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Play Asia

Play-asia: Windows 10 Pro OEM Key (Emailed) $34.xx Canadian

  • Last Updated:
  • Dec 14th, 2016 11:08 am
Deal Addict
Dec 6, 2004
1519 posts
134 upvotes
Downtown
ES_Revenge wrote: You're technically correct but this applies to the OEM versions that places like NCIX, CC, etc. sell for $100-120 ($200 or something for Pro) as well. Most retailers get away with this by packaging them with anything from an old stick of RAM (like DDR[1] or something sometimes, lol), broken HDD, etc. or just requiring that you have to buy something else in order to add to cart--anything down to a USB drive or an SD card will let it qualify. If anything this is really the thing you should be worried about least about buying OEM Windows--it's really just a bit of nonsense that no one really cares about in reality, MS included.


Whether it's Pro or Home merely depends on what version of Windows you upgrade from. If you have 7 Pro (or Ultimate), you get 10 Pro. See here:
https://www.thurrott.com/windows/window ... t-for-free


No. Not saying these are necessarily legit, but as someone else mentioned, it's a little odd Play-Asia would do that given they are known for selling legit/real physical goods (where the majority of other similar sellers sell fakes/counterfeits at cheap prices).


There's no "one-time activation" keys for W10. That's nonsense. You certainly can't use the key on a new machine (i.e. on different motherboard) but that's always true with OEM Windows. However, MS' subcontractors have activated OEM 10 for people on such transfers anyway, using pirate tools! There's a thread here by XtremeModder where he encountered this very occurrence. Even on previous versions of Windows where technically there could have been a "one-time" activation where if you went to re-activate you'd have problems, this never happened in reality. At worst you'd have to do a phone activation and you'd still be fine.


Uhh pretty sure that poster wasn't make light of pedophilia, they were shedding light on Play-Asia doing so. Therefore the one to call "sick 'individual'" would be Play-Asia.


In that case perhaps they are not legit. Seems like a bad business decision for them to do that but hey, I'm not running the place. The problem they create for themselves is they are a stand-out in a sea of fake/counterfeit sellers in that they sell real/legit merchandise in other areas...by selling illegitimate Windows keys people will wonder if the rest of the stuff they sell is fake too. That's a hard stigma to overcome when it comes to things like electronics, collectible merchandise, etc.

Personally I only ever purchased from them once--a set of Sony earphones you couldn't get here in the SP/SL version nor in colours. Trying to buy those off eBay or anywhere else was a surefire way to get fakes. They weren't all that high end or anything (like $60 or so) but still obviously buying the $20 ones off eBay were fake; and, I didn't want the black long cord version that was sold at BB/FF here so Play-Asia it was. They were certainly genuine when I got them (and I still use these to this day) so I was happy it was possible that someone was selling genuine stuff from that side of the planet. However though I don't really have much reason to buy anything from them these days anyway, I would probably hesitate to do so if I did given the above information. Just don't get why good retailers would stoop to crap like this. Just not worth it when you can lose a lot of customers in your core business because of it.

Anyway as for MS "catching wind" of such keys and activations? Don't be naive. MS absolutely already has full knowledge of this stuff. The could have shut this down years ago, like since Vista years ago. However they simply just do not care. They care more, esp. now with W10, that people are using Windows than anything else. End-user retail sales of Windows (whether OEM versions or actual retail versions) account for an extremely small percentage of profit for them, of all Windows licences sold/deployed. They really do not care and they even made it easier to pirate Windows since Vista. Again this is an avenue they could have slammed shut a long time ago, even if not on Vista itself they could have done it for 7 but they never did. 8 changed things up a bit but the fact that they left upgrading to legit 10 wide open to pirate versions of earlier Windows, means that...they just don't care about end-user "piracy" or "grey market" use of Windows. Once W10 is activated on hardware it's permanent on that hardware and MS has never even attempted to stop this from occurring on any "illegitimate" versions or avenues to that activation.
you sure about that? because i've bought 2 keys from reddit both were only able to activate on one install after i reformatted the machine i could not activate it anymore and even calling MS to activate they have told me to contact the reseller because my key was blacklisted. You can install with the key but you cannot activate it after the first time it was initially activated.

Matter of fact PM me and i'll even give you the keys to try yourself lol
Deal Expert
Mar 23, 2004
35606 posts
18999 upvotes
chaego wrote: you sure about that? because i've bought 2 keys from reddit both were only able to activate on one install after i reformatted the machine i could not activate it anymore and even calling MS to activate they have told me to contact the reseller because my key was blacklisted. You can install with the key but you cannot activate it after the first time it was initially activated.

