking this was a new copy of QuickBooks by the way it was packaged. To date, her attempts to get in touch with the seller have not been successful. For the moment, her only use for the QuickBooks CD she has is as a coaster. She won't be able to get it registered, and QuickBooks simply stops working after 30 days if it is not registered.

BUY FROM AUTHORIZED CHANNELS

I've always told anyone that asks about buying QuickBooks via secondary channels that it is "buyer beware". This particular case (and countless others I have read about) really drives home the point. What you think may be a great deal on QuickBooks turns out to be a raw deal. This warning applies not just to QuickBooks, but any commercial software where the lure of saving a few bucks may take you down the wrong road.

As an authorized affiliate for QuickBooks, I can offer you authorized copies of all versions of QuickBooks software. The software is shipped directly from the QuickBooks warehouses, and the software downloads come directly from the Intuit servers.

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Comments

[Penny Lane Crull]

Interesting, Scott. I have never encountered someone wanting to transfer ownership of QuickBooks until the other day, and I didn't know that it could be done.