If we do not have the software, or you are looking for quantities of software we do not have, including items currently not listed in our catalog, allow us to check our resources. To do this, contact Customer Service and select the option "help me find software" from the drop down menu. Be specific in describing the software including version, condition (new or used) and quantity. We will do our best to find the software for you. Please understand that we are under no obligation (nor are you) and in many cases will not be able to locate the software. If we are successful in finding your software we will contact you.

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Online Support Request

Do you ship outside the USA? What kind of shipping options do I have?
We will consider shipping to international locations. The software must be eligible to be exported and the order must be pre-approved through customer service. For international orders (outside of the US & Canada) click here. Domestic and Canadian orders can proceed through the secure shopping cart and check out system. All shipping options will be presented to you during checkout.

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What kind of payment options do I have?
Credit/Debit cards: We have a secure server that processes the following major credit/debit cards: Visa, Master Card, American Express and Discover.

PayPal: You can pay using your PayPal account.

Purchase orders: Accepted for businesses and municipalities only and can be arranged through Customer Support by using our Online Support Request. Please submit the following information:

• Business name, shipping address, phone number and credit references
• Contact persons Name, Title, phone number and email address
• Purchase Order number, Software Title, Retro Part # and Quantity

Customer service will then contact the contact person with approval and the order will be shipped with an invoice. TERMS: net 30 days. Accounts over 30 days past due may be subject to a late charge at a rate of 1.5% per month.

We do not accept personal checks, money orders, COD, or any other form of payment.

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Online Support Request

Is it legal to buy and sell used software?
In most cases, yes, it is legal to buy and sell used software. But, to be sure, we need to read the license agreement. The license agreement spells out your right to transfer ownership. Retrosoftware goes to great lengths to ensure the software we sell is genuine and legally transferred to a new owner. We make every reasonable attempt to abide by the manufacturers license and only deal in software that allows its transfer to a new user. No gimmicks!

A word of caution, there is no guarantee that older version software and/or used software can be registered in your name and be eligible for technical support. The primary reason for this is most manufacturers no longer support software that is three or more years old. If technical support is important to you, we suggest buying the latest version or contact the manufacturer to determine if support is still available for the product you are considering.

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What is a license agreement?
Your "handshake" with the software manufacturer. The license agreement, in some form, is normally included with software. It may be the unread small print at the beginning of the user manual or it could be the official looking script that we don't read, but agree to during installation of the software. Whatever the form, it describes your rights to the software. For instance, most license agreements allow you to "install and use one copy of the software product on a single computer." In a sense, we don't actually own the software but are given the right to install and use a copy of it. Most license agreements will specifically address your ability to transfer your rights (hence, sell your software) under the agreement. The following is an excerpt from a Microsoft license agreement:

Software Transfer: You may permanently transfer all of your rights under this agreement, provided you retain no copies, you transfer all of the software product (including all component parts, the media and printed materials, any upgrades, this license agreement and, if applicable, the Certificate of Authenticity) and the recipient agrees to the terms of this license agreement. If the software product is an upgrade, any transfer must include all prior versions of the software product.

As you can see, under this agreement, it is completely legal to sell or buy used Microsoft software provided you follow the terms provided in the clause "software transfer". This verbiage, allowing the "transfer of rights" or buying and selling of used software, is usually the norm in most software manufacturers license agreements.

The following is a second example of a license agreement from 7th Level Software which restricts your transfer rights:

You are entitled to use this product for your own use. You may not sell, rent or lease the software or the manual to others, nor reproduce the software or the manual, without prior written permission of 7th Level, Inc. You may use only one copy of the software at one time. You may not use this software on a network or on more than one computer at the same time.

This second example specifically prohibits you from reselling the software without permission from the publisher. While it is uncommon for a software maker to not allow you to transfer the rights of the software, the bottom line is we need to read the license agreement to be sure.

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How do I sell my software to you? What do you buy?
Specific information to sell your software can be found here. We currently buy most types of software, new and used, that can be legally resold. Here is a short list of what we do not buy:

• Software that does not include the box manual & media (with a very few exceptions).
• Microsoft software that does not include a Certificate Of Authenticity (COA) Example
• OEM or Not For Retail (NFR) software Example
• Academic software
• Duplicated software
• Any software which prohibits it's resale based on the license agreement, what is a license agreement?
• Component parts of a larger software suite. An example would be a Microsoft SQL Server from a Microsoft Backoffice Server Suite. (It is only legal to sell the entire suite of software.)

