Harlan Johnson

Q: FCP  on Ebay cheap.  What gives?

There are many FCP offers on Ebay, and Ebay has a fairly reliable way of providing feedback to eliminate scammers. Many offering FCP have positive records.  One person said his genuine one wouldn't be eligible for support.  It sounds fishy, but $90 vs. $300 sounds appealing. What gives?

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Jun 29, 2016 3:48 PM

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Q: FCP  on Ebay cheap.  What gives?

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Tom Wolsky,Helpful

    Tom Wolsky Tom Wolsky Jun 29, 2016 3:57 PM in response to Harlan Johnson
    Level 10 (118,086 points)
    Apple TV
    Jun 29, 2016 3:57 PM in response to Harlan Johnson

    These are all illegal sales. The FCP license is not transferable. You will get no support and no upgrades.

  • by Harlan Johnson,

    Harlan Johnson Harlan Johnson Jun 29, 2016 3:55 PM in response to Tom Wolsky
    Level 1 (39 points)
    Video
    Jun 29, 2016 3:55 PM in response to Tom Wolsky

    So how do they get away with it?  Isn't it illegal?

  • by Tom Wolsky,

    Tom Wolsky Tom Wolsky Jun 29, 2016 4:00 PM in response to Harlan Johnson
    Level 10 (118,086 points)
    Apple TV
    Jun 29, 2016 4:00 PM in response to Harlan Johnson

    Excellent question. They get away with it because someone buys the software and eBay makes money on it.

  • by babowa,

    babowa babowa Jun 29, 2016 7:19 PM in response to Harlan Johnson
    Level 7 (31,893 points)
    iPad
    Jun 29, 2016 7:19 PM in response to Harlan Johnson

    I'd suggest reporting the item to ebay as pirated software and sending the link to the ebay item to Apple legal. I did that once with Aperture which I bought because the seller claimed it was an unopenend box - which it was not. He actually sent an email with a registration code and told me to download the trial and then use the code. Who knows how many of those he had sold - I did get my money back finally. In any case, the item and the seller disappeared.

  • by fox_m,

    fox_m fox_m Jun 30, 2016 12:03 AM in response to Harlan Johnson
    Level 5 (5,502 points)
    Video
    Jun 30, 2016 12:03 AM in response to Harlan Johnson

    If those are Final Cut Pro Studio (version 7 and lower) then they are probably legit "box set" installers. Even though FCP 7 still runs in El Capitan, Motion 4 does not. You cannot even launch it. The other software in the set might still be operational, but they are all getting very "long in the tooth." Their days are numbered. There will be no upgrades. If you work with DVDs, DVD Studio Pro by itself might be worth what is being charged, but you'd be doing yourself a favor to buy into FCPX and Motion 5. You probably won't need Compressor right away.

     

    If these people are trying to sell Final Cut Pro X, then as Tom states: it's bootlegged. The only source to buy from is the App Store.

  • by Ian R. Brown,

    Ian R. Brown Ian R. Brown Jun 30, 2016 1:17 AM in response to Harlan Johnson
    Level 6 (18,658 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jun 30, 2016 1:17 AM in response to Harlan Johnson

    Just out of interest I put "FCP X" in the eBay search box and came up with this lot  .  .  .

     

    http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313.TR6.TRC2. A0.H0.XFinal+Cut+pro.TRS0&_nkw=Final+Cut+pro&_sacat=0

     

    FCP X, Motion and Compressor for £10 and all "genuine eBay listings".

     

    The sellers are telling the truth as they are indeed real (aka genuine) eBay listings but that is totally different from being genuine legal Apple products.

     

    They are completely illegal.

     

    The seller has either bought, stolen or been given a copy of FCP X and is selling it to as many people as he can to make a quick profit.

     

    On the other hand, the listings for Final Cut Studio are quite possibly genuine as they are pre-2011 versions that are unlikely to work on modern computers and are only really of use to collectors of historical editing artefacts.

     

    P.S.  I have just had a good laugh reading the first advert  .  .  .  the seller informs you that he has bought loads of Macs which all happen to have the full FCP X suite of apps on them and has removed the apps to sell them to you, so everything is OK.

     

    As Tom said, the licences for FCP X are not transferrable so you are not permitted to sell or even give away the apps.

     

    Furthermore, if you sell a Mac containing such apps, you are legally required to delete them before passing the computer on to the buyer.

     

    I'm still laughing at the image in my mind of this guy with a house full of latest Macs all filled with FCP X etc.

  • by BenB,

    BenB BenB Jun 30, 2016 7:18 AM in response to Ian R. Brown
    Level 6 (9,816 points)
    Video
    Jun 30, 2016 7:18 AM in response to Ian R. Brown

    Who says they guys are actually delivering a product?  eBay is full of take-the-money-and-run scams.

  • by Tom Wolsky,

    Tom Wolsky Tom Wolsky Jun 30, 2016 7:21 AM in response to BenB
    Level 10 (118,086 points)
    Apple TV
    Jun 30, 2016 7:21 AM in response to BenB

    Wow! Cool! Can I get some of that?

  • by David Bogie Chq-1,

    David Bogie Chq-1 David Bogie Chq-1 Jun 30, 2016 9:22 AM in response to Harlan Johnson
    Level 7 (25,772 points)
    Video
    Jun 30, 2016 9:22 AM in response to Harlan Johnson

    FCP7 or FCPX?

    There are ways to obtain the DVDs for FCP7 that are legitimate.

    FCPX? No, the only legitimate source is the Apple app store.