For the past several years, we’ve seen the rise in the popularity of the 11.11 sale. An event that originally started in China, we have seen it grow and expand to countries all around the world.
It also covers a wide variety of products, ranging from physical products like phones, tablets, computers, but also software, like the deal that the folks at SCDKey are running right now where they have offering massive discounts across Windows and Office.
The prices that SCDKey are offering are incredibly cheap to the point where you might question how is it so cheap, especially compared to what Microsoft is selling on its website? If you’re concerned about whether or not you’re getting a genuine copy of Windows, you can rest assured that you are.
This is because the copy of Windows and Office that SCDKey is selling is an OEM copy. This is a copy that is typically sold to computer manufacturers who need to install Windows and/or Office on the PCs they sell.
Obviously forcing OEMs to purchase them at retail prices would be unreasonable as it would result in the cost of computers going up, and with the millions of PCs sold, it would mean that OEMs would need to invest tens, if not hundreds, of million upfront, which is why OEM copies are much cheaper.
The main downside to an OEM copy is that it is usually linked to your PCs motherboard which means that moving the license to a new PC would be difficult, if not possible. But seeing as how cheap it is being sold for, it would still be cheaper to buy another OEM copy than pay the full retail price.