[Newuser2]

Greetings,
I am using a student version of Auto cad 2008 and still learning my way around the software. All of my resources (books, tutorial Cd's, etc.) are based around this version of auto cad.
I would like to purchase a copy of 2008 LT for my own personal use (for now) but am having problems finding one.
"For now", what does that mean?
Without going into to many details here is the scenario.
I have a collection of drawings (hand drawn) to redraw in cad to demonstrate it's usefulness.
It seems a bit unprofessional (as well as illegal) to do this with a student version, and at this point I don't want to take on the task of using a new interface (newer version of the software) on top of everything else I am trying to accomplish.
My hope is that others will see that cad is superior as an option over old school conventional drafting, to accomplish this, I am going to purchase the software on my own.
Any ideas?

[ReMark]

Advice? Yes, be careful.

AutoDesk doesn't consider 2008 to be the most recent version therefore you can't buy it from one of their "authorized" resellers. That leaves the gray area of eBay, craigslist, and "other".

AutoDesk is taking the position they are under no legal obligation to provide you with an authorization code to use the software past 30 days of loading it on your computer. They may do it; they may not. Their choice. It's difficult to get around this because the authorization code can only be legally obtained via the Internet or by calling AutoDesk. It is a multi-character code consisting of 16 groups of letters and numbers in sequences of four characters each. The registrant needs to first supply a genuine serial number that AutoDesk recognizes.

[Glen Smith]

I think you are going to have more luck learning the new interface, esp. since you are still learning. Download a copy of 2010 which you can use for 30 days to see how different the interface is.

AutoDesk is very picky about users reselling old copies - they don't want it to happen. Which can make registering a used copy difficult. Determining whether an old copy is used or new is hard as well - unless you are buying from a well known vendor. Most vendors are not going to have 2008 still available.

Try the demo and use the tutorials and advice here on migrating your interface from older versions.

Good luck.

Glen

[Tiger]

I'm going to contradict myself here and say that go ahead and get a 2010 version of Autocad. Yes, there are plenty of differences between 2008 and 2010, but nothing that you with a will to learn will not figure out.

I say contradict myself because I am very much pro a new education (at least half a day) for each new release... but in this case, I would say that the risk of ending up with a perhaps shady version of AutoCAD will be greater than the risk that 2010 will confuse you, if you follow what I mean.

[Tankman]

Which ever way you go is up to you.

I did check eBay, AutoCAD '08 is between $300.00 USD and up, slightly over $400.00 USD.

Lots of books, etc., but you sound like you have a library already.

[ReMark]

There are five copies of LT 2008 on eBay at the moment (11/7 - 4:41 pm EST). Just out of curiousity I emailed the seller and asked the following:

1) How did you come to acquire this software?

2) If AutoDesk, for any reason, fails to provide an authorization code to activate the software will you provide a 100% refund of the purchase price?

Let's see what the response might be. It could take 1-2 days so hang tight. This should be interesting.

[Tankman]

Originally Posted by ReMark

Let's see what the response might be. It could take 1-2 days so hang tight. This should be interesting.

Keep us up to date ReMark.

The purchaser should also use, i.e.: PayPal, just in case of any dispute.

Some of these offers ship from only where HE knows.
Often the seller disappears into the wild blue yonder.

There are a few deals available from Nigeria too!

[Cad64]

Originally Posted by Tankman

Some of these offers ship from only where HE knows.
Often the seller disappears into the wild blue yonder.

That's why you need to check the sellers info. Never purchase any high dollar items from someone with no feedback or a lot of negative feedback. And if you're unsure about anything, ask the seller questions prior to purchasing. There's still no guarantee that you will receive exactly what you were expecting though. But sellers with a lot of good positive feedback are generally trustworthy.

But when it comes to Autocad, I still don't know if Autodesk will actually honor these Ebay purchases or not. There have been some courtroom victories, but I have not heard anyone from Autodesk come out and say yes, its ok to buy Autocad on Ebay from independent sellers. So purchase at your own risk.

[ReMark]

I'll be curious to hear what spin the guy puts on his answers. Of course I'm expecting a lot here...honesty. Hmmm...wonder what my chances are?

[ReMark]

Just checked eBay and someone else is selling a full version of 2009 and in his ad states the software is able to be loaded on four machines. This must be a "licensing" thing like when I buy a copy of Norton Anti-Virus good for loading on three machines? I sent the guy the same type of email I sent the person selling LT 2008. Now I have two inquires out there.