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I've Been Duped (Win7 OEM)

S

SkyBum

Senior member
The good news? My new i7 rig is assembled and ready to rock.

The bad news? Read on.

So I went against my better instincts and instead of buying my copy of Win7 from NewEgg, I bought it from a place called OutletDeal.com. Perhaps it's on me for not fully investigating the nature of the product I was ordering but I THOUGHT I was buying a Microsoft branded OEM version of Windows 7 home Premium 64. Unfortunately what I got was this:

http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/6599/contentmediaexternalimak.jpg

Are you kidding me? They sold me a Dell re-installation disk? Looks like the weekend is definitely not going to turn out how I planned ;P.

What I'm wondering is if they have legally sold this disk. If you look in the pic it says right on it that it's only for distribution with a new dell PC but perhaps they are within their rights to sell such crap seperately. I have a hunch that they are going to stick me with this and not refund...Any thoughts or ideas on this? Anyone here have any experience with outletdeal.com?
 
The good news? My new i7 rig is assembled and ready to rock.

The bad news? Read on.

So I went against my better instincts and instead of buying my copy of Win7 from NewEgg, I bought it from a place called OutletDeal.com. Perhaps it's on me for not fully investigating the nature of the product I was ordering but I THOUGHT I was buying a Microsoft branded OEM version of Windows 7 home Premium 64. Unfortunately what I got was this:

http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/6599/contentmediaexternalimak.jpg

Are you kidding me? They sold me a Dell re-installation disk? Looks like the weekend is definitely not going to turn out how I planned ;P.

What I'm wondering is if they have legally sold this disk. If you look in the pic it says right on it that it's only for distribution with a new dell PC but perhaps they are within their rights to sell such crap seperately. I have a hunch that they are going to stick me with this and not refund...Any thoughts or ideas on this? Anyone here have any experience with outletdeal.com?
 
Sounds like you should turn them in to both Dell and Microsoft and also ask for a full refund. What they sold you is not legal and most certainly will not install on anything but a Dell computer. Now if you do have Dell, then it should be fine.
 
Heh, no way in hell I'm letting that dell install anywhere near my new build. I'd sooner give up computing all together. Just.....no. Sounds like they may give me the high hard one on this based on some of the reviews. Guess we'll see come monday.

@ OS: Nope, no key.
 
I actually contacted Dell customer service and asked if it was acceptable for an online retailer to be selling their re-installation OEM discs online. After speaking with his manager the guy told me that this was not their problem and that I should take it up with Microsoft.
 
Yeah - it really is Microsoft's little red wagon. Give them all the info and they can be pretty tough on violators.
 
Why sweat it? Just call them and say that if you won't receive a valid license for W7 Ultimate in the next 3 days, then you will reverse the charges on your credit card.
 
Have you tried it? Does it have the CD key? I think there were more generic Windows 7 OEM disks than past operating systems because they were selling new computers for months before the release with the promise of a Windows 7 disk later. So it might not be tied as precisely to specifically Dell computers as other disks. It is worth a try, IMHO.
 
SkyBum said:
What I'm wondering is if they have legally sold this disk. If you look in the pic it says right on it that it's only for distribution with a new dell PC but perhaps they are within their rights to sell such crap seperately.
Click to expand...

Unless they also sold you the Dell PC it was bundled with, it's not legal.
 
They did say "OEM Branded". So, that is what you got. My guess is that it is not illegal (against the law) since the product is a genuine MS product.

Regardless, Dell reinstallation discs typically is the same as a generic Windows OEM disc. You should have no problems installing Windows since you do not even need a serial number for that. Big question is: will it activate with the key they gave you? I say probably.

On the other hand if you are not happy with your purchase, contact them and see if you can just return it.
 
Pretty Cool said:
They did say "OEM Branded". So, that is what you got. My guess is that it is not illegal (against the law) since the product is a genuine MS product.
Click to expand...
It's actually not quite a genuine MS product, since the OEM isn't MS...it's Dell.
Regardless, Dell reinstallation discs typically is the same as a generic Windows OEM disc.
Click to expand...
No, it's not. A generic Windows OEM disc doesn't install crapware...Dell reinstallation discs DO install crapware.
You should have no problems installing Windows since you do not even need a serial number for that. Big question is: will it activate with the key they gave you? I say probably.
Click to expand...
I say no. That key is tied to that OEM's mobo series...meaning, if you have a non-Dell mobo (like Asus, Gigabyte or Intel), the key will be rejected by WGA when you try to activate.
On the other hand if you are not happy with your purchase, contact them and see if you can just return it.
Click to expand...
Agreed. I looked at a few OEM-branded versions of Windows, and not once did I not see a retail box, nor did I see a description for which OEM the disc would apply to, nor did I see a written description for which OEM it would apply to.
 
SkyBum said:
I actually contacted Dell customer service and asked if it was acceptable for an online retailer to be selling their re-installation OEM discs online. After speaking with his manager the guy told me that this was not their problem and that I should take it up with Microsoft.
Click to expand...
He was just trying to get you off the phone. It is perfectly acceptable to sell re-installation discs online, since they are specific to machines made by that OEM, and cannot simply be used by anybody on any machine. If it wasn't acceptable, it is definitely Dell's problem, not Microsoft's. MS doesn't care if a disc that will only activate on Dell machines are sold online...they only care if warez discs that will activate on any machine are sold online.
 
Just contact your credit card company and they will refund your money, tell them you want to dispute the charges, you didnt receive what you wanted.Or better yet talk to outlet and see if they will resolve the issue. I dont know why your calling dell and microsoft. If you talk to the cc company they will take care of it. I recently just bought a plane ticket online from a vendor that was close to 50% cheaper then any other vendor i saw. When it came to payment time they offered paypal, cash, wire transfer and credit card. Guess what i chose? Thats right credit card. If my ticket ended up having problems then I could very very easily get my money back without any problems.
 
Dell does not have crapware on the OS Reinstallation disc. It is just that, the OS installation only. Now Dell may have some features left out of the OS or it may be BIOS locked on the disc, but that is it. Dell has supplied other discs with the programs and apps installed. This is where the crapware would be installed from. And even then, you can browse the cd and just install what you want. However, if you made a Recovery CD then whatever was loaded on the computer when sold, is what will be put back.
 
Slugbait said:
It's actually not quite a genuine MS product, since the OEM isn't MS...it's Dell.No, it's not.
Click to expand...

If it were Dell's, they would give a crap. MS does care.


A generic Windows OEM disc doesn't install crapware...Dell reinstallation discs DO install crapware.
Click to expand...

Pretty sure it is the same as a generic OS disc you would buy from Newegg or whereever.

I say no. That key is tied to that OEM's mobo series...meaning, if you have a non-Dell mobo (like Asus, Gigabyte or Intel), the key will be rejected by WGA when you try to activate.
Click to expand...

I think what happens with an actual Dell is that it might automatically validate itself. If you have a non-Dell, you would have to do it yourself. It may or may not activate online. If online fails, then you should be able to activate it by calling MS.

If it does activate, it might not be that easy to dispute this with your credit card company. The pages gives a sort of accurate description of what they were selling. However if it does not activate at all, then you would have a good case with the seller and your credit card company.
 
bruceb said:
Dell does not have crapware on the OS Reinstallation disc. It is just that, the OS installation only. Now Dell may have some features left out of the OS or it may be BIOS locked on the disc, but that is it. Dell has supplied other discs with the programs and apps installed. This is where the crapware would be installed from. And even then, you can browse the cd and just install what you want. However, if you made a Recovery CD then whatever was loaded on the computer when sold, is what will be put back.
Click to expand...

QFT..they have a separate "program/app" disc.
 
How much did you pay? Do you have a link to the product?

I know other places that sell OS recovery discs but they describe it as such and price it fairly. Sounds like you got ripped off. You can still use it to install Win7 and just use the 30 day trial period to get a legit version with a key.
 
Link to product required. Did it state it was a Dell OEM DVD? Did it state the key would be included?

The disk shouldn't be worth more than $5 without the license key that is usually attached to the PC. If the add was misleading, go to your CC company website and dispute the charge. You will win 99% of the time regardless.
 
I agree with the prior posters - attempt to do a return, then if they won't cooperate dispute the charge. I think you have a very decent chance of winning with the credit card company. And, if you don't win, you need to look for a new credit card company.

In the future, you want to avoid anything advertised using the terms "branded OEM" disc. A reinstallation disc like they sent you is literally a "branded OEM" disc (i.e. in this case, a Dell-branded CD/DVD which isn't good on anything but a Dell system, and even then will only work on certain Dell systems).

Over the years, I've found that it simply isn't worth trying to save a few bucks over simply buying from Newegg or Amazon - the sole exception being version upgrades purchased using Staples or Officemax coupons. Microsoft has a monopoly, so prices will be pretty much the same from almost all legitimate stores.
 
Last edited:
elitejp said:
Just contact your credit card company and they will refund your money, tell them you want to dispute the charges, you didnt receive what you wanted.Or better yet talk to outlet and see if they will resolve the issue. I dont know why your calling dell and microsoft. If you talk to the cc company they will take care of it. I recently just bought a plane ticket online from a vendor that was close to 50% cheaper then any other vendor i saw. When it came to payment time they offered paypal, cash, wire transfer and credit card. Guess what i chose? Thats right credit card. If my ticket ended up having problems then I could very very easily get my money back without any problems.
Click to expand...

I was going to suggest this. The credit card issuers will work to make their cardholders happy. As a cardholder, this is great. Having worked on the other side as a retailer, this can be a hassle that has me cursing the issuers. You wouldn't believe the shit that I've had to go through as the guy in charge of handling chargebacks and any customer issues relating to credit cards. Knowing what I have to go through with credit card disputes, I'd pay with a credit card every single time. They really do have your back, to the detriment of retailers who have to eat the costs when some consumers take advantage of the system.

It is legal to sell a Dell OEM disc to someone else. It is shady to sell it making the buyer think it's an Microsoft OEM disc. Dell OEM discs are meant to be installed on Dell systems only.
 
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