Note: It is not legal to sell software you have upgraded if you continue to use the upgrade. If the upgrade is un-installed, you can then sell both the full version and the upgrade.

Note: Adobe & Macromedia software needs to include a Transfer Of License Form (TOL) if the software has been registered. The original registration information must be included. To access these forms use the following links: Adobe: AdobeTOL.pdf  Macromedia: MacromediaTOL.pdf

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Online Support Request

How do I know what I will get from you when I order?
We use the What You See Is What You Get method (WYSIWYG) to represent our software. Unlike a lot of what you will find on the web, all pictures of software in our showrooms are the actual pictures of the software for sale. It is also clearly marked NEW or USED and is described in one of three ways: RETAIL BOX, FLAT PACKAGE, or a JEWEL CASE. The RETAIL BOX is complete software including the original box. The FLAT PACKAGE is everything you need to use the software and covers all combinations between the RETAIL BOX and the JEWEL CASE. JEWEL CASE software is a CD-ROM in a plastic box with the instructions on an insert. Examples.

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How do I know the software I buy from you will work? Will it upgrade software I already have?
We guarantee the software will arrive complete and in working order. We do not guarantee the software is compatible with your system. You need to check the system requirements for the specific software.

You can greatly increase the odds of your software installing and running properly if you follow some basic rules:

First, check the basic requirements for the software including free hard drive space, the speed required from your processor and the operating system. If you have a match, you should encounter no problems.

Second, we list the operating systems shown on the software. If you are running an operating system not specifically listed, you run a much greater risk of running into problems. However, you can, in some cases, still install and run some software successfully on a similar operating systems. As a very general rule:

• MAC software will only run on the required MAC operating system or higher MAC operating system.
• DOS based programs will only run under the required DOS operating system or higher.
• Software designed to run on Windows 3.1, 95, 98 and ME will normally work with a later Windows operating system, with the exception of Windows XP.
• Software designed for 95/98/ME may have issues running on Windows XP. If you experience problems running a program designed for an earlier version of Windows on XP, Windows XP includes the Program Compatibility Wizard to assist users in applying compatibility fixes for software applications through the Help and Support Center. To run the wizard: start>all programs>accessories>program compatibility wizard. For more information, please click here or visit Microsoft's windows XP compatibility page. Another option is to contact the software publisher's technical support to find out if there is any known compatibility problems with XP. A fix may be available.

Please note: We have no resources to assist or troubleshoot software compatibility problems. The only place to turn is the software publishers technical support or, if you are trying to install older software on Windows XP, read our page "Running Legacy Software on Windows XP".

Complete descriptions and system requirements, for a specific title, can be requested by using our Online Support Request. Please include the Retro Part number.

If you are upgrading software, we include all information regarding what the box says the software will upgrade in the product description. If the software you wish to upgrade is not listed, chances are it will not work.

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What is the difference between retail software, OEM software, academic software and NFR software?
Good question! The primary difference is in the license agreement. Retail software is licensed to "end users", you and me, who install and use the software on our computers. If we choose, we can uninstall the software and sell or transfer our rights to use the software to another user.

OEM software, on the other hand, is licensed to be sold with a computer or computer hardware. For example, if you buy a new computer, the software that comes preinstalled on the system would be OEM software. You generally can not sell this type of software unless you sell the computer with it. OEM software for sale on this web site (you will not find much, we avoid it like the plague) is clearly labeled as OEM software and is NOT LICENSED FOR END USERS. If you read an OEM end user license agreement (EULA) you will find statements such as "If the software product is not accompanied by a new computer system or computer system component, you may not use or copy the software product". OEM software is licensed to be installed on a computer and then be sold to the end user as a packaged deal. Other differences between retail and OEM software include:

• No technical support
• Installation manual and cd-rom only
• Can not be used to upgrade from a previous version

How do I return software I have bought?
Please refer to our return policy for details.

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What if my question is not listed?
Please use the Online Support Request. We will make every attempt to answer your question and if we can't, we will just make something up;-) Thank you for your visit!

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