@tomos: I don't think the sky is falling down just yet.
If one follows through the instructions before committing any $$: (I've numbered them below)
- Promo Code: SKvip12%
- GET IT HERE!! : <https://goo.gl/h7Hm92>
(That shortened link takes you to SCDkey: <https://www.scdkey.com/office2016-professional-plus-cd-key-global_1530-20.html?b> but please use the shortened link in case it benefits Britec.) - Download and activate product key here: <https://setup.office.com/>
- Office Professional Plus 2016 For $30 : <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHgBDZSgePk>
- then one will be able to observe that at
STEP 3 the product key is validated by Microsoft prior to Microsoft actually downloading the software from the Microsoft site at <https://setup.office.com/>/ That is, the software is only downloaded by Microsoft
if the key is valid. The download of the Office 2016 installation package was uneventful and took a couple of hours on a slowish connection, by the way.
EDIT: The download was (from memory) an ISO file of about 2.9GB, which needed to be mounted as a CD-ROM in a virtual drive, and the installer run from that. (All dead easy on Win10.)
SCDkey Appears to be a legit and trusted vendor of discounted software and game keys, including, for example, for Steam, Xbox, MS Office. I could not find that this site had/has a bad rep as a fraudulent site - and presumably, neither could
Britec, who does not anyway intentionally link to fraudulent/dodgy sites AFAIK.
EDIT: SCDkey operate an
affiliate program: <https://www.scdkey.com/affiliate-program.html>
Thus the only risk might seem to be that the key one buys at
STEP 2 might not be deemed valid by the time one gets through the validation by Microsoft at
STEP 3.
In that case (i.e., if the key was invalid), then one would go back to either request a new (valid) key, or reclaim one's purchase cost of the licence from SCDkey (they also have an online chat window for support).
If they (say) refused to help or pay up, then one could reverse the transaction via the standard disputes procedures of PayPal/Visa etc. - and one's rights to avail oneself of those procedures last for about 180 days, as I recall. If PayPal/Visa etc. received information/complaints that SCDkey was flogging dud/illegal keys and not refunding, then they would freeze and ban SCDkey's merchant accounts - which would presumably kill SCDkey's business.
There would thus seem to be little (if any) financial risk, together with a strong incentive for SCDkey to be as helpful as possible to customers - and they do seem to be. For example, I was very impressed with how secure and efficient their EFT-POS website was - so was my friend who was sat next to me as we proceeded through the steps above (it was her money that was being spent). Like I said - it worked a treat.
However, I'll let you know (via this thread) in what would seem to be the unlikely event of it suddenly turning to custard.
