I'm looking to get into doing some freelance graphic design work and I want to purchase Adobe creative suite for mac. I'm not a student so I wouldn't qualify for the student and teacher edition. I'm also not 100% sure on which package to get - Standard, Premium or Web. I think I would be fine with the standard since I mainly would only use Photoshop and InDesign. But having the others would be nice too. As you know the price is high for any of them so I check ebay regularly for any deals on new software. I don't need the latest edition either. I'm thinking a new CS4 and up would be fine. Other than ebay and ordering directly from Adobe, where did some of you guys get yours? Is there a place that has them cheaper anywhere? Is ebay too risky even for "new, factory sealed" software? Thanks
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Where did you guys buy your Adobe Suite?
- Thread starter SteelBlueTJ
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Ebay is fine. I have purchased all my Adobe products there. I have saved thousands by doing it. Just make sure to read the description carefully to make sure you are getting the full retail product. Not student & teacher, as you will not be able to upgrade at a later date if you want to. Don't be afraid to ask the seller if you are unsure of anything. There are some great deals on the CS Master Collection and then you will have everything. Should be able to find it for $400-500. Will end up costing you less than Adobe's smaller suites on their site. Just make sure it has not been registered and it includes a license for 2 computers. Windows edition is usually cheaper than Mac version. Good luck and enjoy when you get it. Also make sure you have a computer that can handle it. It is a large program group and loves to use ram especially if you are running 2 or 3 of the programs simultaneously plus a browser and other things. I am running it on a 2011 27" iMac core i7 with 16 gigs ram and never have any problems even with large files.
How would you find a legitimate copy for $400-500?
The full CS6 suite is $1300 from Adobe. I don't know what floats around in terms of boxed copies after a new one comes out, but it would surprise me to still see copies of 4 around. The OP should keep in mind that eventually older software may not run properly on the current OS. Adobe doesn't really patch their old stuff. Also if you're dealing with raw files in photoshop, you'd end up using a dng converter or something of that sort as old CS means old camera raw. You could always get the current lightroom or capture one to alleviate this issue.
Illustrator is much nicer for cleaning up and polishing your vector work. Keep that in mind, but I think it comes with all of them. To correct that thing about 2 computers, unless they changed it, it can be in use on one at a time. It was designed for people who also wanted it on their laptop.
Last thing I wanted to mention is that you're only eligible to upgrade from one version back after the end of this year, so if you're buying an older one today, don't expect to upgrade it. You'll also want to know it runs okay on mountain lion without any weird bugs. I don't expect Adobe to patch a version they stopped selling a long time ago to work with the newest OS. It would most likely be fine. Anyway you're probably better off getting something current that can maintain an actual upgrade path unless Adobe forces everyone to use the subscription model. In 2013 and beyond, it's unlikely that anything pre CS6 will be eligible for an upgrade. They were going to stick everyone with it this time, but they backed off. Previously you could upgrade from up to 3 versions back. I upgraded every other version or whenever something cool was added.
Got CS4 through student discount for about $300-400. Now Adobe wants $950 for an upgrade to 6. Not sure what to do about that since it's such a big hike in price.
My copy of CS 5.5 Master Collection is every bit legitimate and the full retail version. I only paid $550. Came in its original packaging and is registered with Adobe. As I stated earlier, you must read description carefully. I agree some copies are not legit, but there are just as many that are legit on Ebay. All you have to do is ask for the product code and Adobe can tell you if it is legit. I phoned Adobe to make sure I could upgrade to CS6 and was told I could for $525. So why would I pay $2599 for a full retail version?
That is pretty awesome. I'll admit I wonder how it's that cheap. I mean it seems like that would be below cost for resellers.
By the way, what I said regarding upgrade paths is still valid. They've been becoming less and less friendly on upgrade paths. I agree that's an amazing deal though.
http://www.adobe.com/products/creativesuite/faq.html#upgrade-eligibility
CS5 or CS5.5 suite edition customers qualify for upgrade pricing to a CS6 suite edition. Individual CS5 or CS5.5 product customers qualify for upgrade pricing to the same product but not to a suite edition. Any version earlier than CS5 is not eligible for upgrade pricing.
For customers on CS3 or CS4 individual products and suite editions, Adobe is offering an upgrade price promotion for CS6 until December 31, 2012. After that date, only customers on CS5 or CS5.5 will qualify for upgrade pricing to CS6.
