I got an e-mail from a loyal reader recently about a notification they had received inside of CorelDRAW. After having used the current version of the software for a year, they were being told that it was a pirated version and they would have to purchase a legal version.

There were two questions I needed to ask about the software. First, where did you buy it? Second, what did you pay? Some of you probably already know the answers of eBay and “it was a really good price.”

Everybody wants to get the best deal possible. Believe me, I understand that very well. Maybe, just maybe, there are some legal (and good) deals to be found on eBay when buying software. More often than not, you are buying software illegally. There is a reason it is so cheap!

After discussing this with the person who contacted me, they knew it was their mistake in falling for such a “good deal.” Yet it was also frustrating that they had registered the software with Corel and everything was just fine for a full year before the notification. Had Corel flagged it immediately, they could have flagged the criminal seller on eBay and could have possible gotten a refund.

Please don’t think this advice only applies to CorelDRAW. No matter the software, you should avoid buying it on a place like eBay. When buying anywhere, be really cautious if the price seems too good to be true. It may cost you much more in the long run if you have to buy a second, legal, copy of the software! And that’s assuming you don’t get in legal trouble for knowingly purchasing pirated software.