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Rosetta Stone discounts - scams? | ||
Tags: Rosetta Stone | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes |  | |
| allisonhome Newbie United States Joined 5097 days ago 4 posts - 4 votes Speaks: English* | Message 1 of 18 20 May 2010 at 9:38am | IP Logged | ||
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So I'm still not sure that I want to buy Rosetta Stone to learn Mandarin, but I at least wanted to look at the prices. As everyone knows, it's not cheap, list price around $540 for the whole set, Amazon price around $485, Google Shopping shows a bunch of outlets at about that same Amazon discount, with nothing significantly less.
Suddenly I found about a dozen websites offering the full set of Rosetta Stone Chinese (all 3 segments) for just $158. They certainly look legitimate. It's the latest version (version 3), personal edition, the boxes are pictured, and at some of the sites it says specifically that they are new in the box. Some of the sites specifically say they're an authorized reseller, and show all the expected logos. But it still makes me nervous. That's a BIG discount. And a lot of these sites look suspiciously identical. Does anyone have experience buying from these deep-discount vendors? Are they a scam? http://www.rosettastonelanguage.net/ http://www.iloverosetta.com/ http://www.rosettastoneretailer.com/ http://www.rosettastonelocker.com/ http://www.thelearnssofts.com/ http://www.learnssoftsonline.com/ http://www.jg02.com/ http://www.rosettastone-shop.com/ http://www.rosettastonelanguages.com/ http://www.rosettastonestyle.com/ http://www.discountrosettastone.com/ That's just a few. I could probably find another dozen in a few more minutes. Has anyone bought from these types of places? What do you think? 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| LN Groupie United States Joined 6067 days ago 39 posts - 36 votes Speaks: English Studies: Russian | Message 2 of 18 20 May 2010 at 11:01am | IP Logged | ||
I have never purchased from any of these sites. I do suspect that over the years I have dealt with many similar types at Ebay, but never as a customer. And if my suspicions are correct, you will most likely receive the product you request, but it will be in 'bootleg' form, meaning on (a) rewriteable disk(s) placed in generic sleeves and sent in padded envelopes. You will not get a box, or even a manual, as these things have no use other than to drive up the manufacturing and shipping costs. In other words, you get what you pay for. Speaking of which, I understand that you will be relocating soon, and if you wait until after you do so I am almost certain you can get the same exact product they are selling on these sites at an even larger discount. Ah heck, why wait? You can hop onto CL right now and probably score the same thing for $60 for the complete set and have it in your hands by tonight. I myself usually will not make such purchases, but I understand that sometimes there is an issue of money and/or availability, and I make no judgements about those who do. I only suggest that you understand up front exactly what it is that you probably will receive, and this way you will experience no disappointment when it arrives. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| allisonhome Newbie United States Joined 5097 days ago 4 posts - 4 votes Speaks: English* | Message 3 of 18 20 May 2010 at 1:27pm | IP Logged | ||
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Let me be clear: if these people are selling bootleg copies, warez, counterfeits or whatever you want to call software piracy, then I've got no interest at all in buying from them. If I buy something, I buy it for real.
When it comes to other products (light bulbs, watches, all sorts of things), I've sometimes seen very deep discounts from perfectly legitimate dealers--and they're usually selling off overstocks or whatever. But since I haven't been a buyer in this marketplace before, I figured it would be best to ask. I very much appreciate the feedback! 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Ubik Senior Member United States ubykh.wordpress.com/ Joined 5111 days ago 147 posts - 176 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: Latin, Arabic (Egyptian), German, Spanish | Message 4 of 18 20 May 2010 at 8:46pm | IP Logged | ||
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Rosetta Stone is also a highly stolen item so it could be the real thing, but you might be buying a stolen product. I cant imagine you would ever find yourself personally liable, but thats just another possibility. I know every time I look on Craigslist, there are a ton of brand new RS's available for really cheap NIB. Its pretty suspicious and almost every place locally here that sells them now keeps them behind the counter with security tags on them.
1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| t123 Diglot Senior Member South Africa https://github.com/t Joined 5406 days ago 139 posts - 226 votes Speaks: English*, Afrikaans | Message 5 of 18 20 May 2010 at 10:23pm | IP Logged | ||
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I looked at a few of them and none had a physical addresses, never a good sign. You could always email rosetta stone direct, and ask if they're legit. Either way, before you spend any money on it, make sure to read through the threads on the forum about it so you know exactly what you're getting:
http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=rosetta%20stone%20sit e%3Ahow-to-learn-any-language.com%2Fforum&meta= 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Delodephius Bilingual Tetraglot Senior Member Yugoslavia Joined 5198 days ago 342 posts - 501 votes Speaks: Slovak*, Serbo-Croatian*, EnglishC1, Czech Studies: Russian, Japanese | Message 6 of 18 21 May 2010 at 2:13am | IP Logged | ||
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I think I'll never understand western need to buy legitimately. I guess it's a cultural thing.
1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Juаn Senior Member Colombia Joined 5140 days ago 727 posts - 1830 votes Speaks: Spanish* | Message 7 of 18 21 May 2010 at 3:12am | IP Logged | ||
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Another thing to consider is that you don't actually "buy" the program, but only rent it; you can neither install it on subsequent computers, loan it to friends, nor sell it when you're done with it. At USD450, you should be getting a lot more, both in terms of content and usage rights.
3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| allisonhome Newbie United States Joined 5097 days ago 4 posts - 4 votes Speaks: English* | Message 8 of 18 21 May 2010 at 3:12pm | IP Logged | ||
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> I think I'll never understand western need to buy legitimately. I guess it's a cultural thing.
Two answers: 1. It's about honesty and integrity. Regardless of whether I think the product is priced right or not, I *DO* believe in being honest. Which means that I don't steal, and I don't buy from people who steal. I don't know if it's cultural, but doing what I think is the right thing is very important to me personally. 2. Even if I didn't care about honesty or integrity, the pragmatic details of giving my credit card number to someone who has already demonstrated a willingness to steal makes no sense to me. If they steal my money, what am I gonna do? Be surprised? Call the police? A smart person does not buy from dishonest vendors. But the bottom line is still about honesty. Even if I could get away with it, I wouldn't. (That's me. Your mileage may vary.) 1 person has voted this message useful |
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