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You could try using the Creative Cloud service if upfront cost is a bit prohibitive for you.
http://www.adobe.com/products/creativecloud.html?promoid=ITKJK
You get to use any of the applications in the CS6 Master Suite plus some Cloud only services (like Muse, Typekit, Business Catalyst and Story Plus).
If you buy a 12 month subscription, it's $50/month (which is $600 for the year).
It can be a lot easier for freelancers and small business types to budget the $50/month than a large initial purchase price.
Also cool is that the two licenses you get can be split over Mac and PC if you want (one installation on each or install twice on one OS). So if you have both a Mac laptop and a PC desktop, you can use the same subscription on both.
The "Cloud" part of the name is a bit of a misnomer. You don't use the software online, you download it just like any Adobe application to your HDD. The only thing different than the boxed version is that it checks with the activation server once every 30 days to make sure your subscription is still active.
On the downside is that you have to pay $50 every month to continue to use the software. There are certainly people who bought CS4 and are still using it today. That would come out to far less than $50/month for them. Also is that you don't "own" anything, it's a service like your internet or cable. Stop paying and it goes away.
It may be something you want to think about.
http://www.adobe.com/products/creativecloud.html?promoid=ITKJK
You get to use any of the applications in the CS6 Master Suite plus some Cloud only services (like Muse, Typekit, Business Catalyst and Story Plus).
If you buy a 12 month subscription, it's $50/month (which is $600 for the year).
It can be a lot easier for freelancers and small business types to budget the $50/month than a large initial purchase price.
Also cool is that the two licenses you get can be split over Mac and PC if you want (one installation on each or install twice on one OS). So if you have both a Mac laptop and a PC desktop, you can use the same subscription on both.
The "Cloud" part of the name is a bit of a misnomer. You don't use the software online, you download it just like any Adobe application to your HDD. The only thing different than the boxed version is that it checks with the activation server once every 30 days to make sure your subscription is still active.
On the downside is that you have to pay $50 every month to continue to use the software. There are certainly people who bought CS4 and are still using it today. That would come out to far less than $50/month for them. Also is that you don't "own" anything, it's a service like your internet or cable. Stop paying and it goes away.
It may be something you want to think about.
This is exactly what I did. Plus, I was a previous owner of CS4 Design, but needed the Master Collection (but there was no way I could justify the upgrade at the moment) until I found they discounted the Creative Cloud version for previous CS owners to $29 per month (for the first year) so it was a no brainer!
I now have the entire Adobe CS6 Master Collection downloaded onto my Mac, along with the 20GB of space through their cloud service so I can share files with my colleagues/clients as well as sync files from their touch apps (PS Touch, Adobe Ideas, and Proto) on my iPad to my Mac at home... best thing Adobe ever did, this Creative Cloud (and I'm usually pretty hard on them.)
Thanks. I have another question kind of related. I currently have an older 2007 iMac 2.4 ghz C2D with an SSD that I installed. The software should run it ok on this machine, but I defiantly am planning an upgrade soon. Hopefully a new Mac Pro if they are updated, if not, then a new iMac. Now If I were to purchase a new Adobe suite full retail commercial version and install it onto my current iMac for a little while, then eventually upgrade my machine, would I run into any issues with reinstallation or activation? I would most definitely uninstall it first from the old mac before installing it onto the new one. I'm sure some of you have done this before. Is it a smooth transition? Or should I expect issues?
First you'd have to deactivate it (in the help menu) on your current system, uninstall it, and then install it on the new one.
I am not sure how the retail license works, but with student you can have it installed on two computers, as long as the applications aren't used simultaneously.
I am not sure how the retail license works, but with student you can have it installed on two computers, as long as the applications aren't used simultaneously.
I've lucked out. I bought a scanner with my very first Mac that included a full version of Photoshop 4. That let me upgrade to 7 for MacOS X, then later a discount to the CS3 Production Suite. I'm switching to creative cloud this
month to get the discount for the first year. I figure I'll spend less over 2 years on the Cloud than I would upgrading directly, as well as getting any upgrades and full access to both the Master suite and the unique Cloud features. It's only after that point where the subscription costs might start to outweigh the annual upgrade prices.
month to get the discount for the first year. I figure I'll spend less over 2 years on the Cloud than I would upgrading directly, as well as getting any upgrades and full access to both the Master suite and the unique Cloud features. It's only after that point where the subscription costs might start to outweigh the annual upgrade prices.