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Why are old OS upgrade discs still so expensive?

B

BeestieHalls

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 7, 2009
31
0
I've been searching ebay high and low to find a 10.4 upgrade disc for my eMac. It currently has 10.3 right now. It works fine for surfing the web, but its pretty frustrating that I can't watch Hulu or even sync my iPod with it.

I mean, since Snow Leopard was only $30, wouldn't that sort of level the playing field? I don't understand. On ebay, 10.4 install DVDs are going for like $130. Thats pretty ridiculous.

Anyone else frustrated by this?
 
Don't forget that you MUST HAVE LEOPARD before installing the SNOW LEOPARD disc.Thats what Apple said, but the upgrade version contains the full copy, but you bought the upgrade isnce for $30. Not that any one really cares about that.:rolleyes:
 
Haha well I guess I don't like to follow the rules... I did pay $30 and it worked fine on my Macbook with 10.4. But, my MacBook was broken and the upgrade fixed it when the Apple people couldn't so... I don't really regret it.

And yeah, I suppose demand it high. There are probably a lot of PPC Macs still out there that need them, so there's where it comes from. I just wish there was a different method of getting software other than eBay and Amazon...
 
The General said:
don't pirate it ;)
Click to expand...

Haha I wouldn't even begin to know how to go about doing that. I'd like to do things legitimately. And preferably economically.

Like I said, I wish there was a better way than ebay to find software. I guess that I just wish people wouldn't agree to pay high prices and were more savvy about doing stuff like that
 
Two reasons older discs are more expensive:

1. Once a new OS comes out, you cannot buy the old one at retail any more (except possibly old stock at a non-Apple retailer, but even that dries up)
2. With near-zero retail supply, there is near-zero incentive for independent sellers to cut anyone a break.

Last year, I was able to sell a copy of Leopard for its retail price to a PPC user after Snow Leopard came out, because he couldn't find a copy anywhere else.
 
its only the demand , and people want to make profit , in fact they can nearly double their profit ,
for example you got a eMac that came with tiger and you got leopard on a retail disc ,what most people do now is sell the emac for £120 with leopard on it without disc and people will jump on that one , rule put leopard on it and it sells ,, so that leaves you with a tiger disc which is still in demand due to a lot of school/company emacs , ebay emacs dont come with discs , then you can sell the discs for up to £50 +
most times to someone who just bought a emac without discs


simple is that
 
BeestieHalls said:
I've been searching ebay high and low to find a 10.4 upgrade disc for my eMac. It currently has 10.3 right now. It works fine for surfing the web, but its pretty frustrating that I can't watch Hulu or even sync my iPod with it.

I mean, since Snow Leopard was only $30, wouldn't that sort of level the playing field? I don't understand. On ebay, 10.4 install DVDs are going for like $130. Thats pretty ridiculous.

Anyone else frustrated by this?
Click to expand...

If you think tiger is bad search for leopard anywhere on the internet. For god's sake its $200+. :(
 
Its truly a no win situation...

I hate waiting on ebay auctions. Its probably the most tedious and frustrating task on the planet. Ugh
 
BeestieHalls said:
Its truly a no win situation...

I hate waiting on ebay auctions. Its probably the most tedious and frustrating task on the planet. Ugh
Click to expand...

could have downloaded it and installed it 100 times since you started this thread. and yet you wait to spend money.

this is not normal human behavior.
 
The General said:
could have downloaded it and installed it 100 times since you started this thread. and yet you wait to spend money.

this is not normal human behavior.
Click to expand...

Is there a legal way to download the OS then? or was it more of a hint, nudge - go download it kind of message? :)
 
the only os i know of which you can legal download is linux as its open source and some other unix based os
you cant download mac osx legal as apple does not offer this possibility on their website , and if they would offer it , they would charge the same as if you buy the disc
 
MacHamster68 said:
the only os i know of which you can legal download is linux as its open source
you cant download mac osx legal as apple does not offer this possibility on their website , and if they would offer it , they would charge the same as if you buy the disc
Click to expand...

Thanks for clarifying what 99% know morally, you can also download Windows 7 legally via Microsoft of course and pay for the privilege (license). ;)

I find it shocking that someone would advocate piracy in that manner.

and yet you wait to spend money.
Click to expand...

Perhaps you intended it to be a purely speculative message but it appears to nudge him in a certain direction.
 
Legally unlawful but perhaps morally valid:

Download it from Pirate Bay, and send Apple a check for the value at the last price they sold the retail version.

That way, your money will go direct to the creators, Apple, rather than someone else who played no part in creating the software.

Idea - a bit complicated - give Apple a call, tell them you can't afford $250 for Tiger, but somehow have acquired a dubious copy, which you have just realised is not licensed, and you really like it. You want to support Apple, so you are willing to send them a cheque for the value they last sold it at. And you expect nothing back, no certificate of authenticity, nada.

The corporate robot at the other end may not be allowed to enter into any discussion of unlawful downloads, so you may wish to avoid that topic.

Play it how you want.
 
Well seeing as Apple doesn't even make Tiger disks anymore (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong), I don't see any problem in "acquiring" one on your own. Apple's not going to benefit from you buying an OS disk from an online retailer. All that retailer is doing is selling a disk that's already been used in another computer anyway. Would you rather pay 100 bucks or 0 bucks for an already used license? We pay the "Apple Tax" so people like yourself don't have to worry about getting install keys years after the OS is deemed "obsolete" (cough XP cough). 10.4.11's been out for, what, like a year and a half? Bottom line: Google/Torrents are your friend.

PS: sorry if this pi$$es people off, but it's not like I'm telling the OP to steal a 10.6 install disk (which still costs Apple money to support).
 
tayloralmond said:
All that retailer is doing is selling a disk that's already been used in another computer anyway.
Click to expand...

Legally, the 'other computer' should have had Tiger deleted from it when the licence is sold to someone else.

PS: sorry if this pi$$es people off, but it's not like I'm telling the OP to steal a 10.6 install disk (which still costs Apple money to support).
Click to expand...

It slightly annoys me. I agree with you not worth paying a third party, (although strictly speaking, you're paying them for their time and foresight in stocking up on Tiger discs, and holding onto them for a few years), but to be morally valid, it's still a good idea to pass some money to Apple.

Not saying I'm whiter than snow though. At the end of the day, this is unsupported, EOL software from Apple. Do what you want.

This is an eMac you're talking about right? Can it run Leopard? Maybe consider getting that instead - you get nice things like the ability to back up via Time Machine.
 
BeestieHalls said:
Its truly a no win situation...

I hate waiting on ebay auctions. Its probably the most tedious and frustrating task on the planet. Ugh
Click to expand...

Just download it. If Steve Jobs never became a world superhero and he was just some guy in your position do you honestly think that he wouldn't just download it?
 
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