Swedishchef_small
Reputation: 230
Follow 0
Follow 1

Legitimately purchase older version of Photoshop?

I heart Photoshop, but can't quite see my way clear to shelling out the big $$$ for CS5 right now. Is there a way I can legally/ethically/legitimately buy an older version for less money? Do software retailers have remainder piles?

Valkyrie asked in Arts & Music about 1 year ago | Report

Answer this question or share it with a smart friend:

Avatar_default
Type your answer here…
Latest Greatest

3 Answers

  • Avatar_default
    Reputation: 831
    Follow 1

    You're not going to find an old version at a mainstream retailer because the actual physical media costs essentially nothing, so once the new version comes out Adobe credits retailers for unsold copies of the old one and they just chuck 'em.

    It looks like you can get CS3 for around $50 on eBay or CS4 for $80. There's some listings that look a little sketchy (no feedback, for example), but some look fairly legit. If they're like other cheap eBay software, most of these are probably either used retail copies or copies that weren't intended by Adobe to be sold on a retail basis, so the legal/ethical/legitimate quesiton is sort of iffy. But they usually are genuine copies that will work just fine.

    Have you ever played around with GIMP? It's an open source program that does some of the same things. It's certainly not as feature-heavy as the recent versions of photoshop, but it works just great for about 95% of the stuff I used to use photoshop for. http://www.gimp.org/

    Jack answered in Arts & Music about 1 year ago | Report
    2 comments by CrazyCatLady and capicola…
    Share this answer with a friend:
  • 07_06_27_007_small
    Reputation: 338
    Follow 0

    Half Price Books always has shelves full of old boxed software. I don't know if they are a nation-wide phenomena but there are several locations here in Seattle.

    Also if you are in Seattle try Re-P.C. they also have tons of dated software. It is regularly prowled by geeks so getting the good stuff is harder.

    Jim answered in Arts & Music about 1 year ago | Report
    1 comment by Rev.Enant…
    Share this answer with a friend:
  • Hair_hipstamatic_small
    Reputation: 1711
    Follow 2

    I don't know about older versions, but I do know of two other ways to get Photoshop for less.
    1) Get the student version - find someone who's a student and have them buy it for you.
    2) Get Photoshop Elements - it has most of the basic Photoshop features you know and love.

    e.strange answered in Arts & Music about 1 year ago | Report
    Comment on this answer
    Share this answer with a friend: