Amazon.com Guilty of Misleading Windows XP OEM Version Buyers?

By Michael Santo
Executive Editor, RealTechNews

Depends on who you ask, as last Friday it appeared this story slanted people’s anger toward Microsoft. Now it appears that Amazon.com has admitted it was a little misleading in its sales of Windows XP (OEM).

This all started because in the U.K., Microsoft has been offering Windows Vista upgrade vouchers with purchases of Windows XP. This included OEM versions of Windows XP intended to be sold with new PCs. However, as you may know, it’s easy to buy OEM versions from places like Amazon.com and Newegg. Well, when people started to try to get their Windows Vista copy, Microsoft turned them down, saying that unless the software was purchased with the new PC, it was “no sale.”

Amazon.com recently replied to a PC Pro reader, indicating that corrections (additions?) to their product pages were being worked on. They also replied directly to PC Pro:

‘OEM software is not intended for purchase or installation by consumers. This is made clear on our site and we have an OEM section - www.amazon.co.uk/oem - stating that OEM software is intended for system builders and small OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) who manufacture computer systems and preinstall OEM system builder software onto those systems. Its use is subject to the OEM System Builder License Agreement that is affixed to the side of all OEM system builder software packs.’

When we asked why the company didn’t issue this warning on product pages - which customers are sent straight to if they search for Windows XP on the site’s search engine - Amazon failed to return our calls. Source: PC Pro

We Say: I’m a little confused, because just last week Microsoft said Vista OEM versions were ok for consumers to buy. Of course, nothing in that statement related to upgrades to future hardware later. Strangely, I noticed when I looked at the Windows Vista OEM product pages on Amazon.com, it was pretty clear about “system builders”, while the XP OEM pages were not so clear.