# Ebay phenomenon, the mysterious Photoshop software **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 27, 2008, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-phenomenon-the-mysterious-photoshop-software/435164 "2008-01-27T04:29:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![JustThinkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@JustThinkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustThinkin)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2008, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-phenomenon-the-mysterious-photoshop-software/435164/21 "2008-01-27T18:51:07Z")
I saw this when I was looking to purchase Dreamweaver. Some folks buy group licenses and then spin it off to individuals. I don’t know if it’s legal. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2008, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-phenomenon-the-mysterious-photoshop-software/435164/22 "2008-01-27T19:24:14Z")
[QUOTE=jsgoddess] Cool. Thanks for the tip. [/QUOTE] Also have a look at Adobe Lightroom. A free fully functional 30-day trial is available from Adobe online. It’s not meant to be Photoshop, but if your basic purpose for Photoshop is converting raw files, doing basic image manipulation (toning, cropping, rudimentary cloning), it will do the job. It’s one of the best programs for dealing with a large bunch of raw files at a time. My own photo workflow is 90% Lightroom 10% Photoshop. And, as powerful and free as GIMP is, if you’re used to Photoshop, I think it will drive you nuts. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2008, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-phenomenon-the-mysterious-photoshop-software/435164/23 "2008-01-27T19:45:51Z")
[QUOTE=Beware of Doug] Why just Photoshop, do you think? Also, did they all start selling it around the same time? You mentioned “all of a sudden,” but did you mean “all at once”? Maybe they all know each other and got in on the same deal and/or scam. [/QUOTE] The ones he told me about were all of a sudden, and popping up late 2007 and so far this year. So someone goes along for a couple of years selling X, then in December starts selling X and Photoshop. It’s just curious. ---
**Author:** ![slaphead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@slaphead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slaphead)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2008, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-phenomenon-the-mysterious-photoshop-software/435164/24 "2008-01-27T19:59:26Z")
[QUOTE=Szlater] Can PSElements do RAW conversion? He could buy Nikon’s Nikon Capture software for the RAW conversion, and then use The Gimp to do the processing (cloning etc). The Gimp is free, and exceedingly powerful. [/QUOTE] There’s also Bibble, and I believe even PaintShop Pro reads RAW these days… ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2008, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-phenomenon-the-mysterious-photoshop-software/435164/25 "2008-01-27T20:30:31Z")
[QUOTE=JustThinkin’] I saw this when I was looking to purchase Dreamweaver. Some folks buy group licenses and then spin it off to individuals. I don’t know if it’s legal. [/QUOTE] Seems like the most likely explanation. ---
**Author:** ![ChrisBooth12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@ChrisBooth12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChrisBooth12)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2008, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-phenomenon-the-mysterious-photoshop-software/435164/26 "2008-01-27T21:21:52Z")
Have you looked at programs such as GIMP and [Paint.NET](http://Paint.NET) ---
**Author:** ![groman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@groman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groman)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2008, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-phenomenon-the-mysterious-photoshop-software/435164/27 "2008-01-27T23:05:04Z")
[QUOTE=ChrisBooth12] Have you looked at programs such as GIMP and [Paint.NET](http://Paint.NET) [/QUOTE] Getting GIMP to work with proprietary RAW image formats is not for the faint of heart. I’ve never tried [Paint.NET](http://Paint.NET) so no comment there. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2008, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-phenomenon-the-mysterious-photoshop-software/435164/28 "2008-01-28T02:15:21Z")
I have seen full version software sold at half price or less in stores, just before the release of a new version. I have paid $20 for software that was $80 the week before. The manufacture is hoping to hook some new customers, that will want an upgrade to the new version in the future. I have also seen these same softwares show up on eBay for a mark up between the two prices. This works, because the software is no longer in stock at the store that had the discounted manufacturer’s closeout stock. Staples has been one store that had these deals in the past. Most of the deals were at the beginning of the year. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ebay-phenomenon-the-mysterious-photoshop-software/435164.md?page=1)