Where can I buy a cheap copy of Illustrator/Photoshop CS2?

November 5, 2006 1:32 PM

Does anybody know of anyplace I can get a cheap legal copy of Adobe Illustrator CS2 and Photoshop CS2? I would be fine purchasing a used copy if it was completely legal. I do not have the money right now to buy the software at the normal retail price but would like to learn them. Also, if I were to buy a used product from eBay, what should I make sure it includes to make it a legal copy? Cheers!
posted by *lostatsea* to computers & internet (15 comments total)

Are you/do you know a student/faculty member? The educational discounts are very steep...
posted by lovejones at 1:45 PM on November 5, 2006

If you're a student, or know anyone who is, the student bookstore at their college will often have educational discount copies of Adobe products. Figure ~$300 for the educational vers.
posted by stenseng at 1:47 PM on November 5, 2006

Ninety-eight times out of a hundred buying cheap software means buying a pirated copy from some shyster.

If you're affiliated with a university or something they have a discounted version available. The academic editions are still relatively expensive (CS2 Premium academic looks like it's ~$375, more seperately).

I really can't advise you enough to avoid discounted software brokers. You'll only get ripped off. If you can't afford the software do what millions have been doing for years: download the software and use it until you can afford to buy it.
posted by polyhedron at 1:51 PM on November 5, 2006

Does anybody know of anyplace I can get a cheap legal copy of Adobe Illustrator CS2 and Photoshop CS2?

Do you really NEED these apps, or can you get by with something cheapers in the meantime?
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 2:01 PM on November 5, 2006

If you're a student, or know anyone who is, the student bookstore at their college will often have educational discount copies of Adobe products.

IIRC, unlike regular retail licenses, the license of the discounted Adobe educational versions explicitly forbid passing that license on to a non-education-type person, to prevent the kind of strawman purchase that has been suggested. The poster explicity said completely legal. If you are a student, then check out your campus bookstore or computer retailer or equivalent. Otherwise, probably the only truly legitimate way would be to find someone with a full retail license who will sell it to you. There's an excellent chance of finding a copy of CS1 this way - is there some feature of CS2 that you absolutely have to have?
posted by buxtonbluecat at 2:24 PM on November 5, 2006

The catch with student versions of Adobe software is that you're not supposed to make any money off of it, strictly for learning purposes.

You could also try picking up CS ($250 Amazon) and learning that instead. CS is close enough to CS2 that you wouldn't notice too many differences at a beginner/intermediate level.

Also, in lieu of Photoshop, you could learn on Photoshop Elements, which is usually $100 instead of $650.

In the meantime, you can get 30-day trials from Adobe. If you really focus, you can learn the software in a month.

Happy Hunting.
posted by idiotfactory at 2:24 PM on November 5, 2006

Some people like 'The GIMP' on either Linux or Windows, sure it's powerful - but then others don't like the UI - especially if you are already trained on Adobe's products.

One freebie that I've used for non-professional level image manipulation on Windows is 'Paint.NET'
posted by jkaczor at 2:38 PM on November 5, 2006

I once bought a very old copy from an eBay seller and then upgraded it cheaply through Adobe. I'm not entirely sure if the licence permits this, but the copy I bought had never been registered so Adobe weren't to know. Of course, you have to trust the seller that it hasn't been registered... Check with Adobe first about the various upgrade fees.

In my experience these copies tend to have been lifted by employees leaving a job. So it's not entirely legal.
posted by Glum at 2:42 PM on November 5, 2006

inkscape is an excellent free vector graphics tool
posted by paradroid at 3:01 PM on November 5, 2006

While you aren't allowed to transfer an educational version you can continue to use it after you have finished your studies. My university has continuing education classes starting from less than $50 and also has a computer store.

Brandon Blatcher writes "Do you really NEED these apps, or can you get by with something cheapers in the meantime?"

You pretty well need photoshop et. al. if you're going to learn those applications.
posted by Mitheral at 3:10 PM on November 5, 2006

Thank you all for your help
posted by *lostatsea* at 5:55 PM on November 5, 2006

The 30-day (non-restricted) trials from Adobe.com?
posted by niles at 6:10 PM on November 5, 2006

Wow, the student version of Adobe is that much? When I was in college, we could get, say, Microsoft Office for $10. These days I just use OpenOffice.
posted by IndigoRain at 7:59 PM on November 5, 2006

Here's what I did:
A friend of mine had Photoshop Student Edition but never used or registered it. She tried selling it on ebay, but no-one wanted it, so she gave it to me. I called Adobe and let them know what had happened. I asked if I could use the student edition of Photoshop to get the upgrade price on CS. They said yes. They also let me switch the license from PC to Mac. They were really cool and helpful about the whole transaction. So I'd suggest checking out craigslist or ebay or wherever else you'd chose to check, buy the student edition, and upgrade.

Oh, and as for checking to see if the copy is legal, you can call Adobe and run the serial number by them to make sure the sn is legitimate. Getting the seller to give you the number before you give them the money is a trick you'll have to figure out for yourself though.
posted by lekvar at 10:11 PM on November 5, 2006

When I was in college, we could get, say, Microsoft Office for $10

That's because your university already paid big $$$ for everyone on campus to have a license to Microsoft Office. Then you paid $10 for the cost of copying and selling the CDs. It's not because individual academic sales from Microsoft are so cheap.
posted by grouse at 6:01 AM on November 6, 2006