Sorry to hear of your problem ....Imacri is correct .....report the issue to eBay via their correct channels and state your case firmly ...Sadly ...the chance is that many other purchasers of software face this issue and wonder how a presumably genuine article can then turn out to be a "baddie " !
It's even possible that some sellers on eBay may have been obtaining their software from other sources who may well have carried out the fake "shrink wrap and seal " method of fooling the unwary seller and also the equally unwary buyer !
I don't know what price you paid ...but if ever a price seems too good to be true...then it usually is just that ! ...and turns out to be something totally different to what you expected .!
Best place to obtain software such as NIS products is directly from Symantec ....or via a discounted offer from a genuine retail source that will often be offering a discount that you can be certain is genuine !
Hope you get it resolved very soon..Let us know how it goes ?
The time lag is not necessarily due to you being first and the other user being after you -- it can take time for the information to surface I gather -- but I understand how you feel
As Imacri says ....
Have you contacted the seller on eBay (as well as eBay themselves as indicated by Imacri) since we have had the occasional report from users that they have received a correct replacement key from the supplier.
Failing that then you would do best either to accept the discounted offer from Norton or buy a copy from a retail store or a more reputable online source when it is heavily discounted -- one mainstreet store has a 1 PC NIS 2012 for $9.99 and a 3 PC for $19.99 in their flyer this week.
Norton NIS2012 is currently selling at £22 from Currys stores here in the U/K !....and the chances that the product itself ,or the activation key being fake , is negligible !
If it were a counterfeit , you have immediate recourse against the selller with regard to a refund as part of your legal rights under U/K Consumer law !
Seeing as you paid only £18 including P+P on eBay ...that low a price point would have set my " alarm bells ringing " ! ...that's about 16% below the retail price....even before allowing for the sellers postage costs !
As for holograms and watermarks etc : the producers of counterfeit goods have got a whole array of technically advanced methods these days ...so we all have to be careful ! As I said earlier..if the price looks too good to be true ...then there is usually a catch somewhere !
I really hope that you can get satisfaction from your approach to eBay ...Sadly...we all live in times where the "rip off " merchants are having a real good time ! Keep us posted on how it goes ...
> Norton NIS2012 is currently selling at £22 from Currys stores here in the U/K !....and the chances that the product itself ,or the activation key being fake , is negligible !
Can they ship to The Netherlands too ?!
I tried to register but I can NOT change the country into The Netherlands, it keeps saying United Kingdom.. :(
Sorry ferenzzz....I can confirm that the Currys' chain of retail electrical stores here in the U/K do not ship to destnations outside the U/K !
The Currys chain is part of PC World group and their prices are usually the same as the PC World price levels .If you have a PCW outlet there in the Netherlands , you may find that they have a similar offer but obviously I cannot be sure if the price will equate to the offer here in the U/K !
You can check the local stores in the Netherlands for sales from reputable stores and reputable online sites. Auction sites where you have to bid on any software product which requires a key is not a good idea. eBay does have recourses you can do for fraudulent sales.
So they are saying no place is save to buy their product UNLESS you buy directly from them ?
If I buy from a local store how do I know someone hasn't copied the key already ?
You are safe in purchasing the products from reputable retailers. Individual sellers on auction sites do not provide the same assurance that you are purchasing a legal copy of the software. Legitimate retailers have a commercial relationship with Symantec that auction site sellers do not have. Keep in mind that a dishonest seller who sells illegally obtained software or licenses is not just ripping you off, but is also effectively stealing from Symantec as well. That the company would offer you a legal copy of the software at a discounted price is actually pretty generous, I think.
I now I am fighting a losing battle with Norton but I just can't get them to actually answer my questions!!
So they are saying no place is save to buy their product UNLESS you buy directly from them ?
If I buy from a local store how do I know someone hasn't copied the key already ?
I may buy a genuine copy and someone uses a key gen that is the same as mine and I am back to square one !!!!
