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Quick question.
For my second PC, which I built myself from parts I bought, I want to buy an OEM key from eBay.
Assuming the key is working, one question, is that legal ?
I know buying from eBay is legal, but are the keys OK to use ?
Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.
No, those are NOT MSDN licenses for sure, since they do not identify as Retail, like MSDN licenses, but like OEM (slmgr -dli).
Also, do you just copy&paste stuff ? What do you mean "in your case" ? I did not buy the key, but the guy who guided me to the keys bought several and never had any issue with them, so he says.
After all, everyone knows that people who sell OEM licenses on eBay scrupulously adhere to the law.
Its likely not a genuine Windows 10 key because no third party vendor apart from Amazon and Microsoft are allowed to license digital downloads.
So anyone claiming to sell keys is likely not legal.
That vendor is likely selling MSDN keys:
About MSDN Product Keys
They are genuine Microsoft product keys, they are actually retail licenses, but it is intended for a particular product channel either the Microsoft Software Developer Network (MSDN) or TechNet for IT Professionals who pay a subscription fee. The main purpose is for evaluation purposes. The great thing about them, unlike trial Microsoft software, MSDN or TechNet keys don't expire. Because the agreement under which the subscription is provided is a single license, none of the software should be distributed outside of it. Even though its $50,000 worth of licenses, it is for one person only to use and no one else. Unfortunately, regardless of the licensing terms, persons still abuse the program, either giveaway product keys or resell it on auction sites. Microsoft licenses it in good faith that customers won't do so, but I guess human nature wins out.
In your case, what probably happened is, you bought an MSDN licensed key, which carries up to 10 activations unlike full packaged retail licenses which only carry 1 activation. The person who sold it to you probably sold it to 10 other persons. Somewhere along the way, one of those persons might have installed it on a second system, activated it, because it went past 10 activation threshold, Microsoft detected it that it was being abused and blocked the key from further use.
Purchase a genuine license: Buy Windows 10 Home/Pro