Matter of fact PM me and i'll even give you the keys to try yourself lol
This is on Windows 10? Well suppose I could be wrong but TBH this is the first time I've heard of this anyway. You shouldn't have to even use a key afterwards...on 10 the hardware should activate the installation, after the first activation is complete. When you install it the second time, are you trying to use the key to do so? Or are you installing it normally (i.e. as you should) and then it's coming up as not activated?
Deal Addict
Dec 6, 2004
1519 posts
134 upvotes
Downtown
ES_Revenge wrote: This is on Windows 10? Well suppose I could be wrong but TBH this is the first time I've heard of this anyway. You shouldn't have to even use a key afterwards...on 10 the hardware should activate the installation, after the first activation is complete. When you install it the second time, are you trying to use the key to do so? Or are you installing it normally (i.e. as you should) and then it's coming up as not activated?
it comes up not activated after installation with or without the key you get an error message to buy a new key, and confirmed from MS tech support when trying activation over the phone that the key was blacklisted. I know with windows 10 if you do a system format as long as your hardware is the same you don't need to enter the key again. But for grey market keys they could be blacklisted the moment they are activated for violating terms as what i was told from MS tech support.
Newbie
User avatar
Mar 8, 2010
24 posts
9 upvotes
Vancouver
Just curious, not attempting to detract from OP's deal. Friend of mine recommended Kunguin for this as well. Anyone used them?

Not trying to ask if they're fully legit, as this thread has already gotten into the OEM discussion. Just curious is any RFD'ers have used them, and their experience?
Member
Dec 20, 2011
368 posts
161 upvotes
Toronto
The oem windows 10 sold by ncix, canada computers, newegg etc.. are individual keys that come in their own disc packaging. I might be wrong but most of the keys sold online on ebay, reddit etc... are bulk keys so the one given to you might be used by 10, or 1000 people. I'm guessing maybe some of these keys are getting blacklisted once too many people are using that one bulk key sold over and over again. Another thing might be the keys are a cracked/generated key, these types of keys generally work fine at first but sometime down the line they get blacklisted.
Banned
May 13, 2016
120 posts
52 upvotes
I dealt with Play Asia few times ordering games and once won a game on they facebook contest everything got delivered and work on my PS3 and PSN account :) just my two cents :)
Deal Expert
User avatar
Oct 26, 2003
39338 posts
6341 upvotes
Winnipeg
aos007 wrote: Play-Asia is definitely a legit site, with weekly newsletters and all. I bought a bunch of physical games from them in the past, due to their location sometimes they'd have a western AAA title cheaper than here. E.g. title meant for sale in Asia but that includes English language option. Perhaps these are legit Windows 10 keys priced for less wealthy Asian countries?
their games are typically more expensive and there is cost of shipping, but i am surprise they have something other than games, thought they only sold games
Deal Expert
User avatar
Oct 26, 2003
39338 posts
6341 upvotes
Winnipeg
Woah! wrote: They were one of the few sites who were able to sell DOAX3 to markets outside of Asia.
Pretty sure they made a killing off of it, and I applaud them for making it available to those of us who don't much appreciate being denied something due to a bunch of nosey nellies.
Image
Even Team Ninja complained that they wouldn't release the game do to the SJW backlash which would most surely come from other markets such as North America & other parts of the world.
I almost went the Play-Asia route until I found a Canadian company who had stock of the game.
what's this SJW and gamergate thing about?
Deal Fanatic
User avatar
Dec 1, 2013
6493 posts
3282 upvotes
redflagdeals.com
th3dud3 wrote: The oem windows 10 sold by ncix, canada computers, newegg etc.. are individual keys that come in their own disc packaging. I might be wrong but most of the keys sold online on ebay, reddit etc... are bulk keys so the one given to you might be used by 10, or 1000 people. I'm guessing maybe some of these keys are getting blacklisted once too many people are using that one bulk key sold over and over again. Another thing might be the keys are a cracked/generated key, these types of keys generally work fine at first but sometime down the line they get blacklisted.
Lol, this deal sounds like something you'd find on the deep web...

Edit: After further investigation, Play Asia's website is set up eerily similar to other black-market websites.
Last edited by dealseaker101 on Dec 12th, 2016 4:50 am, edited 2 times in total.
¯\_(-.-)_/¯ A wise RFD'er once said, "Buy now, think later."

༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ Behold!
Deal Expert
User avatar
Oct 26, 2003
39338 posts
6341 upvotes
Winnipeg
aos007 wrote: Ok, it doesn't really, but what fake site would spend time doing that? Those newsletters were obviously targeting otaku with large focus on collector's items, figurines, special editions and such. It didn't give a vibe of a fly by night operation focused on getting you to buy fake merchandise.
yeah i get their newsletter too, but when did they venture out of the gaming area by offering OS?
Deal Expert
User avatar
Oct 26, 2003
39338 posts
6341 upvotes
Winnipeg
KanieWest wrote: Play-Asia was one of the notable stores that wasn't going to kneel and let a group of whiny wankers dictate what should or should not be allowed

http://www.dualshockers.com/2016/03/29/ ... play-asia/

They did the right thing back then and it paid off well for them. While I don't care about the DOA series, I'll support any store that is willing to promote & sell games for everyone
good stuff, we already get shafted by having localized games with content cut/modified because someone in suits figured we aren't good enough for the original version, how about leave that decision to the gamers
Deal Expert
User avatar
Oct 26, 2003
39338 posts
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Winnipeg
ES_Revenge wrote:
Anyway as for MS "catching wind" of such keys and activations? Don't be naive. MS absolutely already has full knowledge of this stuff. The could have shut this down years ago, like since Vista years ago. However they simply just do not care. They care more, esp. now with W10, that people are using Windows than anything else. End-user retail sales of Windows (whether OEM versions or actual retail versions) account for an extremely small percentage of profit for them, of all Windows licences sold/deployed. They really do not care and they even made it easier to pirate Windows since Vista. Again this is an avenue they could have slammed shut a long time ago, even if not on Vista itself they could have done it for 7 but they never did. 8 changed things up a bit but the fact that they left upgrading to legit 10 wide open to pirate versions of earlier Windows, means that...they just don't care about end-user "piracy" or "grey market" use of Windows. Once W10 is activated on hardware it's permanent on that hardware and MS has never even attempted to stop this from occurring on any "illegitimate" versions or avenues to that activation.
where you get your info from? you can't just upgrade to win10 from a non-legit w7/w8
Deal Expert
User avatar
Oct 26, 2003
39338 posts
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Winnipeg
adilio wrote: Just curious, not attempting to detract from OP's deal. Friend of mine recommended Kunguin for this as well. Anyone used them?

Not trying to ask if they're fully legit, as this thread has already gotten into the OEM discussion. Just curious is any RFD'ers have used them, and their experience?
never used them personally but i hear they sell grey market / potentially stolen keys.
Member
Dec 20, 2011
368 posts
161 upvotes
Toronto
divx wrote: where you get your info from? you can't just upgrade to win10 from a non-legit w7/w8
Some people running non legit windows 7/8 were able to upgrade to windows 10 when it was free. That 1 year free period Microsoft pushed really hard to get everyone to upgrade to 10 so I'm not surprised it was a thing since they were trying to make it as easy as possible to upgrade for everyone. I doubt Microsoft intended to allow it but it was the largest OS upgrade ever so there were bound to be problems/glitches/loopholes.
Deal Expert
User avatar
Oct 26, 2003
39338 posts
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Winnipeg
ES_Revenge wrote: :facepalm:

Tell that to the thousands of people that have done it with zero issues whatsoever.
people without legit key for w7/8 can upgrade to w10 but it shows as non-genuine.
Deal Addict
Dec 24, 2008
4249 posts
1672 upvotes
Belle River
On the one-time use issue, I have seen that happen with keys for Microsoft Office but not Windows, actually I have also seen Office keys that work twice but fail on the third attempt, but it's the same idea I guess. Regardless I am surprised that MS support would actually tell you that such keys are blacklisted, in my experience with Office they absolutely refuse to give any information at all on why the key no longer works. I've bugged them, called multiple times to get different reps, tried to discuss why the key worked once or twice but doesn't now, but no matter what they won't give a reason. They refer me to a web page they claim can possibly resolve the situation, however it's just some kinda piracy reporting form :), and say contact the reseller you purchased the key from.
Deal Addict
User avatar
Sep 7, 2010
1463 posts
414 upvotes
chaego wrote: you sure about that? because i've bought 2 keys from reddit both were only able to activate on one install after i reformatted the machine i could not activate it anymore and even calling MS to activate they have told me to contact the reseller because my key was blacklisted. You can install with the key but you cannot activate it after the first time it was initially activated.

Matter of fact PM me and i'll even give you the keys to try yourself lol
Did you try using the generic keys?
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/ins ... 991136f6a9
Once there was a real deal in front of me I did not cherish. Not until it went OOS did I learn to regret. There's no greater sorrow. If heavens would grant me another chance I would buy buy buy. If I must put down a quantity, I hope it is 10000

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