Not happy !!
No-one can say no place is safe any more than every place is safe -- it's a question of probabilities and unfortunately more invalid copies of Norton (and other software I'm sure) are sold on the internet than in retail stores.
If you buy something from a retail store and it is fraudulent you have a comeback against the store -- have you contacted the supplier and eBay yet? If you have not then I really think you should stop complaining about Norton! -- and Norton would be in a position to back you up because if they are authorised distributors then they should be getting their supplies through secure channels from Norton.
If the source you bought from at eBay is an authorized distributor then the same would apply.
But at the moment what can Norton do more than offer you some compensation with a discount to replace the fraudulent product you bought.
Caveat Emptor applies to all of us and the remedy is in your hands -- go back to eBay and the supplier you bought from. It's my understanding that eBay have some degree of protection so invoke it please.
Let us know what happens and then we can see if there is anything useful we can suggest.
Got one question though; is it possible to protect your productkey from being stolen from you when you use a legit key, is there some way to only connect it to 1 e-mail adres only and when someone uses your key they would have to know your password from your Norton Account ?
Got one question though; is it possible to protect your productkey from being stolen from you when you use a legit key, is there some way to only connect it to 1 e-mail adres only and when someone uses your key they would have to know your password from your Norton Account ?
If it's a multi-system license, like NIS for 3 computers, only one norton account can be made for that key. The second and third installations will not even be prompted to make a norton account and if they go ahead and try to make one it will not show that key in it. The key only gets "tied" to the norton account of the first install.
It should be obvious if you were not the first user of a multi-system key.
First of all the number of days would not be a year because the license would already be in use. Secondly, you would not be able to make a norton account showing that key and the remaining activations.
If your ever in doubt about a new product key, I'm sure customer support would be more than happy to tell you if it's a new valid key or not.
I'm sorry you would not answer the question asked as to whether you had contacted the supplier and eBay or not.
If you had answered I would have asked a Norton Staffer to help you resolve the matter, in your favor if possible -- here in the forums we can only help with technical problems but we can advise on how to handle other problems and we can ask for behind the scenes help from Norton Staff -- but I'm not going to do that without knowing that the user has done something reasonable which is to tell the supplier that Norton has treated the sale as fraudulent so can he prove it is not.
I say that because, as I said earlier, we have had similar complaints to yours and while some were fraudulent and the user lost out in other cases the supplier put it right for the customer.
<< It should be obvious if you were not the first user of a multi-system key. >>
I agree that it should be but we have had experience of timing delays on fraudulent keys -- especially stolen batches -- in that it can take time for Norton to know they they were stolen since otherwise they would be licit and as in the present case a purchaser did not get flagged by the system for some time.
In the current case I see the word "stolen" in the first message and no evidence that the other activation was after the present one.
A bit more help from the purchaser and we might have gotten somewhere.
All I am trying to get across is that Norton disabled my key because someone else started to use it.
I have the genuine copy but Norton won't acknowledge this or ask me to prove I have the genuine copy
The package and the installation disk are inconsequential - in fact many sellers provide only a Product Key and instruct the buyer to download the software from the Symantec site. The Product Key is the only thing that matters, and one is not permitted to sell the 3 activations separately. So if your seller provided the Product Key to an earlier buyer and then furnished you with the same key (with or without installation media), your transaction would not be legal, and the seller would have defrauded you by furnishing you with an invalid license that does not permit you to use the product. The situation you find yourself in is entirely due to the actions of the seller. If the seller is generally highly ranked, it is possible that he sold the same key to two individuals by mistake and would be willing to provide you with a new unused key. If he is unwilling to do so, then you need to follow the site's procedures for reporting fraud.
The other users may find out in the future that their products won't work. I'm sure this seller doesn't sell bad keys to everyone or else he would be out of business by now. Tell the seller what has happened and see what he says about it.
! Keep us posted on how it goes ...