# Adobe Creative Suite question **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 3, 2009, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adobe-creative-suite-question/488095 "2009-03-03T03:16:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adobe-creative-suite-question/488095/1 "2009-03-03T03:16:22Z")
I don’t know if this is the right forum for this…but I figured this was as good a place as any to start. I am currently E-baying my way around looking for Adobe Creative Suite products and I come across [This item](http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350156298413) It looks to good to be true, and my question is a very dumb one. Since this keeps saying it is an upgrade, does that mean I need to have previous installments of all the programs? Or can I get this, pop it in, and have it work just like that? Thanks for any and all help ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adobe-creative-suite-question/488095/2 "2009-03-03T03:20:24Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > I don’t know if this is the right forum for this…but I figured this was as good a place as any to start. > > I am currently E-baying my way around looking for Adobe Creative Suite products and I come across [This item](http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350156298413) > > It looks to good to be true, and my question is a very dumb one. Since this keeps saying it is an upgrade, does that mean I need to have previous installments of all the programs? Or can I get this, pop it in, and have it work just like that? > > Thanks for any and all help I advise you to ask the seller. The ad is ambiguous. Also, my impression is that the great majority of expensive software you can find to buy on ebay is an illegal copy. -Kris ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adobe-creative-suite-question/488095/3 "2009-03-03T03:21:59Z")
I did ask the seller and basically it was an automated response that said “We don’t discuss compatibility” ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adobe-creative-suite-question/488095/4 "2009-03-03T03:30:45Z")
Ditch it. Best case, it is an upgrade version that can still be activated, in which case you’ll need a product key from an earlier version of Creative Suite (or another Macromedia or Adobe product) or it won’t activate and won’t work after 30 days. More likely it’s a copied disc with a used product key that won’t activate. If you’re a student there are sites that sell deeply discounted software including Adobe CS. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adobe-creative-suite-question/488095/5 "2009-03-03T03:41:36Z")
Yeah well the whole “student” thing came and went without my dumb ass doing anything. So basically I am screwed into spending 300 bucks on disc copies? Unless anyone else has any advice… ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adobe-creative-suite-question/488095/6 "2009-03-03T04:20:23Z")
In fairness, that appears to be from [Buy.com](http://Buy.com), which is a reputable store. This is indeed the upgrade (says it right on the page: “Adobe Creative Suite 3.3 Master Collection Upgrade from 3.0”) so this is really not a surprising price, especially since Adobe CS is up to version 4 now anyway. According to Adobe, you’ll need one of the following for the upgrade: Adobe Creative Suite 3 Master Collection Adobe Creative Suite 2.x Premium or Standard Adobe Creative Suite 1.x Premium or Standard Adobe Production Studio Premium or Standard Macromedia Studio 8 Macromedia Studio MX 2004 Macromedia MX … and probably any standalone product as well, I believe. But don’t quote me. The [FAQ is here](http://www.adobe.com/products/creativesuite/pdfs/cs3_3_faq.pdf), so check it out. So not a bad deal if you have one of the above products already. But if you’re brand new to Adobe/Macromedia, this upgrade won’t be for you. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adobe-creative-suite-question/488095/7 "2009-03-03T04:26:28Z")
Thanks choie! This is pretty much what I assumed Does that mean I can buy Creative Suite 1 and then just give it a huge-ass upgrade? This product is 100 bucks or so, getting Suite 1 (since it is so outdated) is probably another 150 at most…so I could get the whole thing for 250-300 bucks? Make sense? Frankly the reason I am doing this is so that I can add some stuff to my resume. I want to be able to use Photoshop more than I already know (which isn’t much cuz I am way outdated) maybe make a website, make pdf’s and stuff like that. I think all the programs I need are in Creative Suite, so I am trying to get the best I can, without paying 500+ dollars ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adobe-creative-suite-question/488095/8 "2009-03-03T07:16:22Z")
As mentioned, this most certainly is an upgrade - meaning you have to already have an older version of the software. Plus, it is CS3, and CS4 is out now. Are you absolutely sure you cannot find some student somewhere who has no use whatsoever for the software but could order it for you? They are currently selling students the entire Creative Suite Standard CS4 (not just an upgrade) for only $389.00!!! (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Dreamweaver and Flash) Normally costs about $1800. Not THAT is a deal, and cheaper than the normal upgrade. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adobe-creative-suite-question/488095/9 "2009-03-03T15:46:54Z")
You could get [this](http://cgi.ebay.com/Macromedia-Studio-MX-2004-for-Mac-or-Win-in-Orig-Box_W0QQitemZ320345981630QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Software?hash=item320345981630&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A3%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318) for $50, then upgrade it to CS (see **Choie** ’s faq). ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adobe-creative-suite-question/488095/10 "2009-03-03T18:31:57Z")
I ended up finding a CS4 design standard for 600, so I went ahead and just got that. Frankly all I needed more than anything else was photoshop, acrobat, illustrator, and dreamweaver. Thanks for the help everyone!! ---
**Author:** ![bink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/439d5e/32.png) [@bink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bink)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adobe-creative-suite-question/488095/11 "2009-03-04T04:28:44Z")
Do not buy it! It’s an upgrade from 3.0 to 3.3. Only an idiot would buy that. –signed, an idiot who bought that. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adobe-creative-suite-question/488095/12 "2009-03-04T14:47:31Z")
Wow, you’re right… all it adds is Acrobat 9 Pro (a fact that requires some digging to discover). That is really sinister.