BUYING A USED FINAL CUT STUDIO 3.... SUGGESTIONS PLEASE....

If it is a copy of their FCS3 it is definitely illegal and a waste of $200.

The only way FCS can be sold legally is to provide all the original DVDs etc. and the seller must not keep any copy of it at all.

For that money you can buy a genuine Final Cut Express 4 which will almost certainly do everything you require.

If you are planning on running FCS 3 on the MacBook listed in your profile, it won't install anyway:

Requirements to install all Final Cut Studio applications
Mac computer with an Intel processor
1GB of RAM (2GB of RAM recommended when working with compressed HD and uncompressed SD sources; 4GB of RAM recommended when working with uncompressed HD sources)
ATI or NVIDIA graphics processor *(integrated Intel graphics processors not supported)*
128MB of VRAM
Display with 1280-by-800 resolution or higher
Mac OS X v10.5.6 or later
QuickTime 7.6 or later
DVD drive for installation
4GB of disk space required to install all applications (Final Cut Pro, Color, DVD Studio Pro, Soundtrack Pro, Motion, Cinema Tools, Compressor, and Apple Qmaster)
46GB of disk space required for optional content
9GB for DVD Studio Pro content
7GB for Motion templates
22GB for audio content
8GB for LiveFonts

I'll sell you FCS4 for $125.

godfather1, FCS3 was just released and if someone is selling you a thousand dollar package for $200 it's got to be shady. Runaway from that deal.

As Nick said - yes, it's a bad idea. Here's what I did - look on eBay for a an old copy of Final Cut Pro or something. Make sure they send you the original disks and serial numbers and then use that to upgrade to FCS 3. That's what I did and saved $300 and stayed legal. So yes, you can buy an older version used and then upgrade it.

As for your MacBook, you can install FCS 3 on that with a little extra effort.

I just have too chime in here, I agree with all above .. be so careful purchasing something that is to good too be true' .. I just recently upgraded from FC-5 too FC-7 Studio .. Well worth it !! The upgrade was only $300_ .. I have been updating since FinalCut-1 .. Keep it legal. I run FC on my Macpro & my Macbookpro' .. usually editing on my quadmac, but if I try too start up FC on my macbook, while plugged in .. it is not allowed' .. 'Because another version is running with same serial number'