CS2: Elements + upgrade < full price?

Wes WeberWes Weber Registered Users Posts: 38 Big grins
edited August 21, 2006 in Finishing School
So, I've finally decided to spend the cashola on CS2. I've got a question about upgrading vs. purchasing at full price and wanted to see if anyone had some experience with the same deal.

At Adobe's online store, Photoshop CS2 is $649. But you can upgrade from Photoshop Elements for $499. Elements is $79.99.

So, if I purchase Elements then immediately upgrade it appears I get CS2 for $578.99 instead of $649.

I can't be the only clever person in the world to find this - so is it true? Has anyone else purchased CS2 using this method?

Thanks,

Wes

Comments

  • DavidTODavidTO Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 19,160 Major grins
    edited August 20, 2006
    Yeah, and I'd bet that you could find Elements cheaper yet. Or even get an old version for less, if the upgrade applies to that version as well.

    One thing people do is buy a Wacom tablet for $80, comes with Elements, use that to upgrade. You get a graphics tablet in the deal.
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  • AndymanAndyman Registered Users Posts: 267 Major grins
    edited August 20, 2006
    This is what I would do:

    Buy PS6 off EBay. I actually just did this recently; usually I'm skeptical of stuff on EBay, but I took the chance and bought two of them. They just came in the mail the other day - there's no box or anything; I haven't tried upgrading with it yet, but I did register it without any problems; both the one's I got came with their own key and the CDs, and while they're "For Bundles Only: Not to be sold separately," aren't copies. Here is another listing by the same guy I bought from: link.

    Then upgrade to CS2 for $149.99: link.

    You could get CS2 for about $250.
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  • 01af01af Registered Users Posts: 41 Big grins
    edited August 21, 2006
    Wes Weber wrote:
    So, I've finally decided to spend the cashola on CS2. I've got a question about upgrading vs. purchasing at full price ...
    Yes, it is possible to buy Elements, or an older Photoshop version, and then to upgrade from there. Many do that, it works just fine, and it's perfectly legal (provided the software used to upgrade from is legal).

    However, maybe ... just maybe ... it was a better idea to wait for Photoshop CS3. If you need a good image-processing software right now, then go ahead. But if you got along until now without Photoshop and if you'll be able to get along a few more weeks or months, then wait. I already saw a price list for Photoshop CS3 somewhere on the 'net ... of course that one might have been a fake, but in the past, a new Photoshop version came along roughly every two years, give or take a few months. CS2 came in April 2005 ... okay, that's only one year and a half yet ... but who knows? The two-year cycles are not a law. It's irksome taking the plunge after hesitating for a long time, only to find that two months or so later the new version arrives. That's what happened to me when I bought CS :-(

    Of course, if you really need the software right now then go ahead and buy it right now. After all, it's also possible that we will have to wait for CS3 another six months or longer ...

    EDIT: I just googled a bit and learned two things. First: Rumours about 'CS3 coming soon' are floating around since August, 2005---i. e. for a full year now. Second: The very latest rumours seem to indicate that CS3 is planned to come in Spring/Summer 2007. So it seems fairly safe to invest in CS2 right now.

    -- Olaf
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