Best/cheapesty way to buy Microsoft Office?

Newcad

Frozen_up_north said:

Newcad said:

The MS365 is non-expiring so can be used anytime, it's still in the sealed retail box (as is the AV which I won't be installing either).

<SNIP>

The boxed MS365 subscription will probably end up in the charity shop.

MS365 is a subscription service, which many of us would not want.
There are OEM licences (or perhaps pirate licenses) for MS Office widely sold for £20 (or less) on eBay and Amazon, beware if Microsoft become aware that the seller is making licences available that are not in accordance with the MS T&Cs, you may find your Office mysteriously ceases to work.

Not sure why you had to go there.

The one I have is - as already said - a 12 month subscription to MS365, it is the retail version in sealed packaging, it is what Argos sells:

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/4496359?clickSR=slp:term:microsoft office 365:3:190:1&amp;_gl=1*1ehjek5*_up*MQ..*_gs*MQ..&amp;gclid=EAIaIQobChMI55fmt6H7jAMVRKJQBh2y6TMBEAAYASAAEgJcnPD_BwE&amp;gclsrc=aw.ds

HillStreetBlues

J_B said:

Frozen_up_north said:

MS365 is a subscription service, which many of us would not want.
There are OEM licences (or perhaps pirate licenses) for MS Office widely sold for £20 (or less) on eBay and Amazon, beware if Microsoft become aware that the seller is making licences available that are not in accordance with the MS T&Cs, you may find your Office mysteriously ceases to work.

I have a couple of these that I dubiously purchased off eBay one in 2019 and one in 2020 - both still working fine.

If MS want to pull the plug, it will be a tenner down the pan!

I stuck Office 16 of on a friends computer from ebay 7 years ago, still working fine for a cost of £1.97

outtatune

Just bear in mind that if you buy something called 'Office Professional Plus' that is actually a concurrent license belonging to a large company that may from time to time audit devices using that license, and may well ask Microsoft to block ones they don't recognise.

J_B

outtatune said:

Just bear in mind that if you buy something called 'Office Professional Plus' that is actually a concurrent license belonging to a large company that may from time to time audit devices using that license, and may well ask Microsoft to block ones they don't recognise.

tencharacters

J_B said:

I have a couple of these that I dubiously purchased off eBay one in 2019 and one in 2020 - both still working fine.

If MS want to pull the plug, it will be a tenner down the pan!

Frozen_up_north

Newcad said:

Not sure why you had to go there.

The one I have is - as already said - a 12 month subscription to MS365, it is the retail version in sealed packaging, it is what Argos sells 

Just pointing out that unlike an outright purchase, or licence key, MS365 is an annual subscription product and a lot more expensive than most alternatives.

spud17

J_B said:

outtatune said:

Just bear in mind that if you buy something called 'Office Professional Plus' that is actually a concurrent license belonging to a large company that may from time to time audit devices using that license, and may well ask Microsoft to block ones they don't recognise.

tencharacters

J_B said:

I have a couple of these that I dubiously purchased off eBay one in 2019 and one in 2020 - both still working fine.

If MS want to pull the plug, it will be a tenner down the pan!

Same experience here!

mksysb

Google sheets is excellent, and free.  Just see if it will open your spreadsheets.  If not you can use LibreOffice which will almost certainly work.

prowla

You might be able to pick up a used PC which includes a valid licence.

ernie-money

Thanks all for your advice! Sorry for the delayed response, but life turned a bit busy! When looking for a cheap option, I definitely won't go with an annual package that needs renewing- I decided to spend a few quid on ebay, to save the hassle of having to change everything around - if it stops working, I can always reassess then. Usually I would prefer supporting original products when it comes to genuine manufacturers, but with a giant like microsoft I have no qualms about my money going elsewhere